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!

4. Exploring the Jail! Crew Reunites part 4

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Phantom Files Book 2: Rise Of The Monarchs! This chapter might be a bit interesting since it's the first time I've written a chapter focused on exploring a Jail, so this will be a learning experience for me too, but only slightly. As it happens, Jails in Strikers are fundamentally similar to how Palaces operate in vanilla Persona 5/Persona 5 Royal, but also different too.

So we'll see how I do at adapting this first Jail. If nothing else, I know the majority of the first Jail's infiltration SHOULD be in this chapter, but it might also pool over a bit into chapter 5 as well, depending on how many words it takes to get through to the 'roadblock' for the first Jail (YES, Jails have roadblocks like Palaces did in vanilla Persona 5/Persona 5 Royal). That said, let's get to the disclaimer, yeah?

Disclaimer: I, sithlorde1988, do not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form (barring the OC Kusa/Draconis, along with any other OCs that might show up, all of whom are made, and thus owned by, me unless otherwise noted), and the actual ownership of the Persona series belongs to Atlus, Sega, and Koei Tecmo (though in the latter's case, it's mostly only where it comes to the spinoff games, like Strikers, Tactica, Phantom X, the 'Arena' games, the 'Dancing' games, and the 'Q' games), so all credit to them!

Before I continue, let me real quick give a heads-up that there will be at least one M-rated scene in this chapter, which will be clearly marked so you can skip past it if you're not into that sort of thing. But consider yourselves warned ahead of time. Also, thanks to everyone who's reviewed the story so far, as for the most part, the reviews have been rather helpful and informative. So thank you if you left a review on the story so far.

And now with that being said, let's get on with chapter 4, yeah? Here's Chapter 4!

Chapter 4- Exploring the Wonderland Jail! The Crew Reunites part 4

(In the Shibuya Jail, with Joker, Mona, Skull, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir, Violet, and Seeker)

After choosing the front lines for the infiltration, which in this case was Mona, Fox, Violet, and Seeker, leaving Queen, Skull, Noir, and Panther as the second wave of battlers with Oracle alternating between the two as the navigator for the time being, the group leapt down into the Jail to start the infiltration. As they landed, Panther frowned and spoke up after looking around.

"Be careful, everyone! They've got serious numbers." Panther said as Oracle blinked and spoke up.

"Dang, I'm impressed you could tell something like that, Panther. But in all seriousness, don'tcha remember what to do at times like this? Watch for an opening, then jump it from behind! Be careful not to get spotted!" Oracle said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Got it! Front lines, with me! Let's ambush the enemy! Back lines, watch our flanks and be ready to intercept any enemies that try to flank us from behind!" Joker said as everyone nodded as Joker jumped over the nearby enemy and ripped its mask off from behind as Seeker and Violet watched with amused looks on their faces.

"Show me your true form!" Joker said as the fight started! For the most part, Joker worked with Fox and Mona to push the front wave of enemies back with their attacks using their respective weapons. For Joker, he favored a knife. For Mona, he attacked with a scimitar. And for Fox, he used his tried-and-true katana. While the three guys pushed most of the enemy back, Violet turned to Seeker and spoke up.

"Shall we mop up the rest of them together, Seeker?" Violet asked as Seeker nodded enthusiastically and spoke up.

"Gladly. We shall 'mop up the rest of them together', Violet." Seeker said eagerly as Violet smiled and nodded as the two pulled out their weapons, which was a rapier for Violet and what appeared to be a yo-yo for Seeker, and started attacking. Seeker smirked as she expertly twirled her yo-yo in a perfect circle, wrapping up most of the Shadows as Pithos blasted them down with waves of light, making Violet smile as she ran a bunch of Shadows through with her rapier and spoke up.

"Huh, so it seems that much like myself, you also favor Bless skills, Seeker? Impressive. But I won't lie to you, sweetie. You might have potential, but you've still got a ways to go before you're on my level." Violet said sagely yet honestly as she summoned Ella to drop a giant orb of Bless energy onto the enemies in front of herself and Seeker, instantly incinerating them to black mist as Seeker looked on in awe, making sure to use her yo-yo to pick off the stragglers who were trying to hit Violet from behind as the battle ended. Once the battle was over, the ensuing EXP gain lifted Fox to level 5, at which point Kamu Susano-o gained the support skill 'Sukukaja', making Fox speak up.

"Oh, my. I've gotten a new skill. And what a skill it is! I can't wait to try it out." Fox said as Skull blinked and spoke up.

"Ooookay then? If you say so, Fox. Still, that is a pretty sick skill you just got, so good job, man." Skull said while clapping Fox lightly on the shoulder as Kamu Susano-o acquired 'Sukukaja'. After the battle ended, Seeker looked at Violet with stars in her eyes from how in awe of Violet she was, before she schooled her expression into a serious one and spoke up.

"Wow, that was incredible, Violet! I think I've got a ways to go before I'm anywhere close to your level. Even so, I admire how efficient and skilled you are." Seeker said as Violet smiled and spoke up while patting Seeker on the head fondly.

"Thanks. But you've got some potential yourself. Once we get you an actual Persona and a lot of training, you'll be keeping up with me in no time, Seeker. Also, I find it incredibly flattering to hear that you're already that admiring of me." Violet said as Joker spoke up from nearby to remind the girls that he and the guys had cleared up the rest of the enemies.

"Having a bit of girl time, you two? I can't say that I mind it all that much, but I do hope that you both made sure that you cleared your end out first so you don't get jumped while doing so." Joker said bluntly as Violet smirked and spoke up.

"Way ahead of you, Joker. We cleared the enemies out swiftly, while I showed Seeker here a few things. I think she's going to be a fine asset to our team once she's a bit more experienced." Violet said proudly as Mona smirked and spoke up.

"Of course she is. Lady Seeker's already shown us that she possesses immeasurable promise and potential. So I have faith, pun not intended, that she could become an invaluable asset to us soon enough." Mona said proudly as Seeker gave Mona a grateful look, eventually speaking up after surprising the feline by hugging him gently.

"Thank you, Mona. It means a lot you already believe in me that much." Seeker said honestly, not seeing Mona get a bit embarrassed at Seeker's praise while he spoke up.

"It was nothing, Lady Seeker. A gentleman like myself would do no less than encourage a lady, after all." Mona said as Oracle booed playfully and spoke up.

"Get your own lines, Mona! That line only works when it's coming from Draconis, and you know it!" Oracle teased Mona, who huffed as Seeker smiled at him and spoke up reassuringly while lightly patting him on the shoulder.

"Cheer up, Mona. I thought you sounded cool." Seeker said, making Mona smile as Noir spoke up.

"Wow, you guys! We did it! That ambush was a real success." Noir said as Fox spoke up with a nod.

"Indeed. It's been quite some time since we fought last, but my body is still ready for more." Fox said as Mona nodded his agreement with Fox's sentiment as he spoke up.

"Agreed. Also, they'll go a lot smoother whenever we ambush them like that, too." Mona said as Seeker spoke up.

"I get it. So the more efficiently we ambush them, the better our odds of success become?" Seeker asked uncertainly. Mona smiled at Seeker and spoke up.

"Close, Lady Seeker. But it's more apt to say that the more efficiently we ambush the enemy, the smoother the battle should go. Alternatively, on the other hand? If we're spotted, they'll get the upper hand against us. And we want to avoid that if we can, so everyone keep sharp out there." Mona said as the group nodded before Oracle spoke up, choosing to not remark on how shyly Seeker smiled at Mona in response to his words to her.

"Right. I guess now we just push forward and see what we see? In that case, navigator at the ready!" Oracle said as Violet spoke up.

"You're our navigator, Oracle. This much is true. But you know as well as I do that you also have a combat-specced Persona too." Violet pointed out as Oracle childishly stuck her tongue out at Violet in response as she spoke up.

"True, but at this point, I lean more towards my navigation Persona. Besides, Draconis has my beam staff in the back of his car, so I can't fight that much anyways until he's back in town, since I forgot to get it before he left. I mean, I have my ranged weapon, but that's not gonna amount to much in a close-range fight." Oracle pointed out as Violet shrugged and the group kept clearing the area they were in out of Shadows. As they did so, Joker had Skull and Fox switch teams so that Skull was on the front lines, and Fox on the back lines. After reaching the next area, Oracle reached a hand out to stop the group as she spoke up.

"Hang on there, everyone! Searchlights confirmed!" Oracle said as the group saw that sure enough the area ahead was in fact bathed in the glow of searchlights, making the group frown as Oracle kept speaking.

"As you might have guessed, getting spotted by a searchlight'll mean nothing short of big trouble. And by that, I mean the surrounded in no time and put into a potentially unwinnable battle type of big trouble." Oracle said as Mona spoke up.

"Right. Shadows are patrolling too, after all. So it's not a surprise that security is tight here, or at least it's not a surprise to me. I can understand if some of our newer recruits, like Lady Seeker, might be a bit surprised, but otherwise, it should really go without saying." Mona said as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"Understandable. And to be honest? A frontal assault sounds like it might be out of the picture. So let's see if we have anything else here we can make use of." Oracle said as the group kept moving. Not long afterwards, Joker spotted a side path and nudged Mona to get his attention, speaking up once Mona was looking at him.

"Hey, doesn't that seem like a ledge we can hop up over there on the side of that building? Maybe we can find a side path up that way to follow?" Joker suggested as Mona blinked but nodded and spoke up.

"Makes sense to me, Joker." Mona said as Joker turned to the others and spoke up.

"Everyone! We're going over to that building there since there's ledges we can hop up over there, and possibly a path too." Joker said as the group nodded and kept moving. As the group kept moving, they eventually reached an upper path where Panther spoke up.

"Hey, look! Maybe we can get in there." Panther said as Mona spoke up.

"Great! If we run along there, getting into the castle should be a cinch." Mona said as the camera panned to show more search lights on a ledge above them, making Fox frown as he spoke up.

"But there are more searchlights. How will we get past?" Fox asked as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Good question. Well, they're seemingly smaller than the other ones, so why don't we try sneakin' past?" Skull suggested as Violet blinked and spoke up.

"That's an option, but weren't you not that good at sneaking the last time I checked, Skull?" Violet asked as Joker laughed and spoke up.

"To be fair, he did almost get us caught a few time during our Palace runs, but for the most part, he's a competent sneaker. But I do agree we have to exercise caution when sneaking past the searchlights." Joker said as Seeker nodded and spoke up.

"Understood. Exercise caution in front of searchlights. I've got it." Seeker said as the group kept moving. After hopping across the ledges to the path where the searchlight was, the group went to start sneaking, only to make a backwards leap to avoid the barrage of bullets sprayed at them. After they were out of reach, Skull spoke up with wide eyes.

"Wha-? Holy shit!" Skull said as Noir spoke up.

"We can't go any further! They're firing on anything within range." Noir said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed, Noir. Oracle, can you find a way to shut them down?" Mona asked as Oracle spoke up.

"Just a sec, Mona. Let me see what I can do. Analyzing the lasers. Hm. Yesss! Got it! The searchlights' power source is south of here!" Oracle said as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"South, you say? Yeah, which way's that?" Panther asked as both Skull and Queen blinked at Panther not knowing her directions before Oracle spoke up.

"Let me rephrase that. From here, in reality, the power source should be somewhere around Maruku City. Must be some sorta facility providing power over there." Oracle said as Mona spoke up.

"I see. All right, off to Maruku City! Let's move out." Mona said as the group made their way out of the area and back to where they'd entered it from. Once there, Noir frowned and spoke up.

"Hmm. The Jail looks like Shibuya, but the layout isn't exactly the same, as it turns out. I'm worried we'll get ourselves lost." Noir said as the camera swept around to show the area the group was in while Oracle spoke up.

"Yeah, you should keep tabs on your location or that'll probably happen!" Oracle said as the group went around a few corners and found the area they needed to go to. Once in the next area, Oracle spoke up.

"Maruku City's straight ahead from here. I'll highlight it on your map." Oracle said as the group made to keep moving, only for Mona to speak up and stop them.

"Wait, I hear a sentry!" Mona said as the group ducked behind cover as the Shadow moved away. Afterwards, Skull spoke up irately.

"Oh, great. Once that thing sees us, Shadows are just gonna start pourin' in." Skull said as Mona spoke up.

"Agreed. We should avoid all head-on conflict when possible. Life only gets harder when they're on high alert." Mona said as Seeker blinked and spoke up.

"Ah, you're saying we should try to avoid being spotted whenever possible? Or am I understanding you wrong, Mona?" Seeker asked as Mona spoke up.

"No, that's basically right, Lady Seeker. But there is something to be said for being mindful of the Security Level in this Jail. We could end up in trouble if that gets too high. And if we're spotted too many times, we'll have no choice but to come back here later." Mona said as Seeker smiled understandingly at Mona before she spoke up.

"I got it. I will strive to be as stealthy and cautious as possible, then." Seeker said as the group advanced away and up some ledges out of sight. Once there, Fox blinked and spoke up.

"There's a sentry here as well." Fox said as Skull spoke up.

"I see. Guess we'll just have to take that one out, then." Skull said as Mona spoke up.

"True. But it looks like it hasn't noticed us yet, though." Mona said as the camera panned to a hanging balloon in the shape of a wrapped candy while Mona kept speaking.

"Joker, think you could pull off an ambush from over there?" Mona asked Joker, who nodded and spoke up.

"Should be easy enough. Let's do it." Joker said as the group kept moving. After managing to ambush the enemy, a battle started. Joker smirked as he pulled his mask off and summoned Raoul, who dropped an orb of super-charged Curse energy onto the enemy to weaken it, after which the others helped wipe the enemies out with an All-Out Attack. After they moved forward a bit more, Noir spoke up as the camera panned to where a pair of enemies were guarding a treasure chest.

"Oh! A treasure chest!" Noir said as Skull spoke up.

"Shit yeah! Let's stomp those guys and loot that thing!" Skull said as Seeker tilted her head to the side in confusion as she spoke up.

"Um, is it really going to be that simple, though?" Seeker asked as Violet spoke up.

"Probably not, but let's defer to Oracle's judgment here. Mainly since she's the tech and Metaverse guru of the group, as well the one with the keenest instincts in Draconis' absence. I'd have said the go-to tactician as well, but that's moreso Queen's specialty than Oracle's, even when Draconis is here." Violet said as Oracle spoke up.

"Violet and Seeker are correct. That security chest has a treasure system! If the security here gets too high, the chest is shielded util things quiet back down again." Oracle said as Seeker spoke up with a smile.

"I see. If enemies spot us too many times, no treasure for us. Got it." Seeker said as Violet smiled and spoke up.

"Wow, very observant and perceptive of you, Seeker. I'm impressed." Violet said as Seeker bounced up and down cutely while accepting Violet's praise. After sweeping up the enemies and opening up the chest for a 'Terror Claw' Skill Card, the group eliminated a few more enemies on the way before advancing until Oracle spoke up to stop them.

"Stooooooop! Maruku City's right here." Oracle said as the camera showed what appeared to be a wall, making Skull frown as he spoke up.

"You mean on the other side of that?" Skull said as Queen spoke up while giving Skull an encouraging smile.

"Seems like it, sweetie. I don't see a way to open the gate, either. Looks like we need an alternative." Queen said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"Such as? I don't think we'll be able to climb that." Fox said as the camera panned to show climbable ledges behind the group while Mona spoke up.

"Look over there, you guys. What if we tried going up that way? At the very least, we might spot a way around this from up there." Mona said as Panther spoke up with a slight smile.

"Good idea, Mona. Let's hop on up." Panther said as the group hopped up the ledges and Mona spoke up after looking around.

"Hmm, we still can't see what's going on inside. We'll just have to get even higher. Let's see, where's the tallest building around here?" Mona said as the camera panned over to a building with the words 'Tea Party' on it in bright neon lettering. Mona smirked at this and spoke up.

"Bingo! Let's try getting to that one's roof!" Mona said as Oracle spoke up.

"Right! Roger that, changing destination for the group. All right, well, I think we can make it up there if we follow those balloons!" Oracle said as Violet smirked and spoke up while looking at Joker.

"Hey, Joker. Didn't you tell me once that Draconis gets a bit squeamish around balloons for some reason?" Violet asked as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"I did indeed. But in his defense, some friggin' asshole in our class played a prank when we were all younger that involved them inflating a head-shaped balloon and letting it float straight up into a fan and burst, right in front of Draconis. Needless to say, it horrified and slightly traumatized him to see that. And as a result of that, Draconis flinches slightly when he sees a balloon nowadays, though he's toned it back quite a bit the last I heard." Joker said as Mona and Seeker exchanged confused looks as the former spoke up.

"Huh. Wouldn't have pegged Draconis for being afraid of balloons, of all things. But I suppose it is what it is." Mona said as Seeker blinked and spoke up.

"Um, but didn't you guys also mention once that he has a similar issue with the dark too?" Seeker asked as Joker spoke up.

"Correction, Seeker. He USED TO have that issue. But unlike his issues with balloons, Draconis more or less got over his issue with the dark already." Joker said as Queen spoke up.

"Anyways, getting back on topic, so we can use those balloons to cross the rooftops? Great! Let's keep our eyes open for any balloons." Queen said as the group kept moving. After clearing out a bunch of enemies, the group leapt down to the ground as Seeker blinked and spoke up.

"Hm? One moment. Something is nearby." Seeker said as Skull blinked and spoke up.

"Something? What kinda something?" Skull asked as Seeker blinked and spoke up.

"Um, it is a sort of space. Connected to, well, somewhere." Seeker said as Oracle's eyes widened behind her over-sized visor which had red orbs over where her eyes wide be while she spoke up.

"Hmmm!? Hey, Seeker! You're right! It's like the space here is being warped somehow. And more than that, it seems to be connected to, of all places, the Crossing?" Oracle said as Noir spoke up.

"Hm? As in, the Crossing where we first entered the Jail?" Noir asked as Mona spoke up.

"I see. Sooo, if we use this, we'll go back to the entrance?" Mona asked as Queen spoke up.

"Well, if nothing else, it sounds like moving between the Jail and the real world will make our resupply efforts at least a bit easier." Queen said as Oracle spoke up.

"That's it. I'm callin' this a checkpoint! Go ahead and give it a spin so the location registers." Oracle said as the group headed towards the checkpoint. After doing some restocking and such, the group kept moving. While clearing out Shadows, Mona hit level 6 and got the healing skill Media, making him smirk as he spoke up.

"Heh, this new skill suits me!" Mona said as Violet smirked and spoke up.

"The new skill might, but I know we've told you before that the cocky attitude you get on getting a new skill does NOT suit you, regardless of if you're trying to imitate Joker and Draconis or not." Violet said as Seeker cocked her head to the side in confusion as she spoke up.

"Wait, he's imitating Joker and Draconis? I was not aware of this. I thought it was just Mona being Mona?" Seeker said as Oracle spoke up.

"Not in the slightest, Seeker. You see, he started doing this after Joker over there got rather creative and overconfident in his level-up brags. Despite Crow and Draconis' best efforts to curb that tendency, it managed to influence Mona into doing the same. So if you were going to say it's just Mona being adorable, it's really not. But I guess I can't fault you for thinking so, since Mona does take the form of a cute, cuddly kitty cat normally. So it's not a surprise if you find him cute." Oracle said as Mona hissed at Oracle and spoke up.

"Dang it, Oracle! I might look like a cat, but I am NOT an ordinary cat! At least address my form with the proper respect if you're gonna call me a cat." Mona said huffily as Seeker patted Mona on the shoulder and spoke up reassuringly while looking into Mona's eyes with a kind yet adorable smile.

"Can I be honest? I really don't mind that you look the way you do, Mona. It's rather unique and cute, in an adorable sort of way that only you can manage." Seeker said comfortingly as Mona turned to smile gratefully at Seeker before he spoke up, not seeing the subtle hint of pink on Seeker's cheeks as she looked at Mona's smile.

"L-Lady Seeker? Thank you. Nice to know that you respect and appreciate me." Mona said happily as the group kept moving. After navigating a few ledges and upper leaps, the group eventually arrived at a point with a good view, where Mona hopped up and down excitedly as he spoke up.

"Whoa, this is amazing! What a view, huh guys?" Mona asked excitedly as next to him, Seeker nodded her agreement with a wry smile. On Mona's other side, Skull frowned and spoke up while pointing towards what looked like a giant birdcage in the distance.

"True. Hey, what's that birdcage-lookin' thing there?" Skull asked as Violet spoke up.

"Good question, Skull. But more importantly, look inside the cage." Violet said as Panther saw what Violet was pointing at and smiled as she spoke up.

"Ooh! There's something shiny in it." Panther said as Noir's eyes widened while she spoke up.

"Oh? Could it possibly be a Treasure!?" Noir asked as Mona spoke up with a frown.

"No, I don't think so, Noir. I'm not getting Treasure vibes from it. It looks the same, but it's actually totally different." Mona said as Oracle spoke up.

"True. I'm picking up a really strong vibe from it. It's connected to the searchlights, too. If we take it, I think we'll cut the power to the searchlights!" Oracle said as the others turned to face Oracle, at which point Fox spoke up.

"It seems that is our next step. Let us advance towards the tower." Fox said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Buuut, how do we get up that thing?" Skull asked as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"You have a point, sweetie. I don't think I see anything resembling an entrance over there." Queen said as Joker blinked at this, having an idea come to him as he spoke up.

"Perhaps, but if we can't find an entrance, what say we go in from below?" Joker suggested. Seeker bounced up and down excitedly as she realized what Joker meant and spoke up.

"Ooh, I see where you're going with this. Slick plan, Joker." Seeker said as Violet smiled proudly and spoke up.

"Yep. Joker usually does have pretty wise plans when he does make them. And that's at least partially why he's our leader, as well as why I staked dibs on being his girlfriend." Violet said primly. Mona then looked and Joker and spoke up.

"Oh? You want to go in from below, Joker? How so?" Mona asked as Seeker smiled at Mona and spoke up.

"Think about it, Mona. Below us is an underground waterway. Remember?" Seeker pointed out as Mona frowned in confusion before Skull's eyes widened in realization as he spoke up.

"Ohh, that's right! I get it now! Nice call, Joker and Seeker!" Skull said as Joker winced and spoke up.

"Yes, well, at the risk of upsetting Violet here, I think we have Alice to thank for my idea, since she was the one who dumped us down there in the first place." Joker said as Violet cutely huffed and spoke up.

"Did you HAVE to bring that cringy bitch up, Joker? But you're not wrong that it's because of her you got that idea. So I can let it slide this time." Violet said huffily as Joker gently pulled Violet into a comforting hug and spoke up with a smile while looking into Violet's eyes through his mask, or what of them he could see behind her mask.

"It's okay, Violet. I know you're not a fan of Alice's after what she did to me. I understand that. But she's not the woman I fell in love with and made my girlfriend. You are. So don't feel so threatened by her. You're the only woman I want to be with." Joker said reassuringly as he leaned in to kiss Violet, not caring that there were a lot of witnesses to what he was doing to Violet. Violet smiled happily as she gave a light 'mmm' of appreciation in response to Joker's non-verbal reassurance before she spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Joker. You're right. I can't help but feel uneasy whenever you're near another woman. Maybe it's just the part of me who fears being left behind again talking, but I can't help but be afraid that you might find someone you like more than me and leave me. And I'll be honest? I think that would devastate me if that happened. I love you so much, Joker." Violet said as Joker spoke up.

"I thought that might be the case, beautiful. I love you too, Violet." Joker said as Mona spoke up.

"Aww, look at the lovebirds reaffirming their feelings for one another. As sweet and touching as this moment is, I have to wonder about something. Is the middle of a Jail really the place for it? That said, your suggestion of going in from below sounds like the best idea to me, too. Let's do it!" Mona said as Seeker smiled and spoke up.

"I agree with Mona. We should make haste." Seeker said as she smiled wryly, not voicing her thoughts that she found Joker and Violet to be super adorable as a couple. Oddly enough, she also found herself wondering if maybe one day she could find someone that looks at her the way that Joker looks at Violet. But Seeker pushed the thought out of her head to focus as Violet saw the contemplative look on Seeker's face and spoke up.

"Lost in thought there, Seeker? Gotta stay focused on the mission, you know." Violet teased Seeker as Oracle spoke up.

"You have no room to talk about being lost in thought, Violet. You literally almost derailed the mission to basically confess your feelings to Joker all over again. So don't tease Seeker for having a momentary distraction. After all, anyone would probably be distracted if they heard you and Joker whispering sweet nothings back and forth to each other during a mission." Oracle rebuked Violet as Joker spoke up while giving her his best mixed reproving/admonishing glare through his mask.

"That's rich, coming from the girl who spent half a spaceport maze cuddled into Draconis' chest because she was scared. Behave, Oracle." Joker rebuked Oracle, who huffed as Violet smiled and spoke up.

"Now there's a nice throwback. I forgot you used to have to rebuke her like that a lot after I joined, Joker." Violet said wryly as Joker nodded and the group kept moving. After eliminating a tough Shadow, Skull hit level 6 and Seiten Taisei learned the support skill 'Tarukaja', making him smirk as he spoke up.

"Gettin' stronger every day!" Skull said as Queen smirked and spoke up.

"Got that right, sweetie. And I admire that you never stop trying to better yourself." Queen said fondly as Seiten Taisei acquired 'Tarukaja' as the group kept moving. After a stop to restock their supplies and catch their breath, the group continued mowing through the Shadows in their way, during which time Panther hit level 6 and Hecate learned the support skill 'Tarunda', making her smirk as she spoke up.

"I got a new skill!" Panther said as Mona smirked and spoke up.

"Nice one, Lady Panther! You haven't lost your touch!" Mona said appreciatively, not seeing the confused and uncertain look Seeker gave him as he complimented Panther while Hecate acquired 'Tarunda' and the group kept moving. After taking out more tough enemies, Queen hit level 6 and Anat gained the support skill 'Rakukaja', making her smirk as she spoke up.

"Awesome! I can't wait to try this one out!" Queen said as Skull fist-bumped her and spoke up.

"Truth, babe! That skill looks amazing! Well done." Skull praised Queen as Anat acquired 'Rakukaja'. Once the group kept moving, Joker wasted little time in leading them into the underground waterway that he and the others had previously gotten away from with Seeker's help. Once inside, Oracle spoke up.

"Hm. It looks like this tunnel eventually leads right under Maruku City." Oracle said as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"Tunnel? Looks more like a sewer to me. And there's no easy way to get to the other side from what I can see." Queen said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Welp, looks like we're swimmin'." Skull said as Panther winced and spoke up.

"WHAT!? No, no, no. I am NOT swimming in THAT. Not happening!" Panther said as Violet spoke up with a frown.

"Agreed. And not only that, but I'm fairly sure most, if not all of us, didn't think to wear our bathing suits under our Phantom Thief attire. Not that we'd dirty them swimming in such filthy water." Violet said as Seeker cocked her head and spoke up.

"Filthy water? I didn't think that water looked that contaminated?" Seeker asked as Mona turned to her and spoke up.

"Not to be crass around a lady, but that water down there is basically what is flushed away after someone uses the bathroom. So it's basically potty water, for lack of a more appropriate way to put it. So I would NOT advise swimming in it if you can avoid it, Lady Seeker." Mona said as Noir winced and spoke up.

"Well put, Mona. Truth be told, I would prefer not to as well if it can be avoided. Can't we search for another way?" Noir asked as Mona blinked, noticing a nearby grate as he spoke up.

"Hm? Wait a minute. Hey, check out the grate. What do you guys think? Could we use that to get around?" Mona asked as Oracle spoke up.

"Yeah. It's worth a try!" Oracle said as Skull grinned and fist-bumped Joker while speaking up.

"Yo, Joker. You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Skull asked as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"The return of Joker the Vent Slayer?" Joker asked as Skull grinned and spoke up while clapping Joker on the shoulder happily.

"Hell yeah, Joker! Use your mighty boot and destroy that vent to make a path forward for us." Skull said as Seeker blinked at Skull's remark and spoke up.

"Mighty boot? Joker the Vent Slayer? I don't get it." Seeker said as Mona sighed, not surprised by Seeker's words as he spoke up.

"That's understandable, Lady Seeker. You weren't around for any of it, so of course you're going to be confused. But let me try and explain it if I can for you. Basically, sometimes we'd run into puzzles in our runs through the Palaces, and on a couple of occasions, we found out rather inadvertently that Joker's boot was so solid and durable that he could literally kick through certain things to break them. As I recall, he's used that ability to smash through electrical boxes, vents, and even a window once, hence 'Joker's mighty boot'.

The 'Joker the Vent Slayer' bit is a bit of an inside joke with Joker and Skull because he used his boot to break a vent to get us into a fitting room once during a Palace infiltration. I know that last one sounds crass and vulgar, but it was needed for the good of the mission. And because of how sturdy it is, Joker and Skull both took to calling it 'Joker's mighty boot' as a nickname of sorts, which pretty well stuck for them, much to the annoyance of most of the others. Does that answer your question?" Mona asked Seeker, who smiled gratefully at Mona and spoke up.

"Yes, it does. Thank you, Mona." Seeker said, lightly patting Mona on the head appreciatively, smirking at the sound of the almost involuntary purr Mona was giving off from Seeker's touch. Joker saw this and nudged Oracle to get her attention before speaking up while jerking a thumb towards Seeker and Mona as he spoke up.

"Hey, Oracle. 2000 yen says Mona starts simping for Seeker instead of Noir and/or Panther. You in?" Joker asked Oracle, who turned before blinking and smirking as she saw the innocent yet adorable moment between Seeker and Mona and spoke up.

"Done. But I'll make it 4000 yen that says it ends up amounting to a possible one-sided crush on Seeker's side, which would be ironic if it happened that way, what with the fact that Mona usually ends up as the one who has the unrequited crushes." Oracle said as Joker thought about it and nodded his agreement before speaking up once more.

"Done. Shake on it?" Joker said as Oracle smirked and shook hands with Joker to seal the bet, ignoring Violet's fond shaking of her head at the renewal of the Phantom Thieves tradition of betting on one another's lives. Violet personally found it ironic that said tradition was somehow still thriving despite the absence of Draconis, who is usually the one to instigate said bets.

The group then kept moving after an embarrassed Mona turned away once Seeker stopped petting him, not seeing the fond smile on Seeker's face, nor the almost imperceptible hint of pink on Seeker's cheeks as a result. After Joker got the vent off, the group started filing into the vent, single-file, to start crawling through it, the order of the group filing in going Joker, Violet, Seeker, Mona, Panther, Skull, Queen, Oracle, Noir, and finally Fox. As the group kept crawling, Skull winced and spoke up.

"Ow, crap. I keep runnin' into Panther's boots back here and they hurt." Skull said as Panther huffed and spoke up.

"Yes, well, run into anything else back there, and you'll see how much damage they can really do." Panther said as Skull winced and spoke up.

"Please, don't! I'll be good, I swear!" Skull said as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"Panther, I know you're just covering your own bases, but can you not threaten Skull around me, please? Besides, I'm sure he'd much rather be running into me like that than you. No offense, Panther." Queen said as Panther smiled and spoke up.

"None taken, Queen. I'll try to not threaten him around you. Sorry." Panther said as Mona smirked and spoke up.

"Can you blame Lady Panther, though? Skull is kind of a vulgar cretin at times, so it's not her fault she'd assume the worst at times." Mona said as Panther smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you, Mona! You get it." Panther said gratefully as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. That's right. I totally get-MMPH!" Mona said, being cut off mid-sentence as he crashed face-first into something solid in front of him, halting his progress and prompting him to instinctively throw his paw out to stop the others from running into him. After he started looking at what he'd crashed into, Mona's face went bright red in mixed embarrassment and humiliation as he realized that the solid something he'd crashed into on accident was in fact Seeker's butt, as she'd stopped short to avoid crashing into Violet, who'd stopped short after Joker stopped her so they could eavesdrop on Skull and Panther. Once Mona realized what he'd done, he spoke up.

"O-Oh! My goodness! I'm so sorry, Lady Seeker! It was a total accident that I ran into your butt the way I did! Please don't be mad at me for being so brazen and inappropriate with you." Mona said sheepishly as Seeker smiled prettily at Mona and spoke up.

"It's quite all right, Mona. I barely felt it, and I know you didn't mean to. Don't feel bad. Besides, your whiskers kinda tickled me a bit when you ran into me." Seeker said honestly, before blushing in embarrassment at what she'd said. Mona smiled and spoke up.

"Well, even so, I shouldn't be doing that. A gentleman does not violate a lady's personal space like I did. But I appreciate your understanding. I assure you I will endeavor to never do that again, unless you ask me to do so." Mona said as Seeker spoke up with a shy smile after patting Mona on the head reassuringly.

"Thank you, Mona. But if we're being honest, that was also partly my fault for not warning you that I had to come to a halt. For some reason, both Joker and Violet stopped to eavesdrop on Skull and Panther's conversation. So I'm sorry for not warning you ahead of time about that." Seeker said as Mona spoke up.

"I forgive you, Lady Seeker. Let's both agree that this was a learning experience and leave it at that." Mona said as Oracle smirked and spoke up from the back.

"I don't even know what just happened, but judging from Mona's tone and reactions, I'm sure it was both very adorable and very cute. Mwehehe." Oracle said as the line started moving again. After the group emerged from another vent onto the other side, Mona smirked as he saw the group was on the ledge they'd seen before.

"Nice! We came out right where we wanted to after using that vent!" Mona said as Noir spoke up.

"Neat. We can use that vent to get around easier, then." Noir said as Seeker spoke up.

"We can use vents to get around? Ah, I see. Very thief-y." Seeker said as Violet frowned and spoke up.

"Umm, Seeker? I think it's adorable that you're trying to fit in, but I really don't think that 'thief-y' is even a word, necessarily. So maybe your dictionary needs to be updated?" Violet said uncertainly as Oracle spoke up.

"Of course it is, Violet! And Seeker, you'll get it soon enough. We ARE the Phantom Thieves, after all. Just stick with us, and you'll learn the ways of the Phantom Thief soon enough." Oracle said as Joker spoke up.

"As long as that's ALL she learns. I'm sure Violet's not the only one who'd prefer that Seeker NOT be corrupted by your weird ways, Oracle." Joker said as Violet gave him a grateful smile while the group kept moving. As the group followed the waterway around, they noticed a ladder leading upwards in a room out in the open. Mona saw this and smirked as he spoke up.

"Aha. I'll bet THAT leads to the surface." Mona said as Seeker nodded her agreement and spoke up.

"I'm inclined to agree with Mona on this." Seeker said. Before anyone else could speak, a huge army of Shadows spawned in, one of the sentries speaking up.

"Hm? Who the hell are you!?" The sentry asked as Violet spoke up.

"Oh, come on! They had a trap THIS close to the exit? SERIOUSLY!? Dammit." Violet said as Oracle spoke up.

"Waugh! Busted! Can't have these guys raise a fuss about us! Get rid of 'em, quick!" Oracle said as a battle started. While the group worked together to fight off the Shadows, Joker and Violet smirked as the latter spoke up.

"Joker, let's combine our Persona's powers and try to thin the enemy's numbers a bit!" Violet said as Joker spoke up.

"Sounds like a plan to me, Violet." Joker said as Violet nodded and the two spoke up.

"COME, RAOUL!/LET'S DANCE, ELLA!" Joker and Violet said as they summoned Raoul and Ella, having the two use their strongest attacks to create a giant orb of mixed Bless and Curse energy, which then was dropped onto the enemy formation, destroying them on the spot. Afterwards, Oracle spoke up.

"Not bad, you two. Now that that's done, if there's no more surprises for us, it's out of the tunnel and up to the surface we go." Oracle said as the group nodded and started climbing the ladder up to escape the tunnel. While they did so, none of the others noticed the slightly admiring look on Seeker's face as she looked at Joker and Violet. After the group had climbed out of the tunnel, Oracle smiled and spoke up.

"Joker's plan worked! We're just on the other side of the wall! Well done, Thieves!" Oracle said as the group kept moving. While clearing out the Shadows in Maruku City, Noir hit level 6 and Astarte got the medium-tier Gun skill 'Snap', making her smile as she spoke up.

"Oh, a new move! Awesome!" Haru said as Astarte acquired 'Snap'. From there, the group kept moving. After a bit, the group eventually arrived inside of a tower, at which point Skull spoke up with wide eyes.

"Hey, what's goin' on here!?" Skull asked as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"Good question, sweetie. Are these all supposed to be jail cells?" Queen asked as Violet spoke up.

"I think so, Queen. Yet at the same time, I can't help but have flashbacks to both the depths of Mementos and somewhat Maruki's Palace, probably because of the fact that I was on the squad that had to go and save Draconis from the miserable detention level that he was trapped on." Violet said as Noir spoke up before Seeker could voice her confusion at what Violet had brought up.

"Oh! Look at all the prisoners!" Noir asked as Queen spoke up.

"I wonder. Are these the people whose Desires were taken?" Queen asked as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"I think so, Queen. I see some familiar faces. There's no doubt in my mind that these are the same victims." Mona said as Fox spoke up with a frown.

"I see. So we've discovered where they're being held, it would seem." Fox said as Violet spoke up.

"Seems like it, Fox. Somehow, it doesn't surprise me that Alice would be that sort of messed up." Violet said bitterly. Panther stamped a foot and spoke up.

"I agree, Violet! What Alice is doing is unacceptable! But never mind that now! We have to rescue them!" Panther said as Mona shook his head and spoke up.

"No, Lady Panther. Considering their behavior, it wouldn't help letting them out now." Mona said as Fox winced and spoke up.

"Mona has a point. IF they've lost their minds from having their Desires stolen, they'll need them returned first before we can rescue them." Fox said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Shit, this is effed up! How could someone do this to people?" Skull said as at that moment, a sentry spawned in and spoke up on seeing the group.

"Huh? Where'd you come from!" The sentry said as Mona winced and spoke up.

"Ngh, we're busted. Let's get 'em, Joker!" Mona said wisely as Joker nodded and a battle started. As the group fought off the enemies, Skull and Queen moved back-to-back as they fought their way through a bunch of Shadows. As the group kept fighting, Mona and Seeker each leapt onto candy-shaped balloons, and dropped them onto the enemies, setting up for an All-Out Attack while Joker used his pistol to pick off a couple of stray sentry ships not caught in the blast radius of Mona and Seeker's improvised combo move. After the battle was over, Oracle spoke up.

"All right! Now that the enemies are gone, the tower itself is all that's left! Come on, move those knees up and down! One, two! One, two!" Oracle said as Violet winced and spoke up.

"Oracle? Are you sure you didn't somehow inadvertently manage to channel both Crow and Draconis right now? Because I feel like that's the sort of push they'd give us to keep going." Violet said as Oracle shrugged and spoke up.

"Don't think so. Besides, Crow would be way more bloodthirsty about it and we both know it, Violet. As for Draconis? If I did channel him, I don't mind. After all, he IS my boyfriend." Oracle said coyly as the group kept moving. After sprinting up the sweeping stairs, the group found themselves in the room where the glowing object was. As they reached the top, Skull grinned and spoke up.

"Oh yeah, we made it!" Skull said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"All right, let's check out that light!" Mona said sagely as Joker nodded and ran forward to seize the glowing object, which was revealed to be a 'Pop Dress'. Fox frowned at the object as he spoke up.

"So that was the searchlights' power source?" Fox asked as the group looked over the dress while Noir spoke up.

"Is that supposed to be a dress? If so, it is rather cute." Noir said as Violet spoke up.

"This dress is, yes. The version that Alice wears? Not so much. I literally wanted to throw up in my mouth when I saw it on Alice for the first time, but refrained out of respect for Joker, Mona, and Skull." Violet said as Joker smiled and put an arm comfortingly around Violet on instinct. Panther blinked at the dress and spoke up.

"Wait a minute. I've seen this before somewhere. Oh, wait. I remember now! It's a dress in Alice's lineup. I recognize it from a fashion magazine." Panther said as Skull blinked and spoke up.

"Wait, THAT dress made those searchlights move? Howzat make any sense?" Skull asked as Queen smiled at Skull and spoke up.

"Well, we're in the cognitive world, sweetie. Maybe it holds some sort of power here?" Queen suggested as Joker spoke up.

"Hmm. I don't think it's her Treasure, but I also don't think this is the power source. Or at least not all of it? Truth be told, I have no idea what to make of this." Joker said. Skull nodded understandingly as he spoke up.

"I hear ya, Joker. None of this is makin' sense to me." Skull said as Mona spoke up uncertainly.

"Good point, Skull. I wonder if this somehow represents a Monarch's power? Too bad Draconis wasn't here right now. I bet he'd have some keen insight into things. He usually does tend to have surprising perspectives on things that can often open a new angle to view things from." Mona said as Seeker spoke up while cutely yet reassuringly smiling at Mona.

"I don't know who this Draconis is that you've mentioned, other than he's a noted ally of the Phantom Thieves. But what I do know is that you've been pretty spot-on so far in your observations, Mona. So I'd trust your instincts in this instance." Seeker said kindly to Mona, who smiled at Seeker and spoke up.

"Thank you for the rather adorable vote of confidence, Lady Seeker. That said, if I'm right in my thinking, one could say that Alice's brand is, in essence, what allowed her to become who she is today. Proof of her dominance here. And this core must be the power source for the Jail's equipment." Mona said as Noir spoke up.

"Perhaps. Well, now that we have it in our possession, the searchlights should be off, right?" Noir said as Oracle shook her head and spoke up.

"Eh, I'm afraid not, Noir. It looks like two of them are still up and running. They've got their own cores powerin' 'em." Oracle said as Violet blinked and spoke up.

"There's three of them? Am I the only one who's getting strong flashbacks to the Will Seeds that we had to find in most Palaces?" Violet asked as Seeker spoke up.

"Will...Seeds? I don't get it." Seeker said as Violet smiled and spoke up.

"Oh, right. Forgot you weren't there for that, Seeker. Put simply, a Will Seed is an item that represents the coalesced power of a Palace's Ruler. And each Palace, with the exception of the depths of Mementos, which is a place we went to train in during our initial run as Phantom Thieves, had three Will Seeds in them. Once we got all three, they'd fuse together and turn into a usable accessory for us. And we were even able to find a little kid in Mementos who was able to upgrade the accessories to make them even better once we cleared the Palace we found a specific trio of Will Seeds in." Violet said as Oracle spoke up.

"Ah yes, I'd almost forgotten about Jose. I remember Draconis told me about one time that he, Joker, and Skull had to hold Mona back so he didn't try to fight Jose while he was hitting on Panther, who Mona has a bit of a crush on, even if it's an unrequited crush. But Draconis always would tell Mona he shouldn't get so fixated on Panther, since he might find an even better woman for him when he least expects it.

And to answer your other question, Seeker? Draconis is Joker's younger brother, who is also a Phantom Thief, in addition to being my boyfriend. But for now, he's out of town on a mission of some sort. I have my theories as to what that mission could be, but no concrete evidence to prove them. So they will continue to remain just that for now, theories that I can't prove at this time. But back on topic, the first of the cores I sensed is east of here. Real world location-wise, however? I'd say that it's located around Miyamae Park." Oracle said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"For real!? What a pain in the ass this is turning out to be. Well, let's get it over with!" Skull said as Violet spoke up.

"Agreed, Skull. And Seeker, don't worry about it. If I'm right, you'll have a chance to meet Draconis for yourself soon enough. And if I had to guess, I'd say the same holds true for our other missing teammate, Crow, as well. But that one I'm less certain of." Violet said as Noir spoke up.

"Yes, well, I wonder if the other cores are in jail-cell-covered towers like this one was." Noir said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"Some form of shorthand reference would be more convenient. How does 'Incarceration Zone' sound?" Fox asked as Skull spoke up with a frown.

"Um, in-cars-or, uhh, what? Dude, why the hell would we call it that?" Skull asked as Seeker spoke up.

"I disagree with Fox's suggestion. 'Incarceration Zone' sounds insufficiently shorthand to suit our needs." Seeker said as Mona spoke up.

"Hmm. Well, these places are for protecting each one of the power sources for a Jail, aren't they? So in that case, how about we call them 'Prison Keeps'?" Mona suggested as Seeker smiled and spoke up.

"I like that suggestion, Mona. Very efficient and simple to say. I told you that you were smart." Seeker said approvingly as Violet blinked at the praise Seeker was giving Mona before turning to Joker and speaking up so only he could hear.

"Am I reading too much into this, or does Seeker seem like she might have a small little bit of a crush on Mona?" Violet asked Joker, who shrugged and spoke up.

"Not sure. Granted, it's entirely possible that Seeker merely is in love with the idea of liking Mona, since I think she saw us being affectionate to one another and thought it was something she'd want to emulate, and then Mona just happened to be the first one she noticed after thinking that. But then again, I also wouldn't be surprised if she did at least somewhat have feelings for Mona. But at the same time, I'd be more surprised if Mona realized that Seeker is potentially crushing on him and actually returned her feelings. After all, we both know how enamored he is with Panther." Joker pointed out as Violet nodded and spoke up with a slight frown.

"Good point. Well, let's just hope that Seeker doesn't end up finding out she does in fact have a heart, only to have it broken shortly after by Mona." Violet said warily as Joker nodded and the group kept moving. After getting back towards where they came in, Oracle's eyes widened as she spoke up.

"WHAT!? Ooh, look! The gate's open!" Oracle said as Noir spoke up.

"I wonder. Is it because we took the care? Whatever the case, we can get back without having to go underground." Noir said as both Violet and Panther cheered for this turn of events as Mona chuckled and spoke up.

"Heh, I see that enthusiasm, ladies! Right, then! Let's stroll on through and find the next keep!" Mona said as the group kept moving. After reaching Miyamae Park, the group had to duck behind some nearby boxes for cover as Oracle spoke up.

"Well, this is where Miyamae Park is in the real world." Oracle said as the camera panned upwards towards another giant birdcage with a glowing orb in it. After it panned back to the group, Seeker spoke up.

"I see. And is that our current destination?" Seeker asked as Mona spoke up with an approving nod.

"Correct, Lady Seeker. I do believe this is where Oracle projected the second Prison Keep to be located." Mona said as Skull spoke up in surprise.

"Yeah? Well, that didn't take long." Skull said as Queen frowned and spoke up while the camera panned to show that the second Prison Keep was as heavily fortified as the first was.

"Perhaps so. But unfortunately, this one doesn't appear any easier to breach, though." Queen said as the camera panned to show another path leading past the gate, at which point Mona spoke up.

"Seems accurate. Well, it looks like we're taking the long way 'round. That said, security is gonna be tight, everyone. So let's stay sharp." Mona said as Violet spoke up.

"Good call, Mona. Joker, we'll leave the command to you, as usual." Violet said as Joker nodded and the group kept moving. As the group moved forward after taking out a nearby sentry Shadow, they found their path forward barred by a small horde of Shadows as one of the sentries spoke up.

"Huh? Who's there!?" The sentry asked as the sentries shifted forms into forms that Joker recognized from his fusion forays as Mokois. At that point, Oracle spoke up.

"Uh-oh, busted! Take 'em out before they call for backup!" Oracle said as Joker nodded and the group charged into battle. After working together to wipe out the small army of Shadows, the group kept moving until Noir spoke up with a frown.

"Hm. I can't see an entrance anywhere." Noir said as Queen spoke up.

"Good point. Maybe we should gain some elevation?" Queen said as the others nodded before Fox spoke up as the camera panned to a nearby ledge.

"Hm? That spot seems rather odd, don't you think?" Fox said as Violet spoke up with a frown.

"Well, you would know about odd, Fox. After all, they say most artists and geniuses are a bit eccentric. And that's not a bad thing at all, just something unique about them." Violet said as Mona spoke up.

"True, but maybe we'll find something useful there? C'mon, let's check it out!" Mona said as the group kept moving. After a bit of further advance, the group found the path to the next Prison Keep. However, when they reached the entrance to the Keep, they were annoyed to find it blocked by what appeared to be a green cybernetic force field. Panther sighed and spoke up.

"For real!? Aw, another locked door? And we'd made it so far, too." Panther said as Oracle blinked and spoke up after noticing a terminal next to the force field.

"Hold up! I think I might be able to hack this." Oracle said as Skull grinned and spoke up.

"Ooh, for real!?" Skull said as Violet frowned at Skull and spoke up.

"No, she just said that to mess with us. Yes, for real. Have more faith in our navigator, Skull." Violet gently rebuked Skull, getting an amused smirk from Joker, who enjoyed letting his girlfriend do the scolding for him. Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"Violet's right, Skull. I like that she has faith in me for the most part. Anyways, let's check out the terminal over there. At the very least, I can give it a shot." Oracle said as the others nodded and moved over to the aforementioned terminal, where Oracle busied herself with examining it, muttering to herself as she did so.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, I see." Oracle said before she kept speaking at a level where the others could hear.

"Great! I should be able to work with this!" Oracle said as Mona spoke up.

"Okay then, Oracle. If you're sure you can do it, we'll leave the door to you. Good luck!" Mona said as Oracle nodded appreciatively before she spoke up.

"Mwehehe, thanks Mona! Time to get crackin'! Aaaaand, go!" Oracle said as a battle started while she started her hack. After a while of beating back Shadows, and doing a bit of fancy shredding on skateboards in Mona's case, Oracle smirked as she finished her hack.

"Aaaand, voila! Thanks for the backup, everyone! Yes, I did it! That really freaked me out for a bit there, to be honest. Thanks for having my back, everyone." Oracle said as Joker smiled at her and spoke up.

"Not a problem, little sis. I've said it before, and I'll probably end up saying it again. You're one of us, so of course we're going to have your back if you need it. And in Draconis' absence, it falls to me to watch over you if you need anything, as your pseudo-older brother figure." Joker said kindly to Oracle, who nodded as Seeker blinked at Joker's words and smiled to herself as she got lost in thought.

"Wow, that's so cool! Joker's so smooth and considerate. Still, I can't help but wonder if Mona's like that as well? If nothing else, he's been pretty nice to me so far. And I can't help but appreciate that about him." Seeker thought to herself as her attention was drawn back to the present as Fox spoke up.

"Yes, well, it seems as if any hacking attempts here are met with reinforcements." Fox said as Mona spoke up with a nod.

"Agreed. Just to be on the safe side, let's make sure Oracle's as prepared as possible from here on out." Mona said wisely as Violet spoke up.

"Right? It would be quite a shame if she were to come to harm because she was insufficiently equipped and/or prepared for a hack. Not to mention, how pissed off Draconis would be if he got back and found out something had happened to his girlfriend while he was gone." Violet said wisely as the group kept moving. As the group kept moving forward, Oracle spoke up to stop them.

"Wait, hold on! I'm picking up incoming Shadows!" Oracle said as a strong-looking Shadow spawned in as if summoned by her mentioning it. The strong Shadow spoke up.

"How'd you get in here!? Where are the guards!? In Her Majesty's name, you shall go no further!" The strong Shadow said as it shifted forms into what Joker recognized as as Archangel. At that point, a fight began. As the group gathered, Joker spoke up.

"Let's divvy this up! Front lines, with me! We'll take the big guy! Back lines, you have the job of keeping the backups off our backs! Oracle, you're in charge of relaying weaknesses and coordinating our efforts! Everyone ready!?" Joker asked as everyone nodded and charged into battle. While Fox, Panther, Noir, and Queen charged the back wave of foes, Joker, Mona, Skull, Violet, and Seeker cut down the enemies surrounding the big Shadow, while Joker himself charged ahead to have Raoul pelt the Archangel with Curse energy, knowing that Archangels are weak to Curse skills. After a few volleys of Eiha, Joker nodded to Seeker and spoke up.

"Time for the finisher! As the newbie, would you care to do the honors, Seeker?" Joker asked Seeker, who nodded and spoke up.

"Certainly, Joker! EVERYONE, PREPARE FOR AN ALL-OUT ATTACK!" Seeker said as the others pelted the Shadows with attacks as Seeker brought her yo-yos around in a slow circle, wrapping up the Archangel as she pumped a fist and spoke up.

"HA! How'd that feel!? SAY GOODBYE!" Seeker said as she punched the air as a large impact hit the Archangel, which recoiled visibly from the force of the impact. Afterwards, the group kept beating back the back-up Shadows before Mona turned to Seeker and spoke up, smirking at the sight of Seeker cutely yet proudly putting her hands on her hips as her visor had a face on it that was a mix of smug and amused.

"Shall we try finishing this together, Lady Seeker?" Mona asked as Seeker nodded and spoke up while blinking as Mona shifted into his Mona-bus form.

"Whoa, you really can turn into a tour bus. Umm, but never mind that for now. I think you asked if I wanted to finish this with you, right? And this is my answer to that question. Yes, I want to finish them off with you, so let's do it, Mona!" Seeker said as she hopped atop the Mona-bus and hefted her yo-yo, flinging it indiscriminately at approaching Shadows while the two approached Archangel and Mona rammed into the Archangel head-on.

Once the Mona-bus rammed into the Archangel, Seeker flipped gracefully into the air and swung her yo-yos forward, slamming then into the Archangel's torso, at which point she called on Pithos, who charged up a volley of light that Mona powered up with a burst of Wind power from Diego, as the combined attack slammed head-on into the Archangel, who grunted as he spoke up.

"D-Damn you! Forgive me, Your Majesty! I've failed you." The Archangel said before slumping over and dissolving into black mist. From the ensuing EXP gains after the fight, Noir hit level 9 as Astarte got the Physical move 'Hysterical Slap', making her smile as she spoke up.

"Oh, my! A new skill! Now I can work even harder!" Noir said happily as Astarte acquired 'Hysterical Slap'. After the fight Oracle cheered and spoke up.

"Whoo! Damn, you guys rule! Especially that combo attack by Mona and Seeker at the end! That was genius!" Oracle said as Mona smirked and spoke up.

"Eh, it was nothin'! Just a bit of improvisation on both our parts, and a lot of incredible acrobatics by Seeker, that's all. Still, I have to say, that felt like it could've been stronger somehow. Maybe there's a reason that our Showtimes don't work like they used to in this new Metaverse?" Mona mused as Oracle spoke up.

"Who knows? Either way, all that's left now is the climb up to the top of the tower! So go, go, go!" Oracle said as the group kept moving. After dashing up to the top of the tower, the group seized the second core, which turned out to be a 'UN UN Issue cover'. Seeker blinked in confusion at this and spoke up.

"Eh? This core is Alice on a, is this a book?" Seeker asked, her head slightly tilted to the side in confusion. Noir spoke up before anyone could clear up Seeker's confusion, however.

"She made the cover of UN UN? That's a really famous magazine." Noir said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. Even among those of us in the art scene, UN UN is famous, making it a widely recognized symbol of power. As such, Mona's theory is being proven more and more with each turn. Maybe spending so much time with Draconis is letting him pick up on Draconis' keen instincts somewhat?" Fox said as Panther spoke up with a frown, a sad look on her face as she spoke.

"She would've been famous even if she hadn't started doing all this, I'm sure." Panther said sadly as Mona frowned at the look on Panther's face and spoke up.

"Panther, you poor thing." Mona said sympathetically, not seeing the confused look on Seeker's face at his actions. Queen then spoke up before Seeker could voice her confusion.

"Then what reason did she have? Does she even have one at all?" Queen asked as Oracle shrugged and spoke up.

"No idea. But whatever the case is? The next core's the last one. And it's just a bit west of here! Over by Bunkamachi." Oracle said as Fox blinked in shock and spoke up.

"Bunkamachi, you say? That's quite the cultural hotspot." Fox said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. Anyways, returning to Shibuya Crossing and using Central Street would probably be quickest." Queen said as Violet spoke up.

"Makes sense to me, Queen. The sooner we get this last core, the sooner we can kill those searchlights and find that Treasure-like scent Mona mentioned. And the sooner we do that, the sooner we can put Alice in her place." Violet said, with a mixed eager and excited look on her face as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"Easy does it, Violet. I get you're eager to smack Alice around, but save the bloodlust for when it's actually needed, yeah?" Joker said as Violet nodded and the group kept moving. After making their way to Central Street, the group eventually reached another blocked path which had a force-field blocking their further progression. Oracle smirked at this and spoke up.

"Ah, this looks like something for me to get my paws on." Oracle said as Violet blinked and spoke up.

"Your paws? Is that a figure of speech, Oracle? Or has Mona been right this whole time, and you're the cat in our group?" Violet joked, making Seeker cutely tilt her head slightly to the side in confusion as she spoke up.

"Um, I don't think Oracle is a cat?" Seeker said as Mona spoke up.

"It's a figure of speech, Lady Seeker. And Violet? I think Oracle was being metaphorical when she said that. Or am I wrong in my assumption that paws is another word for hands?" Mona pointed out as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"Exactly! Mona gets it! But anyways, staying on topic. Time to start hacking! Y'guys ready?" Oracle said as Joker nodded before speaking up.

"Definitely! Let's do it." Joker said confidently as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"All right, got it! Hacking in! Make sure you back me up!" Oracle said as Fox spoke up.

"Best of luck, Oracle. We'll have your back from here." Fox said as the group charged into battle as a fight started! After clearing out the foes for a while, Oracle spoke up with a smile as she looked up from the terminal she'd been typing away at.

"And boom, one hack successfully performed! Thanks for the backup!" Oracle said as the group kept moving. After moving around a while inside the south section of Central Street, the group eventually reached a terminal, where Panther spoke up.

"Hey, isn't this like one of the other terminals you've been hacking, Oracle?" Panther said as Noir spoke up.

"Hm. Sounds like we need you for this one too. Think you can do it?" Noir asked as Oracle examined the terminal before frowning as she spoke up.

"I could, but hmm, nope. The screen's not on. I don't think it's powered up." Oracle said as Seeker blinked and spoke up.

"So it can't be hacked? But, we have nowhere else to go." Seeker said as Joker spoke up.

"Pretty sure that's not what Oracle's saying. She's saying that there's not enough power to use the terminal, not that it can't be done. Presumably, if we can power the terminal up, Oracle can work her usual magic." Joker said as Oracle nodded approvingly to Joker's explanation before Mona spoke up in recollection.

"Oh, that's right! I think I remember spotting some huge machine on Central Street. Maybe that's this terminal's power source?" Mona said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"If so, then I believe that's our only lead for now. Let's return to Central Street." Fox said as the group kept advancing. After a bit, the group found a power terminal, which Joker promptly switched on as Fox spoke up.

"Hm, I wonder. Do you think that this properly powered the terminal?" Fox asked as Oracle shook her head and spoke up.

"Uhhh, how to put this? Nah, this isn't gonna cut it. Considering the output levels I'm seeing here, we're gonna need to turn on two more." Oracle said as Skull spoke up with wide eyes.

"WHAT!? How much power's that thing use!?" Skull asked as Violet spoke up.

"If we have to find three terminals, likely a lot. But then again, it's not like we can just have you pump the terminal full of Zio, Skull." Violet joked as Joker spoke up.

"First of all, that was terrible, Violet. Secondly, I don't think that type of electricity would power the terminal." Joker said gently as Violet nodded while Mona spoke up.

"No clue, Skull. But either way? Looks like we have to poke around and find some more generators." Mona said as the group kept moving. After moving backwards a bit, Joker spotted a generator on the ground, leaping down to power it on as Queen spoke up.

"Hm. That's the second generator so far." Queen said as Panther smiled and spoke up.

"I see. Just one more to go, right? Let's keep it up!" Panther said as the group kept moving. After a bit, Violet blinked and spoke up.

"Oh! Joker, doesn't that look like a climbable ledge there? And I think it leads to some shimmy points we can use to find the final generator?" Violet said as Joker smiled at Violet and spoke up.

"Well spotted, Violet. Not only are you beautiful, but you're clever as well. Never let anyone tell you that you're not totally amazing, because anyone who says that is not only full of it, but they're a filthy stinkin' liar who deserves to get beaten up." Joker said with a wry grin as he led the Thieves up the ledges that Violet had pointed out, smirking at how red Violet's face got after he kissed her on the cheek while the group kept advancing. After a series of shimmying and careful movement, the group reached the final generator as Joker turned it on before Seeker spoke up.

"Aha. We've activated three generators. Is that sufficient, Oracle?" Seeker asked as Oracle smiled and nodded while speaking up.

"Yep, we have the power! Let's get back to the terminal!" Oracle said as the group kept moving. After making their way back to the previously inoperable terminal, the group smiled as it was now showing signs of being powered on as Noir sighed in relief and spoke up.

"Whew. The terminal really is on now. Thank goodness." Noir said as Skull spoke up.

"Finally, we can get going-" Skull said as Queen cut him off with a frown by speaking up.

"Not just yet, sweetie. Don't forget, Oracle still has to hack into it." Queen said as Joker examined the terminal again, prompting Oracle to speak up.

"Hm? Seems like it's hacking time again! Ready to watch my back?" Oracle asked as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Definitely, little sis. Let's do it." Joker said as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"Understood. Commencing the hack! Don't forget to keep someone close by to protect me if needed!" Oracle said as the battle started. After working together to corral and suppress the advancing Shadows, Oracle wasted little time in hacking the terminal to open the path forward, smirking as she spoke up.

"Piece of cake! Ladies and gentlemen, your hack is now complete! Been a pleasure!" Oracle said smugly as the battle ended and the group kept moving, advancing forward until reaching the entrance of Bunkamachi, where Queen spoke up as the camera panned to a shot of another giant birdcage in the distance.

"So, this is the final Prison Keep, eh?" Queen said as Skull's eyes widened as he spoke up.

"Uh, babe? I dunno if you noticed or not, but the walls here are just as high as the others were." Skull said as Fox spoke up.

"Indeed. I suspect the gate is closed just as with the others. How will we breach the keep?" Fox asked as Noir spoke up while the camera panned to show a path the group could take.

"Perhaps we can leap over there from another rooftop? Let's try gaining some elevation." Noir said as the group nodded and kept moving. After a bit, Oracle spoke up to get the group's attention.

"Hang on a sec! Stop! I'm getting a super powerful reading! We'll be in deep trouble if we charge in there without being ready for it." Oracle said as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"Oh, are you talking about the Shadow over there throwing off sparks?" Panther asked as Skull spoke up.

"Dammit. That thing could really mess us up if we're not careful." Skull said as Violet spoke up.

"Indeed. I get the sense that those Shadows are probably as close as we'll get to the textbook definition of a 'high-risk, high-reward' situation in our line of work." Violet said wisely as Oracle spoke up.

"Good point, Violet. That said, there's no knowing what it can do. If you're gonna tussle with it, make sure you're prepped." Oracle said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. And considering we've got some relatively inexperienced teammates, such as Lady Seeker, with us, it might even be a wise idea to not pick a fight with it right now. Instead, we can come back and pursue it once we've gotten much stronger." Mona said as Seeker smiled and spoke up.

"Nice to know you're looking out for us, Mona." Seeker said gratefully, not seeing the amused looks on Joker and Violet's faces as they watched the by-play between the two. After that, the group kept advancing until they got enough height to get a good view, at which point Noir spoke up.

"Hm, yes. This offers a pretty good view of the area." Noir said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. Now, to find a point of entry for the final Prison Keep." Fox said as Mona spoke up.

"Hm? Hey! There!" Mona said as the camera panned over to show what appeared to be a giant Ferris wheel. Mona then kept speaking.

"Unless I'm wrong, that string of flags leads all the way to the Keep. Think we could slide down it to get over there?" Mona asked as Seeker spoke up.

"Possibly. But are the strings able to support our weight?" Seeker said uncertainly as Oracle looked over and frowned while speaking up.

"Good point, Seeker. Hmmm, looking at it closer? I don't think those strings look taut enough for us to use like that." Oracle asked as Panther spoke up.

"Perhaps. But what if we gave the Ferris wheel a spin? Would that tighten it up?" Panther asked as Queen blinked at the suggestion before slowly nodding as she spoke up.

"Hm? Panther, that's not a bad idea. And you know, that could work. Let's head over there and check it out." Queen said as Violet spoke up.

"Agreed. Let's get this done." Violet said as the group kept moving. After eliminating a stronger Shadow, Mona hit level 10, at which point Diego picked up the low-tier Wind skill 'Magaru'. Mona smirked and spoke up.

"Heh, this new skill suits me!" Mona said as Violet shook her head and spoke up.

"Oh, Mona. What are we gonna do with that ego of yours?" Violet teased Mona, who spoke up with a huff.

"You say that like your boyfriend's brother isn't the one with the biggest ego of us all, next to Crow." Mona pointed out bluntly as Violet winced at this, not being able to refute the point. Seeker blinked at this and spoke up.

"Crows have egos? I was unaware of this." Seeker said as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"Actual crows don't, no. But our teammate, who goes by the code name Crow? He does have quite an ego on him. And it's arguably a bigger one than Draconis' ego." Joker said with a smirk, grinning at the indignant glare that Oracle gave him on her boyfriend's behalf while sticking her tongue out at Joker childishly, making Joker laugh in amusement at Oracle sticking up for her still-absent boyfriend as Diego acquired 'Magaru', but that wasn't all, as Skull hit level 10 and got the Physical skill 'Headbutt', making him grin as he spoke up happily.

"Hell yeah! A new move! Whaddya think?" Skull asked as Queen spoke up with a smile.

"Not bad, sweetie. But you can do without the brags, I think." Queen said before proceeding to coyly yet boldly pull Skill into a brief kiss, leaving him red-faced, but pleased, as Seiten Taisei acquired 'Headbutt', and the group kept moving.

After tagging out Mona and Seeker with Panther and Noir, the group continued to advance, eventually being stopped by a large Shadow that spoke up.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" The Shadow, which Joker had identified as an 'Attraction Captain', said before shifting forms into a giant Mokoi, as Skull spoke up with wide eyes.

"EH!? Aw crap, we're busted!" Skull said as Oracle spoke up.

"Careful, guys! That one's stronger than the others!" Oracle said as the group got into a fight with the giant Mokoi! As the fight started, the Mokoi swung its arms at the group, knocking Panther backwards into Noir, who was then launched into Fox, who helped both of the girls up. While this was going on, Mona and Seeker did a combo attack on the surrounding enemies to thin their numbers down a bit.

After patching Fox, Panther, and Noir up, Joker called out Raoul, who dropped a large orb of Curse energy on the giant Mokoi, reducing it to black mist in a giant explosion, ending the battle. After the fight, Fox hit level 10 and gained the passive skill 'Knockdown Style', which helped increase the rate at which an enemy's down gauge could be depleted during battles. Fox smirked and spoke up.

"Hm, a new skill? I see. I can do much with this!" Fox said eagerly as Kamu Susano-o acquired 'Knockdown Style'. Afterwards, the group kept moving. Eventually, the group reached the terminal for the Ferris wheel, where Mona spoke up after Joker threw the power lever.

"This must be the terminal for the Ferris wheel. Can you power it up, Oracle?" Mona asked as Skull moaned and spoke up.

"Oh, man. We don't have to go huntin' for more generators, do we?" Skull said as Oracle shook her head and spoke up.

"Nope, looks like we're good here. It's already juiced up for us!" Oracle said as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"I see. Perhaps the Ferris wheel's connected to the same generators as that last terminal you had to hack?" Queen suggested as Panther smiled and spoke up.

"Then everything turned out great for us! Can you get it working, Oracle?" Panther asked as Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"Okey-dokey! Aaallriiight! Ferris wheel, activate!" Oracle said as she powered up the Ferris wheel, which lit up in various colors. As she saw it turn on, Seeker's jaw dropped slightly as she spoke up.

"Oooh. So pretty." Seeker said as Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"True, those lights are rather pretty. Too bad Mona's off his game, or this would've been the part where he used some cheesy line like, 'But it's not as beautiful as you.' or something like that." Oracle said as Seeker blinked in confusion at Oracle's teasing jab. Fortunately for Seeker, Noir spoke up and changed the subject.

"Oh, wow! You did it, Oracle!" Noir said, getting grateful looks from both Mona and Seeker, as the two in question had both been looking at Oracle in confusion after her little jab at them. Fox smiled and spoke up.

"Indeed. And assuming Panther's thought from before works, we can now enter the Prison Keep." Fox said as the group hopped up and slid along the strings, right to the Prison Keep, where a sentry Shadow spoke up while intercepting the group.

"Wha-? What are you doing here!?" The sentry Shadow said it shifted forms into an Andras while Mona spoke up.

"Heh, don't worry about it. We've come to relieve you of your duties!" Mona said as Oracle spoke up.

"What Mona said! Take him down and the core is ours!" Oracle said as a fight started! The group nodded to each other as Panther and Joker combined their strongest Agi moves to incinerate the enemies on the spot, quickly reducing them to black mist, while the backups helped take out the occasional reinforcements as they spawned in. Once the final few Shadows were defeated, the battle ended. At that point, Panther hit level 10 and gained the passive skill 'Soul Thief', which makes it so that the user can recover SP when inflicting ailments on a foe. Panther smirked and spoke up.

"All right! I've got a new skill!" Panther said happily as Hecate acquired 'Soul Thief'. And as if that wasn't enough, Oracle also got a new skill on reaching level 12, when Al Azif learned the passive skill 'Moral Support', which enabled Oracle to cast Kaja-type buffs on the group, while also having the chance to recover HP and/or SP during battles. Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"Oh! A new skill! Woot, woot!" Oracle said as Al Azif acquired 'Moral Support'. After the battle, the final core appeared, which Joker seized to get a 'Macaron Cannon'. Afterwards, Oracle cheered and spoke up.

"YES! Mission complete!" Oracle said as Panther frowned at the core and spoke up.

"So the last core is not a literal cannon as one would assume, but a CD?" Panther asked as Noir blinked and spoke up.

"Oh, I recognize that album. Its songs are in a lot of commercials nowadays." Noir said as Panther nodded and spoke up.

"Good catch, Noir. That's Alice's biggest album, the one that's been at the top of the charts for weeks now, if I recall correctly." Panther said as Skull spoke up.

"Um, so 'zat mean it's a scam? Did she only blow up 'cause she changed so many hearts?" Skull asked as Panther grunted as she spoke up.

"Ugh. I'm not sure, to be honest." Panther said as Queen spoke up.

"Well, in any case, that should be the last of the Jail's power sources." Queen said as Seeker smiled and spoke up.

"Correct! Furthermore, the searchlights should be deactivated now." Seeker said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"Finally! We can enter Alice's castle. Shall we?" Fox asked as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, we shall. We need to stop her as soon as possible. Let's return to the Crossing so we can head to the castle!" Mona said as the group nodded and began the trek back to the Crossing...

(Meanwhile, back in Alice's throne room with Shadow Alice and a bunch of security Shadows)

"What's with the commotion out there? It'd better be good." Alice's Shadow said as one of the security Shadows spoke up.

"Well, you see, the situation is this. The group we dumped underground before have returned, and judging from reports, they've brought along backup." The security Shadow said as Alice's Shadow frowned and spoke up.

"You mean those boys from the other day, and that red-headed brat? Oh, I see. So, they've come to get back at me, huh? I can't seize their Desires, so they're useless to me. But really, couldn't you handle something so simple on your own?" Alice's Shadow said as the security Shadow from before spoke up.

"Our deepest apologies, Your Majesty." The sentry Shadow said as Alice's Shadow scoffed and spoke up.

"Oh! You are aaaaaaall USELESS. Get it done, or I'm getting rid of you. Well? Anything to say?" Alice's Shadow asked as the sentry Shadow spoke up.

"We'll take care of it, Your Majesty." The sentry Shadow said as Alice's Shadow smiled and spoke up.

"Great! I can't wait!" Alice's Shadow said as the sentries left, leaving Alice's Shadow alone as she chuckled to herself. After approaching the camera, she smirked as she spoke up.

"I have to admit, you're a real surprise, Joker. Maybe it'd be worth my time to try and make you mine, if only to see the glorious look of defeat on the face of that red-headed wallflower you call a girlfriend after she loses her man to a real woman. And now, I'm starting to want you all to myself." Alice said slyly as she cackled a bit to an empty room...

(Back in the Crossing, with Oracle, Noir, Panther, Violet, Skull, Joker, Mona, Seeker, Queen, and Fox)

As the group reached the Crossing, they were stunned as sirens went off and searchlights shone on them. Panther sputtered and spoke up.

"What the-!?" Panther said as the wall to 705 went up and a ton of Shadow spawned in front of it, making a wide-eyed Oracle speak up.

"Hm? CRAP! Roadblock!" Oracle said as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"And not only that, but just look at their numbers. That's a LOT of Shadows." Queen said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Dammit! What is this!? We can't reach the castle!" Skull said as Noir sighed and spoke up.

"Ohh, and we'd just finished off the searchlights, too. And now this?" Noir said as Violet spoke up.

"If he were here, this would probably be the part where Draconis makes a comment about Joker's infamous luck finally striking at the worst possible time. Sorry Joker, but we both know that's what he'd say." Violet said as Joker smiled and spoke up.

"It's fine, beautiful. I'm well aware by now of how much my brother likes to poke fun at me." Joker said as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"True. Well, I guess we did wreak some real havoc here while taking out those searchlights. And it looks like we've finally gotten Alice's full attention." Mona said as Fox spoke up with a frown.

"Indeed. Oracle, any guidance for us?" Fox said as Oracle winced and spoke up.

"Hmm, this is a real toughie, to be honest. I'm not seeing any alternate paths right now." Oracle said as Queen spoke up.

"Regardless, staying here will only get us surrounded by Shadows. So let's defer to our leader's judgment here. Joker, what's your call?" Queen asked as Joker exchanged a look with Violet, who only shrugged in response to the unspoken question as Joker spoke up.

"I feel like instinctively, our best move is to get out of here for now. But if anyone has a better idea, I'm open to ideas." Joker said as Mona nodded his agreement while speaking up.

"I agree. There's no other choice at this point. Let's get back to reality and figure out our next step there." Mona said as the group exited the Jail at that point...

(Back in the real world, in a back alley within Yongen-Jaya, with Ann, Morgana, Ren, Sumire, Sophia, Yusuke, Futaba, Makoto, Haru, and Ryuji)

"Oh, my. It's grown quite late, hasn't it?" Haru said as Ryuji groaned and spoke up.

"Oh man, what're we gonna do? That wall ain't goin' anywhere, you guys!" Ryuji said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"Wait, hold that thought! A more pressing issue's arisen." Yusuke said as Sumire spoke up.

"Oh? And what issue might that be, Yusuke?" Sumire asked conversationally.

"I'm quite famished from all our work in the Metaverse." Yusuke said as Sumire blinked at this before blushing in embarrassment as her stomach chose then to growl and voice its agreement with Yusuke's hunger. Ren chuckled and spoke up.

"Sounds like Sumire's hungry too. Heh, typical Sumi, always letting her stomach do the talking for her when she's hungry." Ren said fondly as Ryuji huffed and hung his head while speaking up.

"Wow, what an issue! C'mon dude, get real for a minute!" Ryuji said before his stomach also growled to signal Ryuji's own hunger, making him wince as he spoke up.

"On second thought? Never mind. I'm famished too." Ryuji said as Haru giggled and spoke up.

"Hee hee, not to worry! Let's get something to eat. We can't have any good ideas on empty stomachs." Haru said as Sophia spoke up with a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone.

"Hungry? I'll find a restaurant for you." Sophia said as Futaba shook her head and spoke up.

"No need, Sophia! Our target's already been decided for us. Sojiro's curry or bust! I bet he'll hook all of you up, too!" Futaba said as Yusuke looked hopefully at her.

"Do you mean it!?" Yusuke said as Ren winced at the question and spoke up.

"I'm quite sure she does, Yusuke. My question, though, is can Boss make enough curry to handle Sumire's appetite? After all, she has quite a healthy appetite on her. Not that I mind, since she manages to work hard enough to keep that sexy figure of hers." Ren said slyly as Sumire blushed in embarrassment and spoke up.

"Ren! Don't flirt with me like that around the others." Sumire said in a whiny tone. Ren smiled and spoke up.

"You're right. I'm sorry for wanting to make up for all the time I lost since I left." Ren said, giving Sumire a hug by way of apology as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"I forgive you." Sumire said as Makoto sighed and spoke up.

"Yes, well, even if Ren's easy to forgive, I still have to say it. Take it easy on Boss, okay? He's already treated us plenty recently." Makoto said. Ren blinked at this, but before he could inquire into what Makoto meant, a drunken voice reached the group's ears.

"Ehhh, I don't even CARE!" The group heard as Morgana's head poked out of Ren's bag so he could speak up, his eyes slightly widened in shock.

"What's that? A fight?" Mona asked the group turned to see a drunken office worker staggering in their direction, slurring as he spoke up.

"All thoooose stupid bastards at work!" The drunk office worker said, hiccuping as he kept speaking.

"They're makin' me look like CRAP!" The drunk office worker said, as the guy following him kept trying to calm him down while waving his hands and looking like he was kow-towing. The placating office worker spoke up.

"Oh, it's okay, sir. Uh, hey! Kids! Get outta the way!" The placating office worker said as Ryuji sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, it's just some plastered suit." Ryuji said, getting the drunk office worker's attention as he spoke up while slurring.

"Huh? Whadder these lil' shits doing out and about at this hour?" The drunk office worker said as he staggered towards Ann and Sumire, leering suggestively at the two as he spoke up, making Ren wince as he got strong throwbacks to when he had to stop a drunken politician who went by the name of Masayoshi Shido from forcing himself onto a woman when he was drunk once.

"Hey, you two are a real pair of lookers! Howzabout the two of you'n'I go back to my place'n get better acquainted, if you catch my drift? Eheheheh!" The drunk office worker said as Morgana, Ren, and Ryuji all glared at the drunk office worker. Ann spoke up with narrowed eyes.

"Hey, what the hell!? Cut it out! Also, if you were trying to hit on me, you're outta luck! I'm mainly into women! And not only that, but I already have a girlfriend!" Ann said as Sumire spoke up.

"And I'm not interested in a drunkard like you, since I already have an amazing boyfriend." Sumire said as she stood next to Ren, hugging him as she spoke to show who she meant with her 'amazing boyfriend' remark. Ren frowned at the drunk office worker and spoke up.

"Hey, asshole. Get the hell away from both my sister and my girlfriend, before I lose my temper and end up having to make you regret coming near either of them. I'll ask you nicely only once. Please get lost." Ren said bluntly. The drunk office worker glared at Ren and spoke up.

"What wuzzat, kid!?" The drunk office worker said as the placating office worker spoke up.

"Please, don't work him up any worse than he is already!" The placating office worker said as Ren glared at the placating office worker and spoke up.

"Then get your drunken friend out of here before me and my friends get annoyed and have to teach him some respect for women." Ren said dryly. Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"What was that, asshole? Your friend's the one who started it by hitting on Ann and Sumire." Ryuji pointed out. The drunk office worker spoke up.

"Aw, thassit! I'm gonna show you some respect! Not only that, I'm gonna teach y'all some manners!" The drunk office worker said as Ren spoke up.

"Funny. I believe last I checked, that was MY line to YOU, you drunken prick." Ren said, his eyes narrowed dangerously at the drunk office worker. Makoto's eyes also narrowed as she spoke up.

"If you don't walk away right now, you won't have to worry about my friend here. I'LL be the one to teach you some manners. And I know aikido, so don't mess with me!" Makoto said warningly to the drunk office worker. Before the drunk office worker could say anything, a new voice cut in to try and break the fight up.

"All right, break it up. That's enough." A bearded man in a suit said as he walked up, drawing the attention of the drunk office worker, who turned to face the bearded man and spoke up.

"The hell is this?" The drunk office worker said as the bearded man smirked and spoke up.

"Hmm, how should I put it? I'm just a knight in shining armor." The bearded man said, making Ren wince at how similar the bearded man's remark was to one of Kusa's go-to lines. Ann blinked at the bearded man's remark and spoke up.

"Uh, I'm sorry. What?" Ann said as Futaba frowned and spoke up.

"Seconded. What? That's weird." Futaba said as the drunk office worker glared at the bearded man and spoke up.

"Knight'n shinin' armor, my ass! I don't care who you are, I'm gonna freakin' punch yer lights out!" The drunk office worker said as he went to throw a punch at the bearded man, only to miss badly, get punched in the gut once by the bearded man, stagger backwards into the wall, bounce off and stagger back towards the bearded man, who sidestepped the second punch and threw a right hook into the drunk office worker's face as the drunk office worker staggered forward and flopped down face-first onto the ground as the bearded man looked down at the downed drunk office worker and spoke up.

"Careful now, sir. You really ate it there. You okay?" The bearded man said as Ryuji winced and spoke up.

"Um, you totally knocked him on his ass just now." Ryuji pointed out as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"So? You say that like you and I weren't totally about to knock that effin' douchebag the hell out anyways if he didn't back the effin' hell up off the girls." Ren said bluntly. The bearded man smirked and spoke up.

"Me? Oh, c'mon. You totally saw it. That was legitimate self-defense." The bearded man said, making Ren smirk at how much the bearded man was channeling Kusa in that moment. At that point, the placating office worker spoke up in confusion while looking at the bearded man.

"Hey, this is assault! You want me to call the police!?" The placating office worker said as Ren scoffed, half expecting the next words out of the bearded man's mouth to be something to the effect of 'Go ahead! The police are my bitches.', which were the words that Ren still vividly recalled a drunken Masayoshi Shido uttering once while taunting not only Ren, but his brother Kusa, along with the terrified woman Shido had tried to force himself onto at the time when the woman tried to stand up to him. But to his surprise, the bearded man just calmly brandished a badge as he spoke up.

"No need. I AM the police. Now scram." The bearded man said as both the placating office worker and a wide-eyed Sumire spoke up at the same time.

"Wh-WHA!?" Sumire and the placating office worker said, the latter continuing to speak.

"You're a cop!? Ah, forgive me, officer! I'm so sorry!" The placating office worker said as he ran off, leaving the drunk office worker passed out on the ground as the bearded man's eyes widened and he spoke up.

"No, wait! Take this guy with you! Wow, not a great subordinate. Ugh, well, I guess this guy'll come to eventually on his own." The bearded man said to himself as he turned to face the shocked faces of Ren and the others before he kept speaking with a wry smile.

"Well folks, you all right now?" The bearded man said as Ren spoke up.

"Thanks. Not sure how I feel about what you just said, though. So, are you really a cop?" Ren asked warily. The bearded man frowned and spoke up.

"Yeah. You saw the badge, right? Just like not all politicians are scum, not all cops wear uniforms, you know." The bearded man said as Yusuke frowned, having recognized the badge that was flashed as he walked up to Ren and spoke up.

"Don't get too chummy, Ren. This man may have saved us just now, but regardless, given his badge? That man's most likely with Public Security." Yusuke said as the bearded man winced at Yusuke's perceptive guess and spoke up.

"Ooh, good guess, kid. Although, it may be more like common knowledge at this point. Especially considering the number of tails on you nowadays." The bearded man said, before pointing out someone near the group as he kept speaking.

"For example, have you noticed the one over there yet?" The bearded man said as the exposed officer swore under his breath and spoke up.

"Dumbass! What are you DOING!?" The exposed officer asked as the bearded man spoke up amicably.

"Haha, sorry, my bad. Could you bring this drunk in for me?" The bearded man asked as the exposed officer blanched and spoke up.

"WHA-!?" The exposed officer said before sighing as he hauled the drunk office worker away. After he was gone, Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"The hell is with this guy?" Ryuji said as Futaba spoke up.

"Good question. Just at a glance, his suspicion level's off the charts." Futaba said as Makoto frowned at the bearded man and spoke up.

"Tell me. What does someone from Public Security want with us?" Makoto said, her eyes narrowed distrustfully.

"Aw, no need for that look. I actually do have a reason to be here." The bearded man said before he turned to Ren as he kept speaking.

"Are you Ren Amamiya? If so, I need to speak with you. What say we grab some coffee over there? Their curry's pretty killer, too." The bearded man said as Ren nodded warily as he and the others led the bearded man to Leblanc, where he was hustled into a booth seat as the others surrounded the bearded man and both Ann and Ryuji growled at him while Sojiro marched over and set the bearded man's drink down with a growl as he spoke up.

"Enjoy." Sojiro said bluntly as he stormed off, while Haru gave the bearded man a cheerful smile and spoke up.

"Sorry about that, sir. We just despise the police, that's all." Haru said as the bearded man spoke up with a frown.

"Y'know, it's kinda weird when you say it with a smile like that. Just putting that out there." The bearded man said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"So? Why'd you 'rescue' us?" Ryuji asked as Ann frowned and spoke up.

"We'd appreciate it if you'd get to the point." Ann said as the bearded man winced at the heated glares he was getting and spoke up.

"Fine, fine. I'll skip the runaround and just tell you." The bearded man said as he kept speaking.

"First of all, let me introduce myself. I'm Zenkichi Hasegawa, an inspector on loan to Tokyo's Public Security branch. I'm officially an Inspector. It's not a rank to sneeze at." The now-named Hasegawa said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"Perhaps, but do you see my friend over there, the girl who threatened that drunken asshole with her aikido? Her older sister used to be an SIU operative, which is a pretty impressive rank in and of itself. So I'm not intimidated by you flaunting your title around, just so you know." Ren said bluntly. At that point, a 'BIP' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up, though her words would leave most of the group stifling laughter.

"Inspectors are not to be sneezed at. Okay, I've got it." Sophia said as Haseagawa blinked at hearing Sophia's voice and spoke up.

"Uh, who said that? Ugh, whatever, it's not important. Amamiya, I need to ask you something. Did you hear at all about that mess on the chat show the other day? With Alice Hiiragi?" Hasegawa asked as Sumire frowned and spoke up.

"You mean that debacle where that co-host basically got on his knees and all but proposed to Alice during a live shoot? Believe it or not, both Ren and I were there to see it." Sumire said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"She's right. I was actually there with Sumire, after our friend Ann, or the blonde girl with pigtails over there, got us invites to see the live shooting of a chat show starring Alice." Ren said conversationally. The bearded man blinked at this and spoke up.

"I can't believe you just told me that, kid. You sure you're on the same page as them? Well, regardless, there's already been a full investigation into the incident, as it happens. There was no indication the MC was planning to propose at all. In fact, everyone questioned said he didn't even know who Alice was before this week. Not only that, he'd already been engaged to his co-host for however long. There isn't a whiff of motive to be found. So, the police have concluded that this seems rather familiar. And guess what the leading sentiment is among the boys in blue? 'Doesn't this sound like the work of the Phantom Thieves?' Pretty stupid, right?" Hasegawa said as the others blinked and Makoto spoke up.

"Wait, what? You're saying that we're being blamed for this?" Makoto asked as Hasegawa nodded and spoke up.

"Naturally. A whooole lot of similar cases last year, no? Sudden personality shifts, abnormal behavior, psychotic breakdowns, and so on. And just think. If that MC went bonkers from a change of heart, you're gonna be suspect number one. And it's not like it'd be the first time you've had the police interested in you, is it? After all, you're Ren Amamiya, the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, aka the Phantom Crew. We don't know if it's drugs, or hypnosis, or what, but they wanna charge you with criminal mischief. And if they do, it's only a matter of time before you're arrested." Haseagawa said as the others' eyes widened and Futaba spoke up.

"But, that's not fair! I mean, why would they come after Ren, when it's public knowledge he's been away from Yongen-Jaya for the past almost three years!?" Futaba asked as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"This is outrageous! What proof do you have?" Yusuke said as an amused Hasegawa smiled and spoke up.

"Sure, it's outrageous, but we don't have any proof yet. That's why I'm here. So, level with me. Are you?" Hasegawa asked as Makoto blinked and spoke up.

"Huh?" Makoto asked as Haseagawa spoke up again.

"Are you the one doing this?" Haseagawa said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"Hell no, dude!" Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"Easy, Ryuji. I can handle this. I know what we're saying sounds crazy, but it's true that we've not had anything to do with this at all. We're being framed here, though we have no clue who would want to frame us, much less what possible motive they might have." Ren said firmly as Haseagawa shook his head and spoke up.

"Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, that's what I thought. Oop, just a second." Hasegawa said as he took his phone out and pretended to answer it, speaking into it.

"Ah, hello there, Commissioner. Hm? Why yes, I'm with the Phantom Thieves' leader. I just asked for a confession, but he says he's innocent of all charges. Huh? Yes, that's right, hahah. Huh? Kidding? No, no, this is all real. Oh? That's enough nonsense? Oh, okay, got it. I'm on my way over to the office." Zenkichi said as he put his phone away and spoke up.

"Well, as you saw, I reported what you said to my boss just now. But if you ask me? Mmm, I don't think she's convinced." Hasegawa said as Ann blinked and spoke up.

"Did he really call his boss?" Ann asked as Sumire huffed and spoke up.

"Did any of you hear anything that sounded like a voice coming from his phone that whole time?" Sumire asked bluntly as Ren spoke up.

"I don't think so, beautiful." Ren said as Ryuji blinked and spoke up.

"Holy shit, guys. What is WITH this guy?" Ryuji asked as Makoto frowned and spoke up.

"Good question, sweetie. And YOU! What are you trying to prove here?" Makoto asked, aiming the back half of her response at Hasegawa, who smirked and spoke up with his arms crossed.

"Just trying to give you some free advice. No matter how hard you claim to be innocent, there are people out there chomping at the bit to arrest you. If that ever happens, you're done for. And more to the point, I'll be up the river too if that happens, since if that does happen, this case'll never get solved. Like it or not, you're the best chance we have at solving this case. And I feel like we're all after the same thing here. As such, I came over here to try and hopefully make nice with you. And so I wanted to make you an offer of sorts, or maybe it'd be more like a deal." Hasegawa said as Morgana frowned and spoke up, forgetting as he did so that Hasegawa couldn't understand him.

"A deal with YOU!?" Morgana said as Violet heard Morgana and spoke up.

"You want us to make a deal with you?" Violet asked skeptically, both expressing her own curiosity and voicing what Morgana had asked so Hasegawa could understand, getting a nod from him as he spoke up.

"Right. I want to solve this case as much as you do. And to do that, I need the intel you've gathered. At the moment? I don't have anything that even remotely resembles a lead. I'm totally at a loss. You, though? You just don't wanna get arrested. And as it so happens, I can do what needs to be done so that doesn't happen. Bureau men are a trustworthy lot in the force. There won't be any problems. Sound like a fair deal to you?" Hasegawa said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"I see the logic in your proposal. However, I don't know that I trust the Bureau, given how badly my case was handled about three years ago when I was almost made into a public scapegoat to take the attention off how big of a miscarriage of justice the Bureau performed in letting a drunken rapist frame me for assault while he got off scot-free until he got a conscience and confessed to his crimes. So I'm on the fence where it comes to trusting you, Hasegawa. But the Bureau? No shot that I trust them." Ren said bluntly. Hasegawa frowned at Ren's response and spoke up.

"Well, that sounds like a no to me. Although, I can't say that I blame you, considering what you've been through." Hasegawa said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"We don't have any reason why we should trust you." Ryuji said bluntly as Sumire spoke up.

"Or detectives/inspectors in general, really. After all, the last few times we've encountered them, one turned out to be a psychotic assassin out to end my boyfriend, another was a distorted prosecutor who nearly let her desire to succeed corrupt who she was as a person. Oh, and my personal favorite? The one where a supposed 'Director' of a government agency turned out to be a crooked piece of work who accepted bribes and was on the payroll of one of the most crooked would-be politicians of recent memory. I'm sure you've heard of him? Does the name Masayoshi Shido ring a bell?" Sumire said flatly as Hasegawa winced and spoke up.

"I see. You know how they say the wise cat hides its claws? Let's just say that applies to me, too." Hasegawa said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"You, a wise cat? I doubt that. I know a cat, and he's so much wiser than you. Also, my younger brother Morgana is probably wiser than you." Ren said bluntly. Futaba winced and spoke up.

"Yeah, I've literally never heard that before." Futaba said as Morgana spoke up so only Ren could hear.

"What do you think, Ren? You don't have to do anything until you decide whether you trust him or not." Morgana said as Hasegawa spoke up.

"You know, that sure is a noisy cat." Hasegawa said as Morgana blinked and spoke up.

"Meow! Uh, mrowww?" Morgana said warily. Hasegawa smiled at Ren and spoke up.

"Well, I don't need an answer right away. Get back to me once you think it over." Hasegawa said before he kept speaking up as he got to his feet.

"Well, I better get going for now. I hope you see things my way, Phantom Thieves." Hasegawa said before turning to Sojiro as he spoke up.

"All right, Boss. Be back soon for some curry. Mmm." Hasegawa said as Sojiro frowned at him and spoke up.

"Sorry, the curry's eighty-sixed. For you." Sojiro said, giving Hasegawa a pointed glare. Hasegawa winced and spoke up.

"Oh, for real!? Oh, now THAT hurts!" Hasegawa said as he left. Once he left, Ann huffed and spoke up.

"What is WITH that guy!? He is absolutely ridiculous!" Ann said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Indeed. If I may be so blunt, he appears to have a great many bats in his belfry, so to speak." Yusuke said as Futaba nodded and spoke up.

"Well said, Inari. Zenkichi Hasegawa? Ugh, what a cool name for such a dweeb." Futaba said as Haru winced and spoke up.

"But, if he was telling the truth just now, which I'm sure he was, then shouldn't we be worried?" Haru said as Futaba spoke up.

"You mean, they're gonna arrest Ren?" Futaba said as Sumire crossed her arms defiantly and spoke up.

"The hell they are! I'll sooner flee Japan with him than let the cops arrest my boyfriend again!" Sumire said defiantly as Ryuji spoke up.

"Truth! Ugh, what a bullshit 'deal'! I say it's more of a threat!" Ryuji said as Makoto winced and spoke up.

"Without a doubt, even if it is a threat, taking this deal still beats having our leader arrested again. Walking into a trap isn't smart, but the intel might still pay off for us. And if nothing else, Kusa himself proved that any trap can be sprung if there's a better trap laid underneath it. Or am I the only one who remembers the time he used little more than a heart-to-heart talk to mentally trap Akechi-kun into second-guessing his choices?" Makoto said as Morgana spoke up.

"Right. Now that we know the police are on the move, we've already benefited from this guy. And since you brought Kusa up, I think he'd agree that we should keep Hasegawa at arm's length, so we can keep an eye on him. After all, if nothing else, we learned from what Akechi pulled that while you want to keep your friends close, you also want to keep your enemies closer, so you can have insight into what, if anything, they've got planned. But now, the big question is this. If we do conclude he's trustworthy, how much can we trust that Hasegawa guy?" Morgana asked as Ren spoke up.

"Honestly? If it was just me going on my gut, I'd say we can't trust him. But if I've learned anything from living with Kusa for most of my life, it's that sometimes one has to make unpleasant decisions for the good of the many, rather than the good of the few. So in this case, it may be worth the risk to trust Hasegawa to some extent, but not let him in on ALL our secrets, at least not yet.

I have a hunch there may come a day where he proves himself trustworthy to be fully allowed into the loop. But for now, I say we cut a truce of sorts with him, since he seemed sincere in wanting to help us and get our help in return. Besides, if he was here right now, Kusa would probably be saying how a wise man is he who keeps his potential foe where he can keep an eye on him. So I think he'll be useful to us in the long run if we take the risk and trust him here." Ren said wisely. Morgana gave Ren an impressed look while he spoke up.

"Not bad, Ren. Always thinking five steps ahead, huh? I see you've taken what Kusa taught you to heart. Still, we should be extra careful here." Morgana said as Sojiro frowned at the group and spoke up.

"So, 'fess up, you guys. What'd you do this time?" Sojiro asked as Futaba spoke up.

"N-N-N-Nothing! N-No worries, Sojiro!" Futaba said as Sojiro spoke up.

"I see. This is about that Alice girl, right?" Sojiro said, seeing the group's shocked faces and taking them as an invitation to keep speaking, which he did.

"You're suspected of causing that whole mess on TV somehow, aren't you? Is that it?" Sojiro asked as Futaba winced and spoke up.

"Hrgh, I forgot how sharp Sojiro is." Futaba said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"But it's totally bull! We know Alice is the one doing it somehow!" Ryuji said as Makoto winced and spoke up.

"We're sorry, Boss. We really didn't want to bother you again with this." Makoto said as Sojiro rubbed the back of his head in confusion and spoke up.

"Well, you didn't do it, right? So keep your chin up. If it's as 'totally bull' as Ryuji says it is, then it's up to you to prove it." Sojiro said kindly as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"Boss, wow. Thank you." Haru said as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"Good old Boss, always having our backs." Sumire said happily as Ren smirked at the fond look his girlfriend gave Sojiro while Morgana spoke up.

"Wow, Chief really nailed it there." Morgana said as Sojiro spoke up.

"Well, if you need anything, just let me know." Sojiro said as Futaba smiled and spoke up.

"Aww, how nice. Thank you, Sojiro. Now all that's missing is Kusa and Akechi, and it'd be just like old times." Futaba said as Sojiro spoke up.

"I dunno about Akechi, but as far as Kusa goes? Last I heard from him, he was almost finished with his mission. He said that if all goes well, he aims to be back in Yongen within the next week or so. He said to apologize to you for not being here for Ren's return, but he had stuff that he had to do." Sojiro said as the group nodded before Sojiro left and Morgana spoke up.

"Well, first things first. We take care of Alice. We can respond to that detective later. If Alice publicly admits to what she's been doing, it should clear our name, anyway." Morgana said as Ren and Sumire exchanged wary looks as the former spoke up.

"True. But what's to say that this won't be like the Palaces were before, and once we beat one Jail, another will spring up somewhere else when we least expect it, forcing us to deal with it?" Ren asked. Sumire spoke up.

"Ren has a point. Plus, if it was just Alice that was a concern, then why did Kusa need to leave town for so long on a mission? No, I get the sense it's more than just Alice. But for now, Alice is our main concern. After we deal with her, then we can worry about whatever else might be coming when we come to it." Sumire said as Ann blinked and spoke up.

"Ohh, right! Then if we can do that, we wouldn't even need to make a deal with him." Ann said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Nevertheless, we've yet to find a way to get closer to Alice's castle." Yusuke said as Morgana frowned and spoke up.

"That wall really is our biggest problem right now, isn't it?" Morgana said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up.

"In trouble? I can help." Sophia said as Sumire lifted up her phone so the others could hear Sophia and she could hear them while Ryuji spoke up.

"We're tryin' to figure out a way past that damn wall." Ryuji said as Sophia frowned and spoke up.

"I'm sorry, I don't have a solution for that. How about hacking it, Futaba?" Sophia suggested as Futaba frowned and spoke up.

"Hmmm, I could prooobably do something if it's linked to a terminal, but if it's not?" Futaba said as Sophia blinked and spoke up.

"A terminal? There is a control panel on the other side of the wall." Sophia said as Futaba looked at Sophia with wide eyes and spoke up.

"What!? There's a control panel on the other side? Really!?" Futaba said as Sophia spoke up.

"It was saved into my memory when we first confronted it. Therefore? Really." Sophia said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up.

"Damn, I can't believe you remember that! What an eye, huh guys?" Ryuji said as both Sophia and Sumire huffed and spoke up.

"Not 'an eye', Skull! It's AI!/It's 'A.I.'" Sumire and Sophia both corrected Ryuji at the same time before blinking at each other and smiling at their unintentional synchronicity. Before Ren could do more than smile fondly at the two, Sojiro spoke up, having heard Sophia's voice.

"Hm? Who're you talking to? Have a friend on the phone?" Sojiro asked as Futaba frowned and spoke up.

"No one. It's just your imagination, Sojiro." Futaba said as Sumire frowned and spoke up.

"Be nice, Futaba! Yes, Sojiro might not be open-minded to things like AI, but that doesn't mean you get to be rude to him." Sumire rebuked Futaba. Sojiro huffed at Futaba's remark and spoke up in an affronted tone.

"Hmph, I see. It's almost like I've had my shop swiped from under my butt. Or to borrow a turn of phrase from Kusa, I think I just had the rug yanked out from under me. Anyways, that means you can lock up for me, right Ren? I'm about to head out. Oh, and Sumire? Your parents called and told me that as long as you check in periodically with them, they're fine with it if you want to stay with Ren the rest of the summer, provided you go home and get changes of clothes as needed." Sojiro said as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"Ah, right. Thank you for passing that along, Boss. I'll make sure to call them up later and thank them." Sumire said as Ren spoke up.

"And of course we'll lock up for you, Boss. It's the least we can do for you after all you've done for us." Ren said kindly as Sojiro nodded and spoke up.

"Fair enough. And don't stay up too late either, got it? I get that you've got your girl basically staying with you for the summer, but don't take that as an open invitation to be up until all hours loving on her, Ren. And make sure you remember that the bed is Kusa's. You get to have the sofa for now. Maybe once Kusa gets back, you can work something out so you get the bed the rest of the time you're here. But until then? You're on the sofa." Sojiro said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Understood, Boss." Ren said as Futaba spoke up.

"Roger!" Futaba said as Ren spoke up.

"Thanks again for letting me stay here for the summer, Boss." Ren said. Sojiro spoke up with a nod.

"No problem. Well, don't overdo it." Sojiro said as he left, leaving the shop and leaving the group alone. At that point, Morgana spoke up.

"Now we have to figure out how we're going to get Futaba on the other side of that wall." Morgana said as Haru spoke up.

"Hm. Perhaps we could climb it with her? I don't think it's too high for us to climb." Haru said as Yusuke shook his head and spoke up.

"Bad idea. There are too many searchlights in the area. We'd be quickly surrounded." Yusuke said as Morgana spoke up.

"Good point. At this point, we're going to need a decoy to put a dent in their defenses for us." Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up in surprise.

"One decoy? Even if we assume it's a two-person job, who do you think could actually pull that off?" Ryuji asked as Morgana spoke up.

"I wonder. Who could pull off being a two-person decoy unit, all by themselves?" Morgana asked rhetorically as several sets of eyes turned onto a suddenly wary Ren and Sumire, both of whom exchanged looks that suggested they knew they'd likely just been volunteered once more. Sumire spoke up.

"You want us to draw all those Shadows' attention? On our own?" Sumire asked as Sophia spoke up with a smile.

"Not alone! While you and Ren are drawing most of the attention, most of the others could go with Futaba to hack that control panel, while another small two-man unit could go and create a secondary diversion to split the enemy's numbers a bit, making it easier to draw all the attention away from the larger group. And before anyone asks, I was thinking the secondary diversion could be myself and Morgana, since I feel like we work together pretty efficiently, plus we're probably the most capable out of the others of fending for ourselves to some extent, other than maybe Haru and Makoto." Sophia said as a wide eyed Morgana spoke up.

"Wait, WHAT!? You want us to do WHAT!?" Morgana asked as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"Impressive strategy, Sophia. Well, if Morgana agrees to help you be a secondary decoy, then I think we've got a good plan here. And if he agrees with your end, then I think I can be persuaded to agree to playing primary decoy with Sumire, assuming she has no objections to it?" Ren said as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"If you think we can handle it, I trust you, Ren." Sumire said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Very well. In that case, all right. We'll do it." Ren said confidently before turning to Morgana and speaking up.

"Good luck in keeping Sophia safe when we do this diversion, Morgana! Sumire and I are counting on you, bro." Ren said kindly to Morgana, who spoke up in embarrassment.

"Ignoring the fact I was just basically thrown under the Mona-bus twice in a row, there's our Ren and Sumire! I knew you two would do it! Make sure to make a huge commotion to draw as much of the Shadows' attention as you can for us! Meanwhile, myself and Lady Sophia will do our best to draw a lot of the enemy our way after they get drawn out of the castle, leaving the way mostly clear for the rest of the group to focus on getting the wall down." Morgana said as Ann frowned and spoke up.

"This still sounds too dangerous, even for Ren and Sumire. Shouldn't someone back him up?" Ann said as Futaba spoke up.

"If he were here right now, I'm sure Kusa would jump at the chance to have Ren's back in a heartbeat. But as he's not, unless either Inari or Ryuji wants to volunteer to join Ren's diversion, there's not much we can do in terms of extra manpower." Futaba said as Sophia spoke up.

"Have no fear, Ann. That's why I proposed that Morgana and I cause a secondary diversion to confuse the enemy. If it works as planned, it will divide the enemy's attention between Ren and Sumire, along with myself and Morgana. If done right, this should considerably lighten the burden placed upon you and Sumire, Ren." Sophia said as Ren spoke up with a fond smile.

"That would be very helpful, Sophia." Ren said as Sumire spoke up.

"While Ren is right, don't take that to mean you have permission to put yourself in danger for us, Sophia. I'd rather see you able to return to us after this is all over." Sumire said with a frown. Sophia looked at Sumire and spoke up from inside Sumire's phone.

"No prob, Ren. And Sumire, cheer up. I will have Morgana with me, so I'm not worried about making it out safely. I trust him to protect me, no matter what." Sophia said honestly, making both Sumire and Morgana give Sophia shocked looks as the latter spoke up.

"W-wait, WHAT!? You already trust me that much, Lady Sophia?" Morgana asked as Sophia smiled happily and nodded while Sumire spoke up with a frown on her face.

"So it would seem. I just hope this doesn't end up turning into a bunch of headaches for us in the long run." Sumire said worriedly as Morgana spoke up.

"Don't sweat the small stuff, Sumire! All right, we've got a plan! Now we just have to assign roles to the rest of the team." Morgana said as the group hashed out the rest of the details of their plan before disbanding for the evening, leaving Sumire and Ren alone after Futaba took Morgana home with her for the night.

After Ren and Sumire were left alone, Sumire wasted little time in locking up Leblanc, along with shutting off both her and Ren's phones and setting them on the counter downstairs before taking Ren by the hand and guiding him upstairs, eventually backing him up against a wall after getting him up the steps as she pulled him into an eager kiss. After recovering from his shock, Ren smiled and returned the kiss. Sumire then gave Ren a very coy smile as she guided him to the couch, pushing him down first so she could straddle his waist sexily as she looked into his eyes and spoke up in a tone that was a mix of sultry and seductive.

**M-RATED CONTENT STARTS HERE. IF YOU'RE NOT INTERESTED IN THAT SORT OF THING OR DON'T LIKE READING LEMONS, SKIP AHEAD TO THE SECTION MARKED *END OF M-RATED CONTENT* AND CONTINUE READING ON. OTHERWISE, YOU READ ON FROM HERE AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! M-RATED CONTENT BEGINS NOW!**

"I know we've got a distraction to perform tomorrow, but for now? I'm kind of in a mood to have my way with you. And since I turned the phones off and locked up the shop, there's no way anyone should be able to interrupt us. So let's just let ourselves enjoy the moment, yeah?" Sumire said, smiling at Ren, who blushed but nodded as he spoke up.

"I mean, if that's what you want, beautiful, then who am I to argue? Let's do it." Ren said as Sumire smiled sexily at Ren as she spoke up.

"Good boy. Here's your reward." Sumire said, before boldly stripping off her shirt and bra, tossing them to the floor as she sexily let her breasts fall free for Ren to see as she leaned in to lovingly trail kisses along Ren's neckline, getting a throaty yet husky moan from him as he spoke up.

"Heh, looks like someone's in a frisky mood. Then again, I suppose I can't blame you, given we've not really been able to do this for quite a while. I suppose I should let you take charge here, since you seem eager to dominate me. So lead on, oh sexy girlfriend of mine." Ren said submissively as Violet smirked and spoke up.

"Well said, Ren. Now let's get some of these clothes off you." Sumire said seductively as she slid Ren's jacket off, tossing it to the ground behind her before tugging his shirt up over his head and tossing it aside as well, letting her take in the view of Ren's toned physique. Sumire licked her lips excitedly and spoke up.

"Ooh, what's this? Have you been keeping yourself in shape for me, Ren?" Sumire asked as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. Figured you'd appreciate it if I was still in shape when we saw each other again. Besides, it's not like I'm the only one who's been keeping in shape over the years. Have you not looked in a mirror lately? Because you've gotten so damned sexy, it's like you got a serious glow-up, Sumire. And I not only love it, but I'm totally here for it." Ren said slyly as Sumire blushed and shyly spoke up.

"You really think I'm sexy, Ren?" Sumire asked as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Absolutely. Every inch of you is nothing short of perfection. I count myself lucky each day that I get to call you my girlfriend." Ren said honestly as Sumire leaned down to eagerly make out with Ren, after which she spoke up.

"Thank you. I'm glad you think so highly of me, Ren. It means a lot." Sumire said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"You're welcome. But I didn't mean to distract you. I believe you were in the middle of having your way with me?" Ren said coyly as Sumire nodded and spoke up.

"That's right, I was." Sumire said as she eagerly started trailing kisses down the front of Ren, being sure to cover as much of his skin as possible in kisses, also taking time to trace circles on each of Ren's nipples with her tongue, letting herself explore her boyfriend's physique very carefully, getting approving and husky moans from Ren for her efforts as he spoke up.

"Mmm, yes. Keep going. I love it when you go wild on me, Sumi. By all means, keep at it. Consider my body your personal plaything to use for your amusement." Ren said submissively as Sumire gave Ren a sexy smile and spoke up.

"Good boy. What say we keep this party going then, yeah?" Sumire said, pressing loving kisses to each of Ren's nipples before trailing kisses down towards Ren's stomach, stopping short of the edge of Ren's bellybutton as she reached for Ren's belt to un-hook it before unbuttoning and un-zipping Ren's jeans, sliding them down and tossing them to the ground after removing Ren's shoes and socks, leaving her boyfriend wearing just a pair of boxers with a very prominent bulge in them. Sumire giggled and spoke up in a sultry voice.

"Oh, what's this? Is my boyfriend that happy to see me, or is that a weapon?" Sumire said teasingly before deciding to tease Ren a bit by cupping the bulge in Ren's boxers boldly with one hand and lightly caressing it before patting it lovingly and speaking up.

"Yep, definitely just Ren being happy to see me. Let's let it out, shall we?" Sumire said slyly as she slid off Ren's boxers and tossed them to the ground, before smirking and speaking up.

"Oops, almost forgot. One second." Sumire said as she stood up to unbutton, unzip, and slip off first her skirt, then her panties, tossing them to the ground with Ren's boxers, before stepping out of her shoes and socks, thus leaving both of them naked as Sumire smirked at Ren as she turned so that Ren's cock was at her eye level, lowering her lightly damp womanhood towards Ren's face, speaking up in a husky and eager tone.

"I feel rather naughty right now. So let's go ahead and use our mouths to pleasure each other for a bit before we go for the fun part." Sumire said huskily as Ren spoke up in a breathless tone.

"Y-Yes, ma'am. I hear and obey." Ren said submissively as he saw Sumire's entrance lower towards his face, leaning up to eagerly wrap his arms around her waist as he eagerly kissed the visible nub between her legs, sliding his tongue eagerly into her parted folds, eagerly tracing circles along Sumire's walls, enjoying the shuddering moans she was giving off for his efforts as she took Ren's hardened erection into her mouth to play with it a bit, making sure to tease it with her tongue rather generously, making Ren give off his own shuddering moans as the two spent a while pleasuring each others' crotches with their mouths.

As he ate Sumire out, Ren smirked naughtily as he saw her butt eagerly wiggling above him, smirking impishly before he reached his free hand up to deftly swat her on the ass, enjoying both the visible handprint his swat left and the shocked but pleased moan Sumire gave off for his actions, prompting her to retaliate by gently yet firmly fondling Ren's balls with one hand as she used the other to tease Ren by playing with her own breasts in a very sexy way. After he saw that, Ren huskily spoke up.

"Sumire, that's so hot, seeing you tease your own tits like that. Makes me want to work that much harder to pleasure you." Ren said huskily as he used his free hand to start stimulating Sumire's nub with two fingers, sliding them up and down over it, making Sumire moan appreciatively as she spoke up in a mixed breathless/husky voice.

"Ooh, yes! Please, keep going! That feels insanely good, Ren! I love it when you tease my clit like that." Sumire said, smiling as she started bobbing her head up and down suggestively while sucking on Ren's length, making him groan appreciatively as he felt Sumire's tender ministrations on his manhood. After a bit, Sumire looked up at Ren as she felt herself arc slightly from Ren's affections.

"Ooh, yes! Keep going, Ren! I think I'm getting close!" Sumire said as Ren shuddered a moment later and spoke up.

"Me too, Sumi! Let's drive each other over the edge together!" Ren said as Sumire nodded and they kept pleasuring each other with their mouths. A few minutes later, Sumire whimpered as she spoke up, still teasing Ren's shaft with her tongue as she spoke.

"Oh shit! I think I'm coming, Ren!" Sumire said as Ren grunted at that point and spoke up.

"I think I am too! Oh, fuck! I'M COMING, SUMI!" Ren said as Sumire whimpered and spoke up.

"I'M COMING TOO, REN!" Sumire said as the two practically screamed each other's names as they released in and on each other's mouths. After a bit, the two shared an eager kiss before Sumire smiled at Ren and spoke up.

"Good, that's the warm-up done. Now for the main event. Ready to stick it in me, Ren? I want you to make me ride you like a fucking stallion! So pound me with all you've got!" Sumire said huskily as Ren nodded, using the fact that Sumire's entrance was still slick from the combination of Ren's tongue, her release, and her lingering juices to easily line himself up and slide right into Sumire's moist entrance, smirking as he felt his length slide right in. Ren smirked as he spoke up.

"Ready to ride me?" Ren asked as Sumire smiled and nodded sexily before turning to eagerly pull Ren into a desperate kiss as she felt Ren start thrusting into her, riding his thrusts in turn as she bucked her hips in time to his thrusts. smiling coyly as she saw Ren looking up ather and giving him a sexy smirk before taking her breasts in hand and deciding to tease Ren by licking her own breast coyly, making Ren smirk appreciatively as he upped his speed and intensity, making Sumire moan both appreciatively and happily as she felt Ren getting into a good rhythm.

Smirking, Sumire got a bit of a naughty idea as she turned the two so that she was still riding Ren, but they were facing the mirror on the other side of the room, letting Ren get a good view of her breasts as they perkily bounced up and down in time with his thrusts, making him thrust harder and faster, enjoying the sounds of Sumire's husky and appreciative moans. As Ren kept riding her, Sumire smiled at Ren and spoke up.

"You like it when I tease you like this, don't you Ren? You love it when I make you my plaything, don't you? It turns you on." Sumire said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"Ohh yes, I do enjoy seeing you take the lead, Sumi. Almost makes me want to get you on your knees and try taking you doggy style sometime. Maybe mix it up a bit. I mean, it's not like you've never been in a kinky mood and wanted to try new things before, right?" Ren said as Sumire smiled slyly and spoke up, looking into Ren's eyes as she decided to tease him a bit while speaking.

"Correct. After all, had I wanted to, I could have very easily seduced Futaba if I wanted to experiment with a girl. After all, we both know she's hit on me before, so I'm sure she's not adverse to the odd casual fling here and there. I realize that you see her as a sister, and that she's dating Kusa, but I very much doubt that either you or Kusa would really object to seeing us go at it at least once. After all, I seem to recall you said you're into girl-on-girl stuff?" Sumire said slyly as Ren spoke up while thrusting.

"Correct. Though I also seem to recall you once said you'd rather be in a threesome with Ann and Shiho. Or am I remembering that wrong?" Ren said coyly as Sumire spoke up with a blush.

"No, you're right. But I doubt very much those two are going to be up for threesomes. Also, I recall you also see Ann as a sister too. Not sure if you see her girlfriend that way or not, however. But my point is, I'm sure you'd not mind if I were to make you watch as I brought a girl home to make love with while making love to her in front of you. I'm sure that the more hormonal part of you would just relish the chance to see girl-on-girl sex up close and personal." Sumire said huskily as Ren groaned and started thrusting faster while speaking up.

"Nope, I wouldn't mind that one bit. But you'd have to make sure whatever girl you pick doesn't have a boyfriend or girlfriend who would object to it." Ren pointed out before spanking Sumire again as he spoke up, enjoying the shocked yelp she gave off, which was followed by a husky moan as she spoke up.

"Ooh, punishing me, are you? I like it. Now keep going." Sumire said as Ren obliged, making Sumire shudder as she felt herself arc again while bucking with Ren's thrusts. Sumire then spoke up eagerly.

"OH, YES! REN, I'M GETTING CLOSE AGAIN! MAKE ME SCREAM YOUR NAME AS I CLIMAX!" Sumire said huskily as Ren nodded, turning Sumire so she was facing him as he pulled her into an eager kiss as he thrusted harder and faster while reaching his hands up to triumphantly cup her breasts, using his hands to smugly pinch the pert and perky nipples on each of Sumire's breasts, teasing them a bit as Sumire moaned appreciatively and deepened the kiss as Ren grunted and spoke up.

"OOH, FUCK YES, THAT'S AMAZING! NOW I'M GETTING CLOSE!" Ren said as Sumire arched and spoke up.

"OH, HELL YES! YESSSS! I'M COMING, REN!" Sumire said euphorically as she felt her walls constrict on Ren's member, squeezing it as she felt herself release, her juices slicking up Ren's length as he felt his shaft twitch and he spoke up.

"ME TOO, SUMI!" Ren said as he felt his cock twitch before he felt several loads shoot out into Sumire's walls, one after another. After about three or four releases shot off, he finally felt himself go limp inside of Sumire, who leaned down to kiss Ren happily as the two breathlessly flopped down on one another on the couch in a pile of limbs, smiling happily at one another as Ren pulled a blanket over them.

**M-RATED CONTENT ENDS HERE. CONTINUE READING HERE IF YOU SKIPPED THE PRECEDING LEMON.**

After catching his breath, Ren smiled at Sumire and spoke up.

"How was that, beautiful? Was it worth the wait?" Ren asked as Sumire smiled happily, giving a light 'mmhm' of affirmation as she laid her head on Ren's chest and spoke up, not caring that they were both slightly slick from sweating so much during their lovemaking as she did so. Eventually, Sumire looked into Ren's eyes and spoke up, finding herself feeling oddly fulfilled from feeling Ren release inside of her.

"That was amazing. Yes, we forgot protection again, but I don't mind. If it ends up having unforeseen consequences, then we'll deal with them when we come to them. As you once said, we're in this together, Ren. Never forget that. I'm so glad you're back here for the summer. I've missed being able to have you close to me like this. And to be honest? I'm glad no one was around." Sumire said as Ren chuckled and spoke up.

"Heh, good point. Could you imagine how most of the others would've reacted if they'd heard the way we were yelling before? I'm sure their reactions would be outright glorious to see. Though, I will say that Sojiro would probably be pissed if we'd cost him any customers. But, I think it'd have been worth the lecture just to see that adorably content look on your face right now, beautiful." Ren said slyly as he lovingly draped an arm over his girlfriend's waist, smiling as she snuggled closer to him in response. Sumire then spoke up with a soft smile on her face.

"True. I might be being a bit spoiled to say this, but I could get used to having you next to me all the time." Sumire said around a yawn, making Ren smile as he spoke up.

"You're tired, aren't you?" Ren asked Sumire, who sheepishly nodded as Ren smiled and kissed his girlfriend on the cheek before speaking up.

"It's fine. We've had a pretty full day, between exploring most of Alice's Jail, having a run-in with that Hasegawa guy, and then that glorious experience we had just now. So get some sleep, by all means. You've more than earned it, Sumi. And don't worry. I'll be right here next to you when you wake up." Ren said lovingly as Sumire nodded and spoke up happily.

"I know you will. And I'm happy that you're not going anywhere. Well, good night. Love you, Ren." Sumire said as Ren smiled as he watched Sumire peacefully doze off on his chest before smiling as he spoke up.

"Night, Sumi. I love you too. Sleep tight, my love." Ren said happily as he laid back on the couch and dozed off too, smiling as he looked down at his peacefully dozing girlfriend while he drifted off to sleep for the night...

(The next morning, in the attic of Leblanc, with Ren and Sumire)

As Ren's eyes slowly opened up the next morning, he blinked as he realized he was laying on the couch in the attic of Leblanc. On a further inspection, he noticed a giant array of discarded clothing on the ground, making him frown in confusion, before smiling as he recalled what he and Sumire had done the night before. When he thought about Sumire, he instinctively looked down.

Once Ren looked down, he found himself smiling happily as he noticed the peacefully-dozing redhead currently snuggled into his chest, using him as a pillow as she slept, unaware of Ren watching her, a content smile on his face as he admired the way the morning sun reflected off of Sumire's hair, making her dark red hair almost seem to shine slightly in the morning sunlight. As Ren watched his girlfriend sleep on with a very contented yet pretty smile on her face, he found himself both in awe of how breathtakingly adorable she looks while asleep, as well as a mix of shocked and pleased he actually got to wake up with her next to him for a change, since usually she's already gone most of the time when he gets up.

Chuckling quietly to himself at his musings, Ren leaned down to gently press a kiss to Sumire's cheek, eventually leaning back to get comfortable as he draped an arm around the sleeping redhead's waist, before his eyes widened as he recalled that he and Sumire were supposed to get an early start, and carefully got to his feet, tucking Sumire carefully into the sofa so she could keep dozing still. After finding his clothes and getting dressed carefully, as well as setting Sumire's clothes in a neat pile on the table near the table, Ren headed downstairs to grab his phone so he could see what time it was.

After doing so, Ren swore silently when he saw that it was only about an hour before Sojiro was due to show up and open up the shop. Ren sighed, knowing he'd have to wake Sumire up so she could get dressed before customers started showing up. After all, even if she had a blanket on, there's no way rumors won't fly around if someone notices a girl coming down the stairs clad only in a blanket, to get dressed. Reluctantly, Ren headed back upstairs to start gently shaking Sumire awake.

As he did so, Ren smirked on noticing that when he'd tucked his girlfriend in, he'd accidentally pushed the blanket down her front a bit, so that the tops of her bare breasts were visible over the blanket. Resisting the urge to wake her up the way she woke him up three days ago, Ren leaned down to gently kiss Sumire awake. Sumire felt Ren's lips on her own and groaned cutely as she slowly woke up, looking around as she did so.

"Ren? Are we in the attic of Leblanc?" Sumire asked as Ren nodded. At that point, Sumire looked down, lifting the blanket to check herself, and blushing scarlet as she realized she was totally naked underneath the blanket. Seeing his girlfriend's embarrassed face, Ren smiled and handed her her clothes from the night before, smiling at her as he spoke up.

"Looking for these, beautiful? We kinda slept in a tiny bit. We have a bit under an hour to get up and make sure the shop's ready for when Boss comes in to open up. As much as I could've let you sleep a while longer, I didn't think you'd want to be woken up by someone going to sit down and sitting on you, only to accidentally realize you're indecently dressed as they do so. After all, only you, myself, and anyone else you give permission to do so get to see you naked, Sumi. And let me just say that you look absolutely gorgeous right now." Ren said smoothly as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"Fair enough. And I like how smooth you're being right now, Ren. Maybe we should do that more often? After all, last night was glorious. But I know we have a job to do today, so we have to focus." Sumire said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"That we do, beautiful. Tell you what. I'll brew us some coffee since we've got time, and then after that, we can figure out our plans for the day. And you don't have to get dressed until after our coffee if you don't want to. After all, the shop's closed right now, so only the two of us should be here." Ren said as Sumire slyly smiled and spoke up.

"No, I should probably get dressed. After all, watch it be our luck that you got the time wrong, and we go downstairs to Sojiro coming in or something. Let me get dressed and we can go get some coffee." Sumire said as Ren nodded his agreement, smirking as he watched his girlfriend get dressed, making her give Ren a coy smile as she spoke up.

"Enjoying the show? I hope so. After all, despite what I said last night, only you get to see me getting dressed like this." Sumire said as Ren spoke up with a nod

"Absolutely. I always find myself thinking that anything I get to watch you do is somehow the sexiest thing I've ever seen, since you're the one doing it. And to tell you the truth, I wouldn't have it any other way, beautiful." Ren said as the two headed downstairs and Ren got some coffee started for the two. After the pot was set up and brewing, Ren spoke up.

"So, be honest with me, Sumi. Are you ready for what we have to do today?" Ren asked as Sumire spoke up honestly.

"Honestly? Yes. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can change Alice's skanky and likely distorted heart. Also, the others are counting on us to do our jobs as distractions, so we can't afford to be at anything less than our best, Ren. So let's make sure we bring our A-game today. After all, we've got the others counting on us to draw the enemy's attention away. And even with Morgana and Sophia acting as a secondary diversion, there's no guarantees on if we'll succeed at our mission. So let's do our best, yeah?" Sumire said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. Let's do our best today." Ren said as Sumire nodded her agreement. While she and Ren had their morning coffee, they reflected on the coming diversion they'd have to help plan, and realized that this was probably their most critical job yet. Moreover, this was one time where failure was NOT an option...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And, boom! Another chapter done and dusted! The next chapter, if all goes to plan, should be the distraction with Joker and Violet, where things come back around full circle to how the game started. Pretty quick turnaround compared to Royal, yeah? That said, I'm not fully decided on it yet, but I might, keyword being MIGHT, have another lemon in the next chapter if I feel I can fit it in.

However, that said, I make no promises on that, since who knows what will be in the next chapter? That said, if the aforementioned lemon's not in the next chapter, it'll be in the chapter after next for sure. But for the most part, it should be focused on progressing closer to the end of the first Jail next chapter. Odds are better than fair that it won't be until probably around chapter 7 to 9 (Probably 9 to 10) when we near the end of the first Arc.

And to anyone who might be wondering about Kusa's continued absence from this story, I have plans for an 'interlude' chapter of sorts between the first and second arcs (though it might be multiple chapters depending on how much I put in it) that mainly focuses on what Kusa's up to while the others are tackling the first Jail (and even a bit of his activities AFTER the first change of heart).

Also, since I feel like leaving a bit of a teaser for it, this interlude may or may not also heavily feature a certain pancake-loving ace detective that is otherwise absent in canon Strikers, along with a certain gruff but kindhearted cafe owner who's been mostly a background character so far in this story. But we'll see if I can fit it in.

That said, thanks as always to all who support this story, along with my other stories, as the support is both welcomed and greatly appreciated! I always enjoy hearing from my readers, so don't be shy about leaving a review (or a PM if you'd rather not leave what you have to say in reviews) with your thoughts/opinions/feedback/suggestions/constructive criticism on this story. I always welcome input from readers, as it lets me continue to improve as a fanfiction writer, which in the end is all one can really hope for, is to continually get better at what they do.

So thanks for all the support, and until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!