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!

15. The Icy Jail! Icy Redemption part 2

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Phantom Files, Book 2: Rise Of The Monarchs! As always, not a lot to say at this point, so let's go ahead and do the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I, sithlorde1988, do not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form (excluding the OC Kusa/Draconis, along with the OCs Taichi and Momoe, as well as any other OCs that might crop up in this story, all of which are made by and thus belong to me unless otherwise stated), and the actual ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Atlus, Sega, and to some extent, Koei Tecmo (at least insofar as the spinoffs, such as Strikers, Tactica, Phantom X, the 'Dancing' games, the 'Q' games, and the 'Arena' games are concerned), so all ownership credit belongs to them!

So, with that done, I suppose there's iittle else to say for now. In that case, I say we get on with the chapter. I'll try to have a longer A/N at the end of the chapter for anyone who reads that far after the end of the chapter, so feel free to keep an eye out for that after the chapter. For now, though, on with the chapter! Here's chapter 15!

Chapter 15: Intel hunting, Speeches, and more! Icy Redemption part 2

(In Suzushino, with Ren and Morgana)

As Ren and Morgana prepared to hunt for intel, they recalled that Yusuke had said something about needing their attention, so they decided to go see what he wanted first. After finding Yusuke by some vending machines, Ren approached him and spoke up.

"Hey, I saw your private chat. What's up, Yusuke? What's the emergency?" Ren asked as Yusuke gave Ren a blank stare, leading Morgana to speak up.

"HEY! What happened, Yusuke!?" Morgana said before Yusuke spoke up.

"Oh, right, that. Ren, look at this." Yusuke said, showing Ren a can of juice, featuring milk and fish on the label for some reason, making Ren pull a horrified/disgusted face at the sight of the odd can. A 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which she had once again left with Ren so Sophia could accompany Ren and Morgana on the intel hunt, preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Running a search. Returning search results: This drink, called 'Primordial Soup', is considered a regional specialty. They press the juices out of locally sourced fish and blend it with fresh Hokkaido milk. It's marketed towards men in particular." Sophia said as Ren winced and spoke up.

"I'm sorry, that's marketed towards MEN!? With apologies to Morgana, I feel like that'd be moreso something they target towards cats, or am I wrong that most cats like fish in general?" Ren said as Morgana frowned and gave Ren an annoyed glare before he sighed and spoke up.

"I'll ignore that you called me a cat here for the sake of the bigger picture, Ren. That said, I dunno about all that, Lady Sophia. I'm just worried about the smell." Morgana said as Ren spoke up.

"Dang, not even Morgana likes it. You know this is bad if that's the case." Ren said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"Indeed. Who would invent such a monstrosity, anyways? It seems Sapporo's culture is not to be trifled with!" Yusuke said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"Was that the emergency, then, Yusuke? If so, Kusa and I are going to have to have a serious talk with you at some point about what does and what does not constitute an emergency. And for the record? This is bad, but I wouldn't say this is an emergency in any sense of the word." Ren said as Morgana nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"No kidding, Ren! Sheesh, you got my hair all standing up for nothing, Yusuke. Anyway, are you done gathering rumors?" Morgana asked, and when Yusuke answered, both Ren and Morgana had the resist the temptation to facefault at what he said next.

"Not in the slightest. I was so taken aback that I lost focus. Hmm, perhaps I can recover if I offer this to you, Ren. Please inform me of how it tastes." Yusuke said as Ren gave Yusuke a horrified look and spoke up.

"WHAT!? You expect me to taste that?" Ren asked as Yusuke nodded and Ren sighed and spoke up.

"Whatever. I'll figure out what to do with this later." Ren said as he accepted the 'Primordial Soup' from Yusuke and kept moving. As Ren looked around, he frowned as he heard a gaunt-looking businessman coughing nearby, stopping to listen in as the gaunt-looking businessman spoke to himself.

"It's no use at this point. Must hurry and find relief for this cough. I need medicine badly." The gaunt-looking businessman said as Ren spoke up.

"Pardon me for eavesdropping, sir, but you don't look so good. Have you tried going to see a doctor?" Ren asked kindly. The gaunt businessman blinked at Ren before he spoke up.

"Don't worry about that. But you say I should go see a doctor? I mean, I'd like to, but I don't have the time. I work the early shift tomorrow too, after all. I need to hurry up and recover from this illness. Or failing that, I at least need to get back to work. Otherwise the mayor's gonna be livid with me." The gaunt-looking businessman said as Morgana spoke up with a frown.

"What did you say? Did he say the mayor would be livid with him if he didn't keep working despite his poor health, Ren?" Morgana asked as Ren nodded while the gaunt-looking businessman turned to the nearby shop owner and spoke up.

"Hey! Gimme all the energy drinks and medicine you got! I'm talking about emptying the shelves here!" The gaunt-looking businessman said as Morgana frowned and spoke up.

"Oh, my. Is he being overworked like that city employee we saw this afternoon?" Morgana asked as Ren spoke up.

"Probably. This isn't good either way, however." Ren said as he blinked when the progress meter on his and Sumire's phones jumped from 0% to 40% off of that one lead and Ren kept moving. As Ren walked past Yusuke, Yusuke stopped him and spoke up.

"Ren? I just recalled something else. That drink I gave you, the primordial soup? Apparently it's a prebiotic soup that enhances the potency of one's manhood somehow. Whether such marketing has merit or not, we shall perhaps see." Yusuke said as a wide-eyed Ren spoke up.

"One's manhood!? Are you trying to say this is basically a medicine to make a man better in the sack? If so, that's incredibly emasculating. Maybe I can let Ann and/or Shiho try it out once they figure out which of them is the 'man' of their relationship." Ren said with a shrug as he kept moving. After a bit, Ren found a ramen shop, and on seeing it for sale, purchased a 'Miso Ramen' recipe. Ren did this while knowing that Ryuji had a relative weakness for ramen, as did Ren himself to a point. As if summoned by the mention of ramen, Ryuji walked over and grinned at Ren as he spoke up.

"Yo! What's up, RenRen? Oh hey, you're eating here too? Then let's sit together, dude." Ryuji said as he and Ren each got a ramen portion to try out. While eating his, Ryuji spoke up with a closed-eye grin.

"Damn! Mm, good stuff! When you're in Sapporo, you gotta get miso ramen!" Ryuji said happily before turning to the nearby waiter and speaking up once he'd gotten the waiter's attention.

"Hey, 'scuse me, could I get another order of chashu? Actually make that two orders. One for me, and one for this guy!" Ryuji said as Ren shrugged and accepted the extra order Ryuji had gotten him, taking the time to enjoy miso ramen with Ryuji, feeling a flash of inspiration as he did so. Ren then saw Ryuji standing near the ramen shop and spoke up.

"Yo, what's bonkin', Ryuji? That ramen was crazy good, wasn't it?" Ren said as Ryuji nodded happily and spoke up.

"Truth, RenRen! Yo, look at all the ramen spots they got! It's crazy how they're, like, everywhere. Man, this place is the real deal. I almost don't wanna leave!" Ryuji said happily as Morgana sighed and spoke up.

"Good grief. Seriously, Ryuji? Feasting your eyes is fine, but don't forget why we're here." Morgana gently rebuked Ryuji, who winced and spoke up.

"Uhh, right! I didn't forget! We were, uh, lookin' for rumors about Hyodo, right? My gut's tellin' me we'll find some here. Maybe." Ryuji said as Ren sighed and spoke up.

"Perhaps, but maybe we should've paired you with Makoto and/or Ann for this, so they could keep you on task somewhat. I almost said with Sumire, but I feel like that's a recipe for disaster right there." Ren said as Ryuji smirked and spoke up.

"Chill, Ren. I'm on task. But I'm also diggin' the smell of this ramen! Ahh, I just can't resist the smell! Oh, and speaking of pairs? Most of us went solo for this hunt, but I saw Makoto lead Futaba to another part of town to hunt for rumors, while Haru led Goro down the street a ways to look for info, and I think I saw Sojiro and Kusa head up the other way to hunt for intel together.

As for the others, I saw Yusuke across from the bathhouse, Ann over by the entrance of town, and I think I saw Sumire heading the same direction that Makoto and Futaba did, though I think she stayed in this part of town? Either way, that's the best I know of where the others are." Ryuji said as Ren nodded and kept moving. Ren spotted a person on the nearby corner standing alone and spoke to them.

"Excuse me, do you know anything about Mariko Hyodo?" Ren asked the man, who appeared to be a host judging from his attire. The waiting host spoke up.

"You need something? Look, I'm meeting up with a chick right now, so maybe later." The waiting host said as Ren spoke up.

"That's okay. I'll look elsewhere. Thanks anyways for your time though, sir." Ren said as he kept moving. After moving all around town, Ren found another shop with an on-sale recipe in the form of the 'Seafood Bowl' recipe, which Ren decided to pick up on a whim. After he bought the recipe, Makoto walked over and spoke up.

"Oh. Hello. Are you out grabbing food too, Ren? Doesn't the seafood bowl here look amazing? I'm thinking I should try that. Just look at all the raw fish they use." Makoto said as she saw the eager look on Morgana's face at the mention of raw fish and giggled as she spoke up.

"Hee hee, I see that excited look, Morgana. I know you're eager, but chill out and don't worry, Morgana. I'll be sure to buy a to-go order for you." Makoto said as Morgana spoke up with a very happy closed-eye smile on his face, not seeing Sophia giggle at the almost kitten-like look of contention on Morgana's face as he spoke up.

"Meow? You will? Ooh, how thoughtful, Makoto! Can't thank you enough!" Morgana said as Ren smirked while he made a mental note to have Sumire nearby once Makoto gives Morgana his to-go seafood bowl, since he had a hunch that his girlfriend would probably get a kick out of the look on Morgana's face as he accepts his seafood bowl from Makoto. While thinking this, Ren let himself enjoy some seafood bowls with Makoto, feelilng another flash of inspiration hit as he did so. After paying for the recipe, Ren kept moving. After walking down the road a ways, Ren smirked as he heard a familiar voice speaking up.

"...Wait, what? You heard someone say what about the mayor, Sojiro?" A voice that Ren recognized as Kusa's said, before another voice, this one clearly Sojiro's, chuckled and spoke up.

"Exactly what I said, Kusa. I heard some people say that her employees are very dissatisfied with her treatment of them, but none of the people I asked would give me any specifics. Probably out of fear of reprisal from the mayor if she found out they were talking about her." Sojiro said as Ren walked over and spoke up.

"Ah, you two are hard at work gathering info, I see." Ren said as Kusa turned to Ren and smirked as he spoke up.

"Yep, we sure are. Sojiro was just telling me about some rumors he heard about how the mayor apparently drives her employees into the ground from how hard she works them. I wasn't trying to say this around Haru, since I know this is still a bit of a sore subject for her, but I feel like Hyodo could be as much of a slave driver, if not more of one, than President Okumura was.

And we both know what Goro did to him by the time we got to changing President Okumura's heart, don't we? Fortunately, I don't think Goro will do the same thing here to Hyodo. For one, he's changed enough to not do that. And for two, I think he doesn't want to hurt Haru the same way he did before." Kusa said as Sojiro smirked and spoke up while giving Kusa an approving nod to his observation.

"Good point. But you forgot to mention the detail of Goro likely as not being hopelessly head over heels for Haru, even if he won't admit it. I mean, why else would he readily agree to work with her while doing this round of info gathering?" Sojiro said as Ren spoke up.

"Good point, Sojiro. Ryuji did mention he headed to the other side of the area with Haru when I ran into him recently. He also mentioned you two linking up for info gathering, but didn't say why?" Ren said as Kusa spoke up.

"Oh, I can answer that. Not only did Sojiro want to work with me, he saw it as an opportunity to have a serious talk with me on what is and isn't acceptable to mention when discussing one's love life. I think I might have traumatized him by accident with my off-color joke at the bathhouse. Sorry about that, Sojiro. That was not at all my intention." Kusa said as Sojiro smirked in amusement at the mixed contrite/sheepish look on Kusa's face before he laughed and spoke up.

"It's fine. Just be glad Futaba didn't hear you. Pretty sure she'd have dunked your head under the water if she had." Sojiro said as Kusa winced and spoke up.

"You're not wrong, Sojiro. But anyways, we're focused on Hyodo right now, not mine and Taba's love life." Kusa said before Ren nodded approvingly and kept moving. As he turned to go find Ann, recalling that he'd walked past her trying to check for recipes he could buy, he spotted a cynical woman standing alone and decided to walk over to her and speak up.

"Hello. Sorry to walk up to you out of nowhere and start speaking like this, but would you know anything about Mariko Hyodo? My friends and I are trying to learn whatever we can about her, you see." Ren asked the cynical woman, who spoke up.

"Hyodo, eh? Oh, are you kids Hyodo supporters too?" The cynical woman asked as Ren spoke up.

"Umm, not really? We're holding a neutral stance on her until we learn more about her. After all, they say the best decision is an informed one, yes?" Ren said as the cynical woman spoke up.

"No? You're only collecting rumors about her? Is that for an assignment or something? Well, listen up. Day in and day out, all I hear is the same old fanaticism. People won't shut up about Hyodo. They say she's as trustworthy as it gets, but I'm pretty sure she's hiding something. Theres no such thing as an honest politician." The cynical woman said as Ren nodded and kept moving after the progress meter on his and Sumire's phones bumped from 40% to 42% as a result of what the cynical woman had told Ren. After that, Ren found Ann standing nearby and spoke up.

"Hey, sis. How's the info hunt going for you?" Ren asked as Ann turned around and looked at Ren before speaking up.

"Oh, hey there, Ren. Look at all the people around here. I thought maybe a celebrity was here, but I guess they all came to check out that poster?" Ann said as Ren blinked and spoke up.

"Poster?" Ren said before he noticed the gaggle of people Ann had pointed out, listening in as he heard a glassy-eyed man in the crowd speak up.

"Mayor Hyodo, finally. I can finally meet you at last after so long. Oh yes, this is truly a great moment. You are all my hopes and dreams embodied!" The glassy-eyed man said as a wide-eyed Morgana spoke up.

"Really!? This guy's totally out of it, wouldn't you say, Ren? In any case, is he talking about going to the speech tomorrow? We'd better not let our guard down." Morgana said as Ren nodded approvingly, blinking as the progress meter on his and Sumire's phones jumped from 42% to 76% from the info he'd gotten just then. Ren then kept moving. After moving into the other part of town Ryuji had mentioned, Ren found Makoto and Futaba standing side-by-side looking at a large building. Ren decided to speak to Futaba first, walking over to her as he spoke up.

"Heh, workin' with Makoto again, eh little sis?" Ren said to Futaba, who looked over and spoke up.

"Huh? Oh, hey Ren! I was looking for rumors online, but I found out something even more intriguing. Get this, you two. There is a very creepy building in Suzushino somewhere, and it's supposed to be haunted." Futaba said as Makoto gave off an involuntary gasp before she frowned and spoke up.

"Huh!? Haunted, you say? By what? Where!?" Makoto said as Ren gave her a sympathetic look while Futaba spoke up.

"Mwehehe! Uh, there are only a few beings I can think of that can actually haunt a building. As for where it is, it's-" Futaba said before Makoto winced and spoke up.

"It's okay! You don't need to say it, Futaba!" Makoto said fearfully as Ren turned to Futaba and spoke up with a disapproving look on his face.

"Really? Is now really the time to be scaring Makoto like that, Futaba?" Ren said disapprovingly as Futaba shrugged and spoke up.

"What? Oh, that? Relax, it's just an urban legend. 'Tis the season, after all. Or so they say." Futaba said as Makoto winced and spoke up.

"True, it is the season for it, unfortunately. And there's nothing like a summertime ghost story to keep you awake all night." Makoto said as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"Good point. But, y'know? I'm sure if you asked him, I'm sure Ryuji would be more than willing to take your mind off of Futaba's poor idea of a prank, since he's your boyfriend and all. Besides, I hear that horror stories are a good way to induce cuddling and/or close contact, if you're in that sort of mood." Ren said slyly as Makoto blushed and spoke up.

"I'll keep that in mind, Ren. But I'm not trying to lean on Ryuji like some sort of crutch or something like that. But you're not wrong that he probably would willingly hold me close and probably kiss my fears away, knowing him. But anyways, back to the subject of our info gathering. I've noticed there are a lot of posters about a cleanup campaign taking place.

It seems they're making an effort to beautify the city, or at least that's how it's framed. Could this be the mayor's doing? Something seems a little off to me, to be honest." Makoto said as Ren nodded and kept moving, heading back into the other part of town, where he spotted Haru and Goro standing together on the corner of the road across from where he'd re-entered the main part of Suzushino. After making sure it was safe, Ren crossed the road to go over and speak up to Goro and Haru.

"Heh, I'm impressed. Both Ryuji and Sojiro hinted that you two were working together to gather intel on Hyodo, but seeing it for myself is still mind-blowing, somehow." Ren said slyly as Goro huffed and spoke up.

"Oh, ha freaking ha, Ren. Just because I elected to help Haru out this time, that doesn't mean a thing." Goro said as Haru giggled and spoke up.

"Calm down, Goro. Ren is just teasing, that's all. Oh, and talking about our target? It might be due to the upcoming election, but nearly everyone is talking about Mari-san. I haven't heard any criticism, either, surprisingly. They're all singing her praises. To me, and even to Goro, it's almost unnatural how unified people are in their support of Mari-san. I wonder if there's truth to Zenkichi-san's suspicions of Mari-san being a Monarch?" Haru asked with a frown on her face as Goro shocked both Ren and Haru by gently patting Haru on the shoulder reassuringly and speaking up.

"Cheer up, Haru. Yes, this looks bad, but even if she IS a Monarch, she's not beyond redemption. After all, if you were able to change my heart, and even to a point that of Maruki, as well as your late father's heart, you can certainly change Hyodo's heart if needed. And as much as I'm not big on such things, for this I can make an exception. You don't have to do this alone, Haru. All of us have your back. So don't feel like you have to go through this on your own." Goro said as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"Y'know? You're right, Goro. I'm not alone. Thank you for snapping me out of my little bit of doubt." Haru said, surprising both Ren and Goro by impishly leaning in to kiss a stunned Goro on the cheek, giggling in amusement at how red Goro's face got afterwards. Goro then spoke up.

"Not that I'm complaining, but since when do you spontaneously kiss people like that, Haru? Again, I'm okay with it, but I wonder about it. For what it's worth, your lips felt incredibly soft on my cheek just now." Goro said, making Ren chuckle as he spoke up.

"Ah, shall I leave you two alone so you can have your little moment in privacy?" Ren said, walking off before Goro could do more than sputter at Ren's parting shot as Ren kept moving. After crossing back the way he came, Ren headed up towards where he'd run into Yusuke before, smirking as he spotted Sumire standing on her own by a nearby tree planted in a bush. Once he walked over to Sumire and patted her on the shoulder to get her attention, Ren spoke up while chuckling at the embarrassed look on Sumire's face at how cutely she'd squeaked in surprise when Ren patted her on the shoulder.

"Hey there, beautiful. Not surprised I'd find you walking around on your own. Also, sorry about scaring you just now. I couldn't resist doing that to get your attention." Ren said as Sumire pouted and spoke up.

"Hmph. I was NOT scared, Ren! I was shocked. There's a distinct difference between those two things. But on the subject of the investigation? I haven't found out much, though I did hear some interesting tidbits about several of the people on Hyodo's staff being potentially as corrupt as she is. But I couldn't get any solid evidence of this, unfortunately." Sumire said as Ren spoke up with a smile.

"That's okay, Sumire. I'm just happy you found anything at all. And this time, I can say I saved the best for last." Ren said slyly as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"Heh, well you're not wrong on that, Ren." Sumire said before sneakily pulling Ren into a heated kiss for a few moments, leaving both her and Ren red-faced afterwards. Sumire then giggled as she spoke up.

"And now that I've done that, I suppose you should keep looking for more info?" Sumire said as Ren spoke up.

"You can come with me if you like. You already did enough on your own." Ren said as Sumire smiled and eagerly fell into step with Ren as the duo kept moving. As the two did the rounds, Sumire blinked as the trio found themselves across from where Ren had met up with Ryuji, at which point she spoke up.

"Ren! Am I wrong, or are those two over there arguing?" Sumire said, pointing to where a woman with brown hair and a red and purple dress was seen arguing with a man in a white dress shirt, black tie, and black jeans, along with glasses. After exchanging a nod, the duo hung back a bit to listen in as the woman, who was apparently a fancy cabaret hostess, spoke up.

"Wait, what!? You're going to shut us down unless we clean up? Heeey, what kind of joke is that? We clean the club thoroughly every day. Huh? You found a millimeter of dust on the handrail? Come on, quit fooling around here. Um, wait, you're serious?" The fancy cabaret hostess said as Ren and Sumire exchanged a blink before the progress meters on their phones moved from 76% to 79%. At that point, Ren spotted an old man nearby and spoke up to him with Sumire in tow.

"Hello, sir. Quite a lovely evening we're having, yes?" Ren said as the political old man nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. Hey, you. You're voting for Mayor Hyodo this upcoming election, arent'cha?" The political old man said as Ren spoke up.

"I don't live here, sir. Me and my friends are just here sightseeing. So I don't think we're eligible to vote in this election. So I'm afraid that's a resounding no to answer your question." Ren said apologetically as the political old man blanched and spoke up.

"What did you say!? Why, the nerve of ya! I oughta set you straight, along with the young lady following you. Wait, you said you're not able to vote? Oh, you're a tourist. Well, no matter. You just bear this in mind: Mayor Hyodo is a wonderful person! She'll be the one to guide Sapporo, nay, this country, perhaps even this very world to new heights! This upcoming election is the first step on that journey! Mayor Hyodo, Sapporo stands with you! Long live Mayor Hyodo! Glory to Sapporo!" The political old man said as Morgana winced and spoke up.

"Okay, I don't care who you are. That was definitely not normal." Morgana said as Sumire nodded her agreement and spoke up.

"No kidding. This man sounds like a raving cultist right now." Sumire said sagely as the progress meter on her and Ren's phones jumped from 79% to 100% percent, at which point the words 'INVESTIGATION COMPLETED' popped up on-screen, followed by Morgana speaking up with a resolved look on his face.

"All right, we've gathered plenty of information. The situation is similar to Shibuya and Sendai. The more we hear, the more suspicious Hyodo becomes. If she's giving out her keyword during speeches as Zenkichi says she is, then we'll know if she's a Monarch or not by entering her keyword on EMMA. That being said, you guys wanna head back? We've got what we need, so let's go to bed early and be ready for tomorrow. Think we should head back?" Morgana asked Ren, who turned to Sumire and spoke up.

"What do you think? Are we good to head back, or did you wanna explore some more?" Ren asked Sumire, who spoke up with a shy smile.

"We probably should head back for now. But at some point while we're here, I kinda wanna go back to that bathhouse with you. It might be because Futaba got the idea stuck in my head, but ever since she bragged about how much she and Kusa do it, she's got me kinda wanting to try fooling around with you inside the bathhouse. Granted, we'd have to leave Morgana and Sophia behind, if only because the bathhouse isn't really a place for them in the first place, but it could work, yeah?" Sumire said as Ren smirked and spoke up.

"Definitely. But maybe not tonight, since we do have an early start tomorrow, plus I have a feeling they need to clean the bathhouse from when Kusa and Futaba were there last night." Ren said before he turned to Morgana and kept speaking.

"To your question, I think I can agree that Sumire and I are done for now." Ren said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Mm-hm. Good thinking. All right, tomorrow's the big day. Let's see what kind of person Hyodo really is." Morgana said as Ren nodded before heading back to the RV with Sumire to rest up early for tomorrow, figuring he'd need the rest...

(A short time later, in the Velvet Room, with Ren and Lavenza)

"Welcome, Trickster. I've been waiting for you." Lavenza said before smiling happily at Ren as she kept speaking.

"In any case, it seems that you and your friends are becoming much stronger. However, the shadow of calamity creeps ever closer to your path. Please bear this in mind." Lavenza said with a frown as Ren spoke up.

"I see. How close is it, exactly?" Ren asked as Lavenza frowned and spoke up.

"Alas, that I cannot answer. I only know that an evil is worming its way into being, though I know not its true nature. As for the topic at hand, I summoned you here to notify you about your personal power of the wild card. The number of Personas you can maintain has increased due to your growth." Lavenza said as Ren noted that his maximum Persona stock size had increased from 6 to 10. Lavenza spoke up before Ren could do more than nod to her words.

"Your potential to wield multiple Personas comes with endless possibilities. And note that even if you have successfully reunited with The World and Justice, and even brought the Hierophant into your ranks, you still have other allies out there awaiting their awakenings. From what I can sense, you still have a second Magician, a second Justice, and Hope, along with the Apostle and the true awakening of the Aeon to account for, so you still have quite a lot of work ahead of you.

However, you have gained quite a bit of power from the companions you have reunited with thus far. Be sure to hone this power alongside the companions with whom you've formed unbreakable bonds, and prepare for the coming calamity. And know that whatever else you may need, I'm here for you." Lavenza said as Ren nodded and left the Velvet Room at that point...

(The next day, in the streets of Suzushino, with Makoto, Ryuji, Yusuke, Sumire, Sophia, Ren, Morgana, Haru, Goro, Sojiro, Kusa, Futaba, and Ann)

"I'm sure you all are aware of the prior corruption that plagued our city council. Make no mistake, no one is more ashamed than I. As such, the ethics bill I propose will leave no more room for corruption to rear its ugly head. With your support, I will make this city of Sapporo a beautiful, stainless paradise! Like fresh snow on a midwinter's day! Together, let us turn our home into a beacon of light to the world, where both citizens and government leaders radiate truth and purity! Now everyone, let's clean Sapporo up!" Hyodo said as the crowd started pledging their support for Hyodo as in the back of the crowd, a wide-eyed Ryuji spoke up.

"Holy shit, you guys. It's like we stepped into a cult or something." Ryuji said as Ann frowned and spoke up.

"Her popularity is unbelievable, isn't it? Do you think everyone here could've had their heart changed?" Ann asked as Goro spoke up.

"Unfortunately, you're probably right on the nose with that guess, Ann. Apologies to Haru for what I'm about to say, but the more I hear about this Hyodo, the more I fear that she could in fact be a Monarch." Goro said, feeling Haru take his hand and give it a gentle but reassuring squeeze, as if to convey she wasn't offended by Goro's observation, as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"I agree. Also, crowds have a tendency to attract people. I imagine some of them came here of their own volition." Yusuke said as Makoto sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, that doesn't change how unfortunate this whole thing is for one of us. Haru, why does it always turn out that those closest to you are distorted?" Makoto said sympathetically as Goro winced at the reference to the late Kunikazu Okumura before he spoke up.

"I guess Haru just had really bad luck in that regard? For what it's worth, though, I hope things work out for the best with Hyodo." Goro said gently but firmly as Haru sighed and spoke up.

"Ugh, I hate to say it, but it does seem like Mari-san is likely a Monarch." Haru said as Sojiro spoke up.

"True, but don't forget that we can change her heart still if she is a Monarch, Haru. We can save her from herself. So don't be sad." Sojiro said as Kusa nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"Sojiro's right. We're not giving up on Hyodo. We'll bring her back to her senses, one way or another." Kusa said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Indeed. But look, Hyodo has her phone out." Yusuke said as Morgana spoke up from Ren's bag.

"She's gonna say it. Be ready." Morgana said as Hyodo spoke up again at that point.

"I'm sure you're all familiar with EMMA, yes? I'm also no stranger to technology, so please feel free to add me. For those of you listening outside Sapporo, outside Hokkaido, or even outside this country, this invitation extends to each of you as well! The keyword is 'Snow City'. Well, there you have it!" Mariko said as Futaba winced and spoke up.

"What the heck!? The whole audience is friending her, it seems like." Futaba said as Kusa spoke up.

"Not everyone, Taba. None of us are friending her, except for maybe Haru, and even then, she's only doing that only out of a sense of closeness to her. Also, don't feel bad if you do friend her, Haru. I understand you and her were close when you were younger. Besides, at least one of us is gonna have to try and friend her to see if she's a Monarch for sure anyways." Kusa said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Truth, Kusa! Also, shouldn't we be stoppin' her right now?" Ryuji asked as Makoto winced and spoke up.

"No. I'm sorry, sweetie, but causing a scene here would only draw unwanted attention. I hate to say it, but all we can do for now is watch." Makoto said as Morgana spoke up from Ren's bag.

"True. We can at least be glad we got the keyword. Now we can infiltrate Hyodo's Jail any time we like." Morgana said as Sumire frowned and spoke up.

"That's assuming Hyodo has a Jail to infiltrate, Morgana. We don't know for an entirely certain fact that she has one yet." Sumire pointed out as a 'BIP!' from her phone preceded Sophia speaking up.

"I disagree, Sumire. If you recall, I said when we got here that I smelled a big Jail. Also, the smell here in Suzushino isn't too strong. Getting inside the Jail won't be a problem." Sophia said as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"I see. So the preparations have been made." Yusuke said as Goro and Kusa exchanged skeptical looks at this, but neither said a word as Haru spoke up with a resolved look on her face.

"Then let's go, everyone. If Zenkichi-san's suspicions are correct, and it's true that Mari-san really is the Monarch, then only we can stop her. I don't care if she was a friend of my father's or not, we can't let her toy with the hearts of innocent people." Haru said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"True that." Ryuji said as Goro looked Haru in the eyes and spoke up.

"Haru? We will do our best to make sure Hyodo's heart is changed for the better. I promise you that." Goro said resolutely, making Haru smile lightly at Goro as she spoke up.

"Thank you, Goro. Somehow, it means a lot to me when you say something like that, surprisingly even more than it does when Ren-kun or Kusa-kun say it, and I consider the two of them to be like little brothers to me." Haru said happily, giggling slightly as she got an adorable closed-eye smile on her face that Goro had a hard time looking at without getting red-faced from how adorable it was. Ren nodded his agreement of Goro's remark and spoke up.

"I agree with Goro. We'll stop her in her tracks if we have to. But we won't let her go around changing innocent hearts any longer." Ren said resolutely as the others nodded their agreement while Morgana spoke up eagerly.

"All right. Then let's ready up and begin infiltration!" Morgana said as Ren noted that people were starting to file out after the speech's conclusion. Ren then decided it was time to make preparations for the coming Jail. As Ren went to start the preparations, his phone went off with a group chat for the first time in a while, this one with Ren, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Haru, Futaba, Sumire, Sophia, Kusa, Goro, and Sojiro, with Sophia sending the first response. *1*

"The safest way in and out is near the crossing where you can see the big sign. Once you're all ready, gather there." Sophia sent as Ryuji sent a response.

"Roger!" Ryuji sent as Makoto sent a response.

"We'll be exploring a new Jail, everyone. There's no telling what's waiting for us there. As such, let's be sure we're ready." Makoto sent as Ren put his phone away and kept moving. After heading back towards the camper, Ren did some shopping around to top up his stock of supplies, and when he walked towards the open garden from before, a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which she had once again left with Ren so that Sophia could go around with Ren and Morgana, preceded Sophia speaking up with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Ren. What do you say we look for a four-leaf clover? I hear it brings luck to those who find it, and I want good things to happen to each of you." Sophia said as Ren thought about it and nodded as he spoke up.

"Eh, y'know? Sure, it sounds like it could be a lot of fun. Let's do it." Ren said kindly as he and Sophia hunted around and eventually succeeded in finding a four-leaf clover. Another 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up at that point, with the same smile as before on her face.

"Well done! I'm glad you managed to find one, I hope something good happens to us all because of it, Ren." Sophia said as Ren nodded his agreement and the trio of Ren, Sophia, and the currently-napping Morgana kept moving. After gathering the others in the camper to figure out their next move, Ren decided to cook up some Miso Ramen for the group. Afterwards, Ann spoke up with a closed-eye smile on her face.

"Ahh, that was pretty good! Mmm, the noodles have just the right firmness! The miso flavor tastes great too!" Ann said as a wide-eyed Ryuji spoke up.

"Holy shit, this is good. Ann's right! It's like an out-of-body experience!" Ryuji said as a smirking Kusa spoke up.

"So you say, Ryuji. And you'd know what an out-of-body experience is, how?" Kusa said wryly as Futaba spoke up with a grin.

"Mwehehe, probably because we smacked the fool out of Ryuji when we slapped him in the face after our escape from Shido's collapsing Palace a couple years ago. You weren't there, since it was shortly after you and Goro fell into that trap Shido had set using that other Goro to try and eliminate our Goro, and us as well." Futaba said as Ryuji winced and spoke up.

"Yeeah, sure. We'll go with that. Hey, changing the subject a bit, but Ren, if it's possible? Would ya make this for me every morning?" Ryuji asked as Makoto, Kusa, Ren, and Futaba all simultaneously spoke up with comically wide eyes.

"WHAAAAAAAAT!?" Ren, Kusa, Futaba, and Makoto all asked as Makoto pouted and spoke up.

"Why would you want Ren to cook that for you and not me, your girlfriend!?" Makoto said as Futaba spoke up.

"Never mind that, Makoto. Are you proposing to Ren right now, Ryuji? Because if you are, I advise you run. And if you do, run like a bat outta hell! Especially since both Makoto and Sumire will probably be after your head if you do that." Futaba said sagely as Goro spoke up.

"Huh, I had no idea that Ryuji had such a death wish. Seems you learn something new every day." Goro said with a straight face, making Ren, Sojiro, and Kusa all stifle laughs behind him as Ren noted that the miso ramen was a huge hit, and that he should save the leftovers to use later. Ren then made two of the 'Seafood Bowl' as well. While eating, Ann spoke up with another closed-eye smile.

"Mmph! Oh yeah, sho good! The tuna and salmon literally melt in your mouth!" Ann said as Morgana spoke up with a closed-eye smile on his face.

"You look so happy, Lady Ann. And that closed-eye smile of yours is positively radiant! With all apologies to Lady Sophia, just being able to see you like this is more than enough for me." Morgana said as he felt a chill down his spine before slowly turning to see a rather livid-looking Sumire glaring at him as she spoke up.

"I see. Are you saying that Sophia could never make you feel the way Ann makes you feel?" Sumire asked in a scarily calm voice, making both Ren and Sophia exchange worried looks as they saw the death glare Sumire was giving Morgana. Kusa looked Morgana in the eye and spoke up in a very serious.

"Um, Morgana-sensei? If I were you, I would get the hell outta here while you still can. That, and maybe learn a bit of tact. But seriously? Run." Kusa said as Morgana nodded and darted away from Sumire, who started chasing him around the trailer, much to the amusement of the others. Ann then spoke up.

"Oh, then can I have yours, too, Morgana?" Ann asked as she watched Sumire chase Morgana around so she could punch him. After managing to lose Sumire long enough to answer Ann, a wide-eyed Morgana spoke up.

"WHAT!? Ahh! Please, not that! OWWW!" Morgana said, the 'OWWW!' at the end of his response being a response to Sumire catching up to Morgana and landing a solid left hook to Morgana's face that had the cat rubbing his nose, which lightly started bleeding slightly where Sumire had punched him. Sumire's eyes widened as she saw her punch draw blood and she spoke up.

"Oh, no! I didn't mean to make you bleed, Morgana! I'm sorry." Sumire said as Morgana spoke up while Haru helped him pinch some nearby paper towels lightly against the cat's nose to stop the bleeding.

"It's fine, Sumire. I probably deserved that for being so tactless around Lady Sophia, anyways. Sorry about that, Lady Sophia." Morgana said, somehow still being understandable despite sounding slightly stuffy from the paper towels being pinched to his nose as Ren spoke up.

"While you did deserve to be hit for what you said, I don't think you deserved to almost have your nose broken. Ease up on the punches from now on, Sumire. I don't think any of us have the budget to afford a vet bill for Morgana." Ren said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Technically, I can, since I have that money put up in the attic of Leblanc. But I left that in Leblanc since I didn't have time to unlock the chests and get it. But even so, don't punch him in the nose anymore, Sumire. After all, I don't think you want to be the reason you mess up our unofficial mascot/founding member, do you?" Kusa said gently but firmly, making a sheepish-looking Sumire nod and speak up.

"Fair enough. I'll stop punching Morgana." Sumire said apologetically as everyone made up while Ren noted that the seafood bowl was a big hit. Ren idly figured he should probably save the leftovers to eat later.

While fighting off some Shadows for a request in the Sendai Jail a short time later, Mona and Draconis both hit level 28 and both of their Personas gaining new skills, wherein Malefor picked up the debuff skill 'Sukunda' and Diego got the passive skill 'Dodge Elec', making Mona smirk as he spoke up.

"Nice, a new skill! Now I'm even more dependable!" Mona said smugly before blinking as he felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around his waist from behind, turning around in time to see a smiling Seeker hugging him as she spoke up.

"Heh, looks like I finally got to hug you. I told you I would hug you if I could, Mona. Also, that skill looks like it'll help you deal with your weakness a bit, so good job getting it, Mona." Seeker said happily, making Violet and Joker exchange amused smirks as they watched the moment play out while Diego acquired 'Dodge Elec'. Draconis then spoke up with a smirk shortly after.

"Aww, how cute. Mona finally has a lady cuddling him. But in all seriousness? Looks like Malefor got a new skill! Not necessarily the most ideal of gets, but I suppose every bit helps, as they say." Draconis said as Crow spoke up slyly.

"You say that, but I seem to recall a time when Joker used that exact skill to win a fight that he otherwise would have lost, to say nothing of how effectively he used debuffs against you the time you two fought inside of Mementos, from what Joker told me once." Crow said with a sly grin as Draconis went red in embarrassment and spoke up.

"Shut up! I don't need to be reminded of that day, Crow. I'm already embarrassed enough about how much of a fool I was on that occasion, to say nothing of the humbling defeat Joker served me. I don't like admitting it, but that defeat was the catalyst for a rather tumultuous chain of events that led to me getting a rather rude and unpleasant wake-up call after someone basically swatted me aside like I was nothing when I tried to stop them from putting a hit out on the Shadow of one of our targets." Draconis said, giving a wincing Crow a dry glare before Joker patted Draconis' shoulder and spoke up.

"Peace, Draconis. Crow didn't mean anything by his last comment. So no need to tear him apart so savagely." Joker said as Draconis sighed and nodded while Malefor acquired 'Sukunda'. After eliminating a nearby Treasure Demon, both Violet and Queen hit level 28, resulting in new skills for both Ella and Anat, with Ella learning the passive skill 'Bless Boost' and Anat learning the Physical skill 'Flash Bomb', making Queen smile as she spoke up.

"Awesome! I just learned a new skill!" Queen said as a grinning Skull spoke up.

"And it's a badass skill to boot, just like you are, babe!" Skull said happily as Violet smiled and spoke up.

"Ooh, wow! I got a new skill! Pretty nice, eh Joker?" Violet said as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"Heh, of course. Then again, all your skills are pretty amazing, Violet." Joker said as Violet could only blush in response to Joker's kind words as Ella acquired 'Bless Boost' and Anat acquired 'Flash Bomb'.

While hunting enemies for requests in the Sendai Jail, Panther hit level 30 and Hecate acquired the passive skill 'Dodge Ice', making Panther smile as she spoke up.

"Oh, look! I've got a new skill!" Panther said as Joker spoke up.

"Not bad, Panther. That'll be handy for offsetting your Persona's weakness to Ice. Good work." Joker said wisely as Hecate acquired 'Dodge Ice'. While Joker was moving around, the sight of a locked chest caught his eye, so he leapt down, picked the lock on the chest, and seized a 'Skin Ripper' whip. At that point, Crow smirked and spoke up.

"Well, given her tendency to favor them, I think we easily know who our go-to person is for whips, don't we Panther?" Crow said as Panther blushed at the rare playful jab from Crow as she spoke up.

"Oh, shut up! You say that like you've never been with a kinky girl before, Crow. Besides, I know for a fact my girlfriend likes it when I get kinky with her." Panther said sassily as Sumire smirked and spoke up.

"Y'know, you're not wrong. It doesn't happen often, but when it does? Oracle and I enjoy dabbling in that sort of thing with our boyfriends." Violet said as a wide-eyed Seeker spoke up.

"Wow, so much kinky stuff. Are you sure this is age-appropriate for me to hear, Violet?" Seeker asked, making Mona, Draconis, Joker, and Oracle all smirk at the wide-eyed look of horror on Violet's face as she spoke up.

"It's really not, though. Sorry for forgetting you were there, Seeker." Violet said as Pendragon huffed and massaged his head while looking at Crow as he spoke up.

"Are they always like this, Crow?" Pendragon asked as Crow shrugged and spoke up.

"Couldn't tell you, Pendragon. This is only the third time I've properly been part of the Phantom Thieves, after all. So I'm almost as inexperienced overall with this group as you are. But I'm going to say probably not. Let's just be patient with them though, I think." Crow said as Pendragon nodded his agreement while Panther tried on the 'Skin Ripper' weapon, smiling as it fit her perfectly, making her speak up.

"Ooh, nice. Just the right heft to get that oh-so-satisfying cracking sound when using it if any of the guys gets too frisky, hee hee." Panther said as every single male Phantom Thief present winced at the delight in Panther's tone as the group acquired the 'Skin Ripper' whip. While clearing out more Shadows, Skull hit level 30 and Seiten Taisei gained the Physical move 'Swift Strike', making Skull grin as he spoke up.

"Ooh, hell yeah! A new move!" Skull said as Queen spoke up with a smile.

"Not bad, sweetie. A physical move for one of the buffest guys in the Phantom Thieves." Queen said as Crow and Draconis both blanched at this, taking offense to the idea that Skull was tougher than them, but neither said anything as Skull smirked and spoke up.

"Thanks, babe. I knew you liked your men tough and badass." Skull said smugly before Queen shut him up by pulling him into a heated kiss while Seiten Taisei acquired 'Swift Strike' and the group kept moving. While clearing out the rest of the Shadows in the area, Noir hit level 30 and Astarte gained the Gun skill 'Triple Down', making her smile as she spoke up.

"Oh, look! A new move!" Noir said happily as Crow spoke up.

"Heh, impressive, Noir. Hereward had that same move as well, once upon a time." Crow said as Noir smiled and spoke up.

"Aww, how sweet. I knew you had a kind heart in there somewhere, Crow. Hee hee." Noir said before cutely leaning over to pull a stunned Goro into a brief hug while Astarte acquired 'Triple Down'. But that wasn't all, since both Crow and Draconis also hit level 30, getting new moves for Hereward and Malefor in the forms of the passive skill 'Curse Boost' and the mid-tier Fire skill 'Agilao' respectively, making Crow and Draconis speak up.

"Well, well. Speak of the devil. Looks like Hereward's Curse skills pack more of a punch now." Crow said eagerly as Draconis smirked and spoke up.

"Yep, and not only that, but Malefor's flame is now able to burn ever hotter! Lets see the enemy get away from this now! Mwehehe!" Draconis said as Noir and Oracle giggled and spoke up.

"Those two are really going ham over some new moves, aren't they?" Oracle said slyly as Noir smiled and spoke up.

"Maybe a little, but I think it's adorable that Crow lets himself be this excited. If nothing else, it's a nice change of pace from the broody, depressed Crow who spends all his time blaming himself for his mistakes. Not to say that Crow's not allowed to brood, because he is. Just that I think he's more handsome when he smiles." Noir said before her eyes widened as she clapped a hand over her own mouth at what she'd just said, making Violet, Oracle, and Panther all exchange amused grins at how adorably red Noir's face went behind her mask as her own words registered with her as the latter spoke up.

"Ooh, what's this? Does Noir have herself a crush again? Interesting." Panther said as Violet spoke up with an amused smile, only just barely stifling the urge to giggle at the look of mortified embarrassment on Noir's face.

"Perhaps. But we say that like Noir had ever actually stopped crushing on Crow, though. Pretty sure she's crushed on him the whole time." Violet said as Noir pouted and spoke up.

"Violet-chan, is now REALLY the time to tease me about my love life?" Noir said as Oracle spoke up.

"Of course it is! After all, you got in on teasing Violet and I about our crushes on Joker and Draconis, respectively. So I call what we're doing right now a lot of overdue paybacks, and I'm sure Panther agrees with me, given you helped tease her about her feelings for Shiho at least once." Oracle said as Noir sighed and spoke up.

"Fine, fair enough. But I know I see you checking Draconis out still, even after he became your boyfriend." Noir pointed out sagely as Oracle shrugged and spoke up.

"What? Not my fault the man's built like frickin' eye candy. Excuse me for liking my men to be both sexy and kind, as well as easy on the eyes." Oracle said sassily as Malefor and Hereward acquired 'Agilao' and 'Curse Boost' respectively.

Finally, after reaching level 33 like Joker was, Violet smiled as Ella acquired the mid-tier healing skill 'Diarama' at the same time that Kohryu gained the passive skill 'Evade Nuke' along with the mid-tier healing skill 'Mediarama' off of Pendragon hitting level 30, making Violet speak up with a smile.

"Oh, wow! I got a new skill! Looks like my training's paying off!" Violet said as Joker smiled and spoke up.

"Indeed it is, Violet. But I already knew it was paying off. After all, have you seen how toned and sexy those legs of yours are, not to mention how freaking attractive your figure as a whole is? Half the time, I almost struggle to keep my eyes off of how beautiful you are." Joker said honestly as Violet giggled and spoke up.

"Oh, really? Hee hee! Looks like I still manage to keep you entertained, enchanted, and enthralled, even now." Violet said happily as Seeker spoke up.

"I like that you two are happy together, but, um? GET A ROOM!" Seeker said teasingly as both Skull and Draconis, along with Crow, burst out laughing at the stunned look on Violet's face at Seeker's remark before she spoke up.

"O-Oh, that's right. Sorry, I got carried away, Seeker." Violet said shamefully as Seeker cutely hugged Violet and spoke up.

"That's okay, Violet. I was just teasing. I don't care if you flirt with P-err, I mean Joker, around me." Seeker said as Mona and Draconis grinned, the former speaking up.

"Oh, did she just stop herself from saying what I think she did, Draconis?" Mona asked as Draconis spoke up.

"I think she did, but do AIs have the concept of parents? I wasn't sure if they did." Draconis asked as Pendragon spoke up.

"It's definitely possible, Draconis. Mind you, I'm no expert on AI's, so I can only guess. Also, behold the fury of Kohryu's new power! Bow to the might of the almighty Coffee Dragon!" Pendragon said smugly as Joker spoke up.

"Wow, and here the others thought that I have the most braggy level-up lines. But I'd say that line you just said has me beat by a wide margin. Still, good job on the new move, Pendragon." Joker said coyly as Ella and Kohryu acquired the skills 'Diarama' for Ella, and both 'Mediarama' and 'Evade Nuke' for Kohryu, respectively. After that, the group kept moving. Once the group finished their requests, they exited the Metaverse and gathered in the RV to figure out their next move.

After they headed back out to do their own individual things, Ren consulted his map, seeing that the group was pretty well scattered. On a closer inspection, he figured out that the closest person to where he'd entered Suzushino was Yusuke, who as it turned out was looking around Suzushino with Sojiro, who had decided to go with Yusuke for whatever reason. As Ren approached Yusuke, he spoke up.

"Ah, Ren. You noticed. Have any of you noticed there's no litter on the streets?" Yusuke asked as Sojiro scoffed and spoke up.

"Given how utterly enamored most of the populace around here seems to be with the mayor, I'd be surprised if anyone but us noticed." Sojiro said as Yusuke spoke up.

"Good point, Sojiro. Anyways, though the city may look attractive on the surface, beneath that veneer lies a palpable emptiness that is quite difficult to put into words." Yusuke said as Sojiro spoke up.

"Basically, not much to say here. I take it you have others to speak to?" Sojiro said as Ren nodded and kept moving.

After going around the corner and moving up towards the crossroads to cross to where he saw Ryuji and Futaba, Ren blinked as he spotted Sumire walking around near the seafood shop on her own, smirking as he approached her and spoke up.

"Hungry again, eh beautiful? I thought you'd still be full from what I cooked earlier?" Ren asked Sumire teasingly, making her blush prettily at Ren calling her out on her aimless wandering before she looked at Ren and spoke up.

"Oh, hi, Ren. I was just checking around a bit to see how much this place wants for to-go orders of sushi, since apparently Makoto-senpai promised Morgana some seafood before and she doesn't have the time to deliver on it just now. Though I won't deny that I could go for a meal after what we did in the Metaverse. After all, fighting Shadows is very intense work." Sumire said honestly as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"I'll make you another meal after we sort out this Jail. How's that, beautiful?" Ren said as Sumire smiled eagerly and spoke up after impulsively pulling her boyfriend into a big hug and laying an intense kiss on him, leaving both Sumire and Ren a tad red-faced for a moment before recovering as Sumire spoke.

"Really!? I'll hold you to that, Ren. Sophia, don't let me forget that Ren promised me a meal, okay?" Sumire said as a 'BIP!' from her phone preceded Sophia speaking up with a cute smile on her face.

"Okay, Sumire. I will remind you later to take Ren up on the meal he owes you. Though I might go hang out in Futaba's phone after that for a while, just in case you two somehow end up in a frisky mood after the meal. After all, I'm sure you wouldn't want to expose me to something that's not age-appropriate for me to see, Sumire. Or at least, that's what you're always saying?" Sophia said as Sumire smiled and spoke up.

"No, that's correct. But I doubt Ren and I will end up in that sort of mood from sharing a meal together. If anything, that's moreso something I'd believe of Kusa and Futaba." Sumire said as Ren chuckled and spoke up.

"Yep, that sounds like my brother and his girlfriend, all right." Ren said in amusement as he kept moving at that point. After crossing the street and moving down the road a ways, Ren blinked as he saw Ryuji and Kusa standing together outside of one of the shops, and on a closer look, Ren could just spot Futaba standing on a corner with Goro, clearly comparing notes with him. Ren turned to Ryuji and Kusa before speaking up.

"Hey, what's up, you two? Didn't think I'd see you two pairing up for info gathering for a bit longer." Ren said as Ryuji spoke up.

"Sometimes, it just works out this way. Anyways, if this is how hearts are being changed, there must be a ton of victims already." Ryuji said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"True. Though unless I'm wrong, I seem to recall that both Alice and Natsume had a lot of people under similar sorts of brainwashing. So this seems to almost conclusively suggest that Mariko Hyodo is, in fact, the Monarch of Sapporo. If that is true, I feel bad for Haru, since she has a fairly close friendship with Hyodo." Kusa said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"Truth, Kusa. And we can't just let her go on like this if Hyodo is a Monarch. We have to stop her!" Ryuji said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"I concur. And I know Goro agrees, too. Though I can't say how much of it is him agreeing that what Hyodo is doing is wrong, and how much of it is him feeling bad for Haru, who he may or may not have a crush on. But if he asks? You didn't hear that from me, got it?" Kusa said as Ren and Ryuji nodded their agreement, along with Morgana, who was listening in from inside Ren's bag, as Ren kept moving to go speak with Goro and Futaba. Ren walked over to Futaba and spoke up.

"Huh, I'd say I'm surprised to see you walking around here by yourself, but you're not really by yourself if you have Goro with you, now are you? Mind, I think I'm more surprised that you got Goro to tag along with you." Ren said as Goro smirked and spoke up.

"Eh, I don't mind Futaba-san as much as I thought I would. Plus, considering she's kind of Kusa's girlfriend and all, I kinda have to try and make nice with her, if only for Kusa's sake. So I figure I can at least do what I can to help her, if only to start trying to make amends for my part in what she's been through the past few years, even if the larger part of the blame is Shido-san's to take. Still, no reason not to try and do what I can towards atoning for my many sins." Goro said as Futaba smiled and spoke up.

"Chill out, Goro. I'm not mad at you over that anymore. Disappointed that you chose to do what you did, but not mad. Anyways, this drugstore sticks out like a sore thumb, don't you think?" Futaba said as Goro blinked and spoke up.

"You're not!? Considering the fact that I was basically the one that Shido-san ordered to cause a mental shutdown in your mom, I thought you'd have more of a difficult time forgiving me." Goro said honestly as Futaba smiled and spoke up.

"Honestly, I am a bit angry that you took my mom from me, Goro. However, I also recognize that you were just doing what you had to for the sake of keeping Shido at arm's length long enough to get revenge on him. Besides, it's not really fair to Kusa if I give his older half-brother the cold shoulder when said half-brother is so clearly remorseful and ashamed of what he did. No, I think it's more holistic and productive to try and let these things go where I can. Oh yeah, I saw a secret medicine in there that apparently makes you 'feel stronger, last longer.' If that's true, maybe it could help you 'feel stronger' and 'last longer' in Jail?" Futaba suggested as Ren spoke up with a frown.

"Oh, hell no! Not another medicine sequence! Granted, that IS how I met Takemi and got her to be our medical supplier, but still, I had to go through a lot to get her on our side. And that seems like a lot of work for a city we likely won't be in for more than a couple days." Ren said as Futaba shrugged before Ren kept moving, deciding to go check in on the girls that were in Odori Park. Once he got to Odori Park, Ren saw Haru standing by the RV with a frown on her face, walking over to her and speaking up.

"Hey, how're you holding up, big sis?" Ren asked Haru, who looked up and spoke up.

"Oh, hi Ren. No matter what, I'm going to do my best in this Jail." Haru said as Morgana popped out of Ren's bag and spoke up.

"Mmhm! No need to push yourself, Haru. Remember, you always have us." Morgana said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which she had left with Ren after he ran into her by the seafood bowl shop, preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Leave it to me! I'll do anything I can to help." Sophia said as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"Thank you, Sophia-chan. But I'm all right. I've already made up my mind to see this through. Now, shall we go? I need to see for myself what changed Mari-san into the person we saw before, or more aptly put, who she is now." Haru said as Ren nodded and kept moving. After a bit, Ren found Makoto by a corn stand, smirking as he spoke up.

"Ah, what's this? Browsing the food stands, Makoto? I didn't think you'd be hungry so soon after I cooked for everyone." Ren said teasingly as Makoto gave Ren a closed-eye smile and spoke up.

"Hm? Oh, I was just browsing, that's all. Ahh, what a sweet fragrance this shop has. And apparently, the corn wagon is only open seasonally." Makoto said as Ren's eyes widened and he spoke up.

"Wait, this shop is considered a WAGON!? I didn't think this looked anything like a wagon?" Ren said in confusion as Makoto spoke up.

"I would think you, of all people, would realize by now that appearances can be deceiving. After all, look at Goro. At first glance, he seems like a cute, cuddly, pancake-fueled teddy bear. But once you get to know him, you start to see the more vicious, calculated, ruthless side of Goro. Not to mention how Morgana looks like an adorable kitty cat, but is in actuality the gallant and swashbuckling textbook definition of the gentleman thief." Makoto said as Ren spoke up.

"If you say so. I think we'll have to agree to disagree on that one, though. Mostly because I don't think that the terms 'Morgana' and 'gentleman thief' go in the same sentence." Ren said as Makoto spoke up, both Ren and Makoto ignoring the pout on Morgana's face as Makoto spoke.

"Also, that's what got me interested in this place, is the scarcity of it. Plus, corn is most delicious around this time of year." Makoto said before turning to the vendor as she kept speaking.

"Excuse me, can I get two orders of grilled corn?" Makoto asked as the corn wagoneer spoke up with a nod.

"All right, two it is. Coming right up." The corn wagoneer said as Makoto turned to face Ren with the same closed-eye smile on her face that had already been there while she spoke up.

"Hey, Ren? Just so you know, one's for you. You know, since you're always doing so much for us." Makoto said as Ren blinked and accepted the 'Grilled Raw Corn' item before he spoke up.

"For me? Well, if you say so, Makoto. I know better than to turn down free stuff. Thank you." Ren said politely as Makoto nodded and spoke up.

"You're welcome. Now, let's get going. Let's keep at it and get through this Jail together. And it should be at least marginally easier hopefully, now that we're a group of 13 instead of a group of 10." Makoto said as Ren nodded and kept moving, eventually finding Ann standing by the garden he and Sophia had looked for four-leaf clovers in before, speaking up to get Ann's attention.

"Admiring the garden, Ann? I can't say that I blame you. It is rather lovely. I saw it myself earlier when Sophia asked me to help her find a four-leaf clover here. Something to do with it being a symbol of good luck, apparently." Ren said as Ann smiled and spoke up.

"True. Also, the keyword for this Jail is 'Snow City', eh? Sounds pretty, doesn't it?" Ann said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, it kinda does sound pretty, Ann. But we won't know for sure if it's actually pretty or not until we get going, yeah?" Ren said, getting a nod from Ann as he kept moving. Ren then headed towards the point where he was told to gather everyone for the Jail. Once Ren was at the indicated gathering point, he pulled out Sumire's phone, after which a 'BIP!' preceded Sophia speaking up.

"Yup. I think we can enter the Jail safely from here. Want to head in, Ren?" Sophia asked as Ren thought about it and nodded before speaking up.

"Yep, I think we're as prepared as we're gonna be, so let's go." Ren said decisively as Sophia nodded her agreement and spoke up.

"Very well. Keep in mind that this'll be our third Jail now. As such, let's not get sloppy." Sophia said as Ren nodded and gathered the others, after which they all headed into the Metaverse together...

(In the Sapporo Jail, with Seeker, Mona, Oracle, Joker, Draconis, Skull, Noir, Crow, Fox, Queen, Violet, Panther, and Pendragon)

As the group stood on the rooftop they'd entered the Metaverse on, they shivered at the sudden drop in temperature that none of them were prepared for, Oracle spoke up around her shivers.

"Uhhh! S-S-So cold!" Oracle said as Draconis instinctively tried cuddling Oracle close to him in an attempt to somewhat warm her up, as well as himself. Getting an idea from Draconis' improvised heating method, the other couples followed Draconis' lead, with Joker cuddling Violet, and Skull carefully cuddling a shivering Queen close to him, trying not to impale himself on her spiky shoulder pads. As for the rest, they just stood alone and shivered, other than Noir, who subconsciously cuddled close to a surprised, but amused, Crow, who just put his arms around her to try and warm her as best he could.

Seeker saw everyone else pairing off to cuddle for warmth, and decided to try and cuddle Mona, who was closest, but due to his shorter stature as a cat, he just slid out of Seeker's arms when she tried cuddling him, leaving her to huddle her head between her knees in an attempt to warm herself. As for Mona, he just stood in place, looking like a penguin a bit with the confused look on his face after feeling Seeker hug him against her chest to try and warm herself up. Had the entire group not been trying to warm up, both Oracle and Panther would've giggled at the look on Mona's face at that point. Draconis eventually spoke up.

"This isn't the most practical warming technique, probably, but it's better than nothing, am I right? Also, I heard once that the warmest parts of one's body are their armpits and certain other spots I don't think are appropriate to mention around young ears." Draconis said, giving Violet a look to indicate he was trying to censor himself for Seeker's sake, getting a grateful nod from Violet. Skull spoke up while also shivering, despite Queen huddling close to him and slightly warming him.

"N-N-No kidding! C-C-Can't see shit right now!" Skull said around his shivers. As the camera panned, Joker and Draconis both found themselves stifling laughter as they saw the wide-eyed look of shock on Mona's face as a visible drop hung from the spot where Mona's nose would be, along with the sight of a wide-eyed Seeker, who'd pulled her sweater over her legs to try and build up a bit of warmth, wrapping her arms around her legs as she sat down to try and boost the effect, which to her credit was actually working to some extent. After Violet and Oracle exchanged a shaky giggle at the sight of Mona and Seeker's expressions, a flash of white obscured the screen from view.

When visibility had returned, the temperature had risen enough that the group was no longer shivering, though they blinked as they looked around at the sight of what seemed like a frozen city, including many icy buildings, such as a clock tower, and many skyscrapers, along with buildings as far as the eye could see. Noir eventually blinked and spoke up.

"Oh! Look over there!" Noir said as everyone turned to face the direction she'd pointed. the camera panning to reveal an ominous-looking cathedral in the distance that looked as if it were partially made of ice with how blue the walls of the building were. And as if it wasn't already creepy enough, Crow and Draconis frowned at the sight of what appeared to be a knife and fork sticking out of the top of the building, along with a set of four ice chains linking to the top of the building, though none of the thieves had a clue what the chains led to. A closer view showed there was a walkway leading up to the front entryway of the building. Afterwards, Joker spoke up.

"OK, clearly that's Hyodo's lair in the distance, and presumably the entrance to her Birdcage of Desires, assuming this Jail functions the same as the previous two Jails. So at this point, we'll have to make our way there on foot if we can. With that in mind, let me establish our lineup for this Jail. Now that we have 13 of us, that means we can have three waves of 4 people, with Oracle going between the groups as the shared navigator. That said, the groups are as follows.

Group 1, which I myself will lead, will be myself, Queen, Mona, and Seeker. Group 2, which will be led by Draconis, will be Draconis, Panther, Violet, and Skull. Group 3, meanwhile, will be led by Crow, and shall consist of Crow, Pendragon, Noir, and Fox. And as stated before, Oracle will be the navigator for all three groups, going between them as needed inside of Al Azif, assuming that Al Azif has a good heating system if needed." Joker said. The others nodded, getting into the indicated groups as they prepared to explore the Jail. As the group prepared to start the exploration, Fox spoke up.

"Hm. A city encased in ice, eh? Its serenity belies a yawning desolation." Fox said as Crow spoke up in surprise.

"For someone who focuses on art specifically, that was deceptively poetic, Fox. Are you sure you aren't also a closet writer, too?" Crow asked as Draconis spoke up.

"Nah, he's just a poet and doesn't know it, Crow. Granted, it's possible he has writing talent too, but we'll see." Draconis said as Oracle spoke up, still slightly shivering.

"S-So damn chilly! So cold! W-Why's it so c-cold in the summer?" Oracle asked as Draconis spoke up.

"Probably because the Monarch here takes the term 'ice queen' a bit too literally. Still, the fact we made it here means only one thing. And judging from her face, I think Noir knows what I'm alluding to." Draconis said as Noir spoke up.

"Unfortunately, I do know. The fact that we can enter this Jail means that Mari-san really is the Monarch of Sapporo." Noir said as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"Noir, you poor thing." Panther said with a sympathetic look on her face as Crow scoffed at the just-audible undertone of pity in Panther's voice before he frowned and spoke up.

"Is that pity in your voice, Panther? Noir doesn't need your pity. She needs our support. Noir's a grown woman who can handle herself. Not that she probably wants the likes of me coming to her defense, necessarily." Crow said as Noir smiled at him and spoke up.

"Thank you, Crow. But it's okay. My main concern is returning everyone's Desires." Noir said as Seeker spoke up with a resolved look on her face.

"There's a building in the distance that looks like a castle. Should we go there?" Seeker asked as Skull nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, I think so. That's where the Desires have gotta be." Skull said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed, sweetie. Okay. Then let's make investigating that castle our top priority." Queen said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Okay, let's go!" Joker said as the three groups of four leapt off the building at the same time, doing superhero landings on the ground, right as some Shadows spawned in and a sentry spoke up.

"Hm!? Intruders! Get them!" The sentry said as Oracle spoke up.

"Uh-oh! Shadows! Defeat them and move on!" Oracle said as the Shadows shifted forms for the most part into Jack Frosts and Lilims, setting up a fight! As the group fought their way through the Shadows, Violet and Draconis found themselves back-to-back while they drove off several enemies, with Draconis using Malefor to push the enemies back while Violet tried thinning their numbers while exploiting some of the enemies' weakness to Bless attacks, which Ella specializes in. As the group pushed the enemies back, Crow spoke up.

"Ugh! How many of them are there!? It seems like every time we cut a few down, more takes their place!" Crow said as Noir spoke up.

"A lot, but we can't give up, Crow! We have to keep fighting!" Noir said as Crow nodded, the two working in tandem to knock the enemies' numbers down severely. Eventually, Crow smirked and spoke up.

"Oh, wait, what's this gauge here? It appears to be full." Crow said as Oracle spoke up.

"Huh? Oh, your Showtime gauge is full, Crow. Care to use it and thin the enemy's numbers?" Oracle asked as Crow nodded and spoke up.

"Very well. HEREWARD! TO ME! IT'S SHOWTIME!" Crow said as Hereward flanked Crow as he spoke up.

"You fools dared to challenge ME!? Time to reap the consequences of your foolish decision! AHAHAHA!" Crow said as Hereward started firing arrows non-stop at the oncoming army of Shadows, eventually charging up a big arrow as Crow spoke up.

"Ready, Hereward? Take aim and...NOW! FIRE!" Crow said as Hereward complied, launching the massive arrow at the enemies at the same time that Crow spoke up.

"You fools are little more than thorns in my side! I'LL BREAK YOU ALL! BEGONE FROM MY SIGHT! FIRE AT WILL, HEREWARD!" Crow said as Hereward launched the arrow, which slammed into the middle of the enemies, causing a massive explosion of mixed Curse and Almighty energy, massively reducing the enemy's numbers as a smug Crow spoke up, his arms crossed menacingly over his chest while he spoke.

"THE TRUTH HAS BEEN DECIDED! NEXT TIME, DON'T CROSS ME IF YOU WANT TO LIVE!' Crow said smugly while crossing his arms to end his Showtime, at the same time that Violet and Seeker ended the fight by dropping a massive sphere of fused Bless power on the enemies, incinerating the remaining Shadows and ending the fight. After the battle, Oracle spoke up amidst a shiver.

"Brr, it's so cold here. Can't you just leave me behind?" Oracle asked as Draconis frowned and spoke up.

"Absolutely not, Oracle! We stick together, dammit." Draconis said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Draconis is right! Besides, what if something happened to you? No, we're sticking together here." Fox said as Seeker looked over at Oracle and spoke up.

"Be strong, Oracle. We're doing our best to finish this Jail quickly." Seeker said as Oracle huffed but nodded as she spoke up.

"Grr! Ugh, fine." Oracle said before blinking and smiling as she felt Draconis hug her from behind as he spoke up.

"Calm down, Oracle. If nothing else, you know Malefor and I can help keep you warm. So cheer up, yeah?" Draconis said as Oracle nodded and the group kept moving. While cutting down Shadows that were blocking their way forward, Fox hit level 31 and Kamu Susano-o gained the passive skill 'Speed Master', making him smirk as he spoke up.

"Hm? It seems I've acquired a new skill. Interesting." Fox said as Pendragon spoke up.

"Not a bad get, though, since it appears to be an automated buffing skill. Impressive." Pendragon said as Kamu Susano-o acquired 'Speed Master'. After making their way into the next section of the Jail, Seeker spoke up.

"Heh, so this is what snow is like. It's all white and crunchy." Seeker said as Draconis spoke up with a frown.

"Did you just say crunchy, Seeker? I'm assuming you mean the sound snow makes when you step in it, since I don't think it'd crunch that much if you were to eat it for some reason." Draconis said as Seeker spoke up.

"I was referring to the sound it makes when stepped on. I did not mean to infer I'd eaten any." Seeker said as Skull spoke up.

"Eh, whatever. Just don't go rollin' around in it, Seeker. You're so white already, we might lose ya." Skull said as Joker grinned and spoke up.

"Not if we have Mona flirting with her, we won't. Pretty sure her face would be red enough to make her easy to spot in snow, probably because she'd melt the snow with how hot her face would get." Joker said teasingly as Mona and Seeker's eyes widened while they spoke up in unison.

"WHAT!?" Mona and Seeker said as Violet and Draconis then also spoke up in unison.

"JOKER! NOT FUNNY!" Violet and Draconis said as Seeker spoke up with a pout.

"No fair, Joker. Besides, the only white parts of me are my Phantom Thief attire, or at least my outerwear. My shorts, gloves, and leggings/boots are black, and therefore would be hard to miss in a pile of snow. Also, I don't think Mona wants Violet chasing after him a third time. Even if it is funny to see the look on Mona's face when he runs off. Hee hee!" Seeker said as the group kept moving. Once the group got to the four-way intersection of Odori Park, they frowned at the sight of an ice wall blocking their path.

"Hm. The castle should be just beyond here if I'm right." Mona said as Seeker frowned and spoke up.

"That'd be true, except for this ice wall blocking the way." Seeker said as Noir blinked and spoke up.

"Huh, look at that. There is an ice wall blocking our path. How far does this ice wall go, I wonder?" Noir asked as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"Ugh, it doesn't seem like we can just break through it, even with our Personas. I don't even think the Mona-bus could break that wall down." Queen said as Noir frowned and spoke up.

"This place is so cold and empty looking. It's chilling to think this is how someone sees the world." Noir said as Oracle shuddered and spoke up.

"Brr, so cold. It's over at this point, for me. Uhh, getting cold, and so sleepy. Ahhhhhhhh." Oracle said as she made a very convincing death sound, though going by the frown on Draconis and Pendragon's faces, they weren't convinced, as the former spoke up.

"C'mon, quit with the theatrics, Oracle. If you're really that cold and tired, then get on my back and I'll give you a piggyback ride, just so you can rest a bit. I think I can handle that." Draconis said as Pendragon smirked and spoke up.

"Well, now that we know that Draconis is good and whipped, where were we?" Pendragon said jokingly, getting laughs from Joker, Skull, and Crow, while Draconis huffed and spoke up.

"Very funny, Pendragon. I would think you'd be happy that I'm letting your daughter get her strength back. Not sure why she's not just riding around inside her Persona, but it is what it is, I suppose." Draconis said bluntly as Oracle barely clambered onto Draconis' back before making a show of passing out on him, making Seeker frown as she spoke up.

"What a shame. Oracle has fainted, it seems." Seeker said as Queen frowned at the seemingly unconscious Oracle while she spoke up.

"Come on, stop fooling around, Oracle! There must be an alternate route somewhere in this area." Queen said as the group looked around, while frowning as most paths seemed to be blocked, making Queen keep speaking.

"Hmm, that's not good. That way is also blocked off by an ice wall. So if two of our three options are blocked, then our only option is to follow this route. Let's take it as far as we can." Queen said as Fox spoke up with a nod.

"Very well. We shall analyze our surroundings and find a proper solution." Fox said as Skull spoke up, ignoring the disgusted looks most of the female Thieves gave him for what he said next.

"Yo it's cold as balls out here. If I don't start joggin', I'm gonna freeze in place!" Skull said as every girl outside of Oracle all said 'EWW!' in unison while Oracle groggily spoke up from on Draconis' back.

"So says the jock of the group." Oracle said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Hey, what else can I do? Every second we waste, that old hag gets another heart in the bag." Skull said as Crow frowned and spoke up.

"Be that as it may Skull, that 'old hag' as you called her? She's still a close friend of Noir's. Try to show at least a little tact around her, would you?" Crow asked as gently as he could, though his tone came off rather icy and blunt regardless. Draconis nodded his agreement as he spoke up.

"I concur. For all that Hyodo is the Monarch of this Jail, she is still an old childhood friend of Noir's, and as such, we should refrain from insulting her around Noir." Draconis said wisely, getting approving nods from basically everyone else except Skull and Mona, the latter of which spoke up.

"Even if I agree that Skull could've phrased his point more tactfully, he's right. We need to keep moving." Mona said as Noir nodded and spoke up with a resolved look.

"Yes. Let's explore the castle perimeter and figure out the secret to getting in." Noir said as the group kept moving. After proceeding forward for a while, the group eventually reached a rather familiar-looking birdcage inside of a walled-off area, making Mona's eyes widen as he spoke up.

"Oh, it's a Prison Keep!" Mona said as Crow spoke up.

"A Prison Keep? As in the area where one of the cores for a Jail is kept?" Crow asked as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"I believe so, assuming Oracle's explanation of them is accurate." Draconis said as Pendragon spoke up with a smirk.

"Oracle might tease a lot, but from what Joker told me in the run-down he gave me before, Oracle never gives incorrect explanations. Therefore, I feel like it's a safe bet that you can believe her if she told you that about Prison Keeps." Pendragon said sagely. Queen spoke up with a nod.

"That's correct, Pendragon. This is a Prison Keep, where one of three cores of a Jail can be found. And based on the past couple of Jails, we should find something here that'll help us move forward." Queen said as Skull grinned on seeing the gate was open as he spoke up.

"Oh, nice! The gate's open!" Skull said as Panther spoke up.

"It is, but think about it, Skull. Don't you feel like something's off, though?" Panther asked as Violet frowned and spoke up.

"Could it be a trap, I wonder?" Violet mused. Oracle frowned as she spoke up after getting off of Draconis' back, having gotten enough strength back to move around on her own.

"Hmm, that's possible, but then again, I'm not picking up any Shadows on the radar." Oracle said as Noir spoke up.

"Good point. Even so, we shouldn't let our guard down. Anything could happen." Noir said as the group headed into the Prison Keep. While taking a detour back to do requests in past Jails after briefly leaving the Sapporo Jail, Mona hit level 32 and got the Physical skill 'Dormin Rush', making him grin as he spoke up.

"Ha, a new skill! Now I'm even more dependable!" Mona said as Seeker spoke up.

"You're not already super dependable, Mona?" Seeker said in confusion as Draconis spoke up.

"He is. He's just being a ham, Seeker. Ignore him. But in all seriousness, nice skill, Mona." Draconis said as Diego acquired 'Dormin Rush'. But that wasn't all, as Seeker also gained a new move on reaching level 32 in the form of the passive skill 'Divine Grace?', making Seeker smile as she spoke up.

"Wow, a new skill! I'm getting even better!" Seeker said as Violet smiled and spoke up.

"Indeed you are, Seeker. Well done." Violet said as Pithos acquired 'Divine Grace?'. While fighting their way back to the exit point, Queen hit level 32 and gained the passive skill 'Defense Master', making her smile as she spoke up.

"I've awakened to a new skill!" Queen said as Skull smirked and spoke up.

"Truth, babe! That's a neat skill!" Skull said as Anat acquired 'Defense Master'. After returning to the Prison Keep they'd left off at, the group scaled the steps of the Prison Keep to find the first core, which Joker seized to get an 'Election Poster' key item. Skull grinned and spoke up after that.

"Aww yeah, we got ourselves a core!" Skull said happily as Panther spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"That wasn't so hard. Think we're finally getting the hang of this?" Panther asked as Oracle spoke up.

"So Joker, whadja get?" Oracle asked as Joker held up a poster of what appeared to be Mariko Hyodo, making Oracle frown as she kept speaking.

"Is that a poster? More to the point, is that seriously Mariko Hyodo on there?" Oracle said as Draconis spoke up.

"Seems that way to me, Oracle." Draconis said as Queen spoke up.

"Indeed. Looks like a campaign flyer to me." Queen said as the flyer vanished to be replaced by a sudden gust of icy wind, making Oracle speak up with a wail.

"Waaaah!" Oracle said as Queen winced and spoke up.

"This snowstorm came out of nowhere, didn't it? Did we trigger this somehow?" Queen asked as Crow spoke up.

"Gee, I dunno. Could the giant glowing orb have possibly been booby trapped? Who could've seen that one coming?" Crow deadpanned as Skull snickered and spoke up.

"Heh, Crow said 'booby'. OW!" Skull said before crying out in pain, the 'OW!' being in response to Queen punching him lightly on the arm as she spoke up.

"Grow up, sweetie. And Crow, this is no time for being a snarky jerk. If I wanted that, I'd have asked Draconis." Queen said as Draconis frowned but nodded as he spoke up.

"I can't even be mad at you for that, since you're not wrong. I have been known to be a snarky dick to you and even Skull in the past, Queen." Draconis said sagely. Mona winced and spoke up.

"Not only that, it looks even worse in the area we just came from. It doesn't look like we can head that way anymore." Mona said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"Then our exit is lost. An ill omen, to be sure." Fox said as Skull winced and spoke up.

"Uh, guys? I dunno about the rest of you, but I don't wanna freeze to death here!" Skull said as Queen spoke up.

"Good point, sweetie. We need to run for shelter before we get completely snowed in." Queen said as the group looked around before Seeker turned away, striding in the other direction as she gazed out and spoke up.

"I can help with that. Oracle, set our destination over there." Seeker said as Oracle spoke up in intrigue.

"Wh-What'd you find? Whatever it is, I'm going!" Oracle said, and after some scanning, she turned to Joker as she spoke up.

"L-L-Listen! There's a checkpoint nearby, but its transportation function seems to have gone kaput!" Oracle said as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"No way! So that means we can't go back right now, even if we wanted to. Did the snowstorm do this too?" Panther asked as Violet spoke up.

"If it did, then this is similar to the Sendai Jail, when Doma cut off our retreat by disabling the transport function on the checkpoints until we eliminated him." Violet said as Crow smirked and spoke up.

"I still can't believe you guys actually had the balls, so to speak, to kill Doma and the Fearsome Four. That was both the most epic and also the most savage thing I've ever seen you do." Crow said as Draconis scoffed and spoke up.

"It was impressive, but I maintain the opinion that the time you and I carved up that one overgrown Shadow with our Showtime in Maruki's Palace was way better, Crow. But they did a good job in Sendai Jail, to be sure." Draconis said as Oracle spoke up.

"Yeah, yeah, we did good. More importantly, I'm gonna freeze to death! A-A-Anyway! Let's just go to where Seeker's talking about!" Oracle said as Skull spoke up.

"Truth! But that's gonna be easier said than done, Oracle. This snowstorm's friggin' insane!" Skull said as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"Well said, sweetie. Any further exposure will put our health at risk. We need to get out of here, now." Queen said as the group kept moving. After fighting their way out of the Prison Keep, the group's progress was halted by the presence of guards outside of the Keep, making Oracle speak up.

"Watch out! Shadows incoming!" Oracle said as the Shadows changed forms into that of enemies that Joker knew to be Setantas as a fight started! After fighting through the enemies, Oracle spoke up around her shivers.

"So cold. Let me just hibernate." Oracle said as Panther spoke up with a frown.

"No way. If we left you here, you'd freeze to death!" Panther said as Draconis spoke up.

"No chance, Oracle. If anything, I'll carry you. But I know you have to walk on your own, so here." Draconis said, taking off his overcoat and draping it around Oracle, using the arms to tie the coat closed in an attempt to slightly stoke Oracle's body heat so she was at least slightly warmer.

"Here, hopefully that'll help at least a little. I can handle the cold for a bit if I have to. But I'd rather not make you have to suffer through it more than you have to, Oracle." Draconis said, making Joker frown at Draconis as he spoke up.

"Speaking of which, that reminds me of a question I wanted to ask you. How is it that you seem to be less affected by this cold than the rest of us, Draconis?" Joker asked as Draconis smirked and spoke up.

"Oh, didn't I mention it? Apparently, one of Malefor's traits is that he has a higher thermal tolerance than most dragons, and as he's my Persona, that in turn affords me a limited amount of resistance to extreme temperatures, which is mostly useful for cold environments like we're in now. Technically speaking, Pendragon might also have a fraction of that same resistance since Kohryu is a similar type of dragon to Malefor, albeit not as thermally blessed as Malefor is." Draconis said as Oracle smiled gratefully at her boyfriend while cuddling the coat he'd draped over her close to her chest as she spoke up in a mix of gratitude and relief.

"Ahh, that's a little better. Thank you, Draconis." Oracle said as Panther spoke up while the others took in the sight of the skin-tight dark green sweater currently covering Draconis' torso, making it hard to tell where his same-colored fingerless gloves ended, and the sweater began.

"Anyways, moving right along. Is this supposed to be a heater?" Panther asked as Noir spoke up.

"Whatever it is, it sure is big, if nothing else." Noir said as Crow and Joker smirked before Violet frowned at them and spoke up.

"I see that look, you two. If either of you was about to crack a 'that's what she said' type joke, Noir and I will smack you both." Violet said as Crow spoke up.

"Oh, so we're not allowed to crack a joke that Noir set us up for, but you can crack jokes about me and Noir all you like? Kind of a double-standard there, don't you think?" Crow said as Joker spoke up.

"It is just a bit, but at least our teasing is age-appropriate for Seeker, unlike if we were to crack the type of joke Violet thought we were gonna crack. But what Violet fails to consider is that cracking jokes kinda comes with the territory for me, since my code name is 'Joker' and all." Joker said as Draconis booed from nearby and spoke up.

"BOO! That was terrible, Joker! Stick to your day job!" Draconis said as Skull and Oracle both laughed at Draconis' remark, and even Crow chuckled appreciatively as Joker spoke up.

"Whatever." Joker said as Seeker spoke up while lightly patting Joker on the shoulder, or rather the back since she was so much shorter than Joker, comfortingly.

"Cheer up, Joker. I thought it was kinda funny. But anyways, back on topic, we should be able to warm up here." Seeker said as Skull spoke up in confusion.

"Uhh, what the heck's a heater doing out here?" Skull asked as Violet spoke up.

"Probably it's here as a countermeasure for the snowstorm we just set off." Violet suggested as Oracle spoke up.

"Perhaps. Either way? Let's just press it and see what happens! If it is warm, I can give Draconis his coat back for now." Oracle said as Draconis spoke up.

"Don't be in a rush to give it back. Believe it or not? It looks almost better on you than it does when I'm wearing it." Draconis said slyly as Joker hit the button on the heater, making the temperature visibly increase almost immediately, prompting Panther to give off a relieved sigh as she spoke up.

"Ahh, much better. Now it's so nice and warm!" Panther said as Queen spoke up with a closed-eye smile behind her mask as she spoke.

"This really is perfect timing. We would've wound up frozen solid out here sooner or later otherwise." Queen said as Noir smiled and spoke up.

"I agree. Just the sight of it makes me feel more at ease." Noir said as Crow spoke up.

"So the sight of heat makes you feel more at ease, Noir? Interesting." Crow said as Fox spoke up.

"In any case, we truly are fortunate to have found this." Fox said as Joker spoke up.

"I do think this could be suspicious, but at the same time? I like how warm this heater is. I like this thing." Joker said sagely. Skull nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"Yeah, this thing saved our asses. Glad it ain't some trap." Skull said as Pendragon smirked and spoke up.

"I'm pretty sure Oracle would've said something if it was a trap well before we turned it on, even if she was a bit cold before." Pendragon said sagely. Seeker spoke up with an unreadable look on her face.

"Now that you mention it, I saw three other heaters, too. Do you want to go check those out?" Seeker said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Wait, what? You mean you could see 'em from the tower? Huh, now that's suspicious as hell." Skull said as Mona spoke up.

"True, but maybe there's a connection here of some sort. Like they were put there for a reason." Mona said as Noir spoke up.

"I agree. Then let's turn on all three heaters." Noir said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"I concur. Then let us make haste. The longer we linger at the fire, the harder it is to leave. O wicked bearer of flames whose heat both soothes and ensnares, hear me! We shall sever thy temptation at once!" Fox said as Crow and Noir both winced as the latter spoke up.

"Um, I think you might be overdoing it a little, Fox." Noir said as Crow spoke up.

"You're not wrong, Noir. I think we can agree that Fox was quite a ham just then." Crow said bluntly as Fox blanched but nodded as the group kept moving. While fighting off Shadows en route to the next heater, Oracle hit level 36 and gained the passive skill 'Active Boost', making her speak up with a smirk.

"Bam! I got a new skill!" Oracle said as Draconis spoke up.

"Not bad, Oracle. That's a pretty solid skill you've got there. I realized way too late that I forgot to do it before, but after we leave this Jail, I'll give you back your beam staff so you can start being able to fight again. After all, I'm sure Albus is sick of remaining dormant inside you while Al Azif has all the fun." Draconis said sagely as Al Azif acquired 'Active Boost'. However, that wasn't all, since Violet also hit level 35 and acquired the mid-tier Physical skill 'Heat Wave', making her smile as she spoke up.

"Well, well. I've gained a new skill! Did you see that, Senpai?" Violet said sassily as Joker smirked and spoke up. *2*

"Of course I saw it, beautiful. My eyes are nearly always on you, after all. As I recall, that was the agreement we made when we re-established our relationship about three years ago, a couple of months before I left Yongen-Jaya with Morgana. I would always have my eyes on you and in turn, you would always be there for me and love me unconditionally, and you've lived up to your end of our arrangement fabulously, so it's only fair I live up to my end too." Joker said as Violet blushed prettily and spoke up.

"You remembered that, Joker? That's so beautiful." Violet said happily while eagerly hugging Joker as Ella acquired 'Heat Wave'. After hopping up a nearby ledge, some nearby sentries spotted the group and one spoke up.

"Hey! What are you doing!?" The sentry said as the two sentries changed forms into what Joker knew to be 'Principality' enemies as a fight began! After beating the enemies, Fox spoke up.

"Hm? Seeker, is this where you saw the heater?" Fox asked as the camera panned to a nearby ledge that was high above the group as Seeker nodded and spoke up.

"Over here! Yes, it should be on top over there." Seeker said as Noir spoke up warily.

"But will we be able to get up that high?" Noir asked as Crow spoke up.

"Probably. But we'll have to get creative doing so, most likely. Luckily for us, creativity is largely both Fox and Draconis' forte, so to speak." Crow said as Draconis spoke up with a frown.

"You're not wrong, Crow. But that doesn't mean that we're instantly going to have the answer. Sure, I'm a dab hand at puzzles, but that doesn't instantly mean that I can figure a way out of this." Draconis pointed out as Oracle spoke up.

"Says the group puzzle lord. Oh, but is there anything we could use as footing? Go check it out!" Oracle said as the group kept moving. After Joker found and slid an ice block into place, the group hopped up to the second heater, which Joker turned on as Fox spoke up.

"Two more left." Fox said as Skull spoke up.

"Ahh, this is so nice and toasty. I wish I could just stay here forever." Skull said as Oracle spoke up.

"It's so nice and warm here that I could make an igloo. Ohh, I'm getting the sleepies." Oracle said as Draconis smirked and spoke up.

"Did you seriously call them 'the sleepies' again, Oracle? I'm still not sure if that's the most adorable thing I've ever heard, or the most random. But either way? It's so you." Draconis said as Fox frowned and spoke up.

"Stay vigilant, you three!" Fox said as Queen spoke up.

"But then again, if we stay here for a bit, we could generate some body heat by moving around." Queen said as Skull grinned and spoke up.

"Truth, babe! You heard the lady, everyone! Time to start huffin' and puffin'!" Skull said as Crow groaned and spoke up.

"What did I get myself into? I'm mostly surrounded by idiots." Crow said dryly as Noir giggled and spoke up.

"Be fair, Crow. I think most of their antics are kinda adorable. Besides, I know that you enjoy being part of a team deep down. So let's try and make the most of this, yeah?" Noir said as Crow sighed and spoke up.

"As you wish. Far be it from me to question a lady." Crow said as both Mona and Draconis almost choked on their laughter at Crow's last remark while the group kept moving. After heading for the next heater, both Joker and Draconis had to bite back several swear words when they saw that their path forward was blocked by an energy wall, before Crow blinked and noticed a console that prompted him to speak up.

"Wait, isn't that one of those consoles that can be hacked?" Crow asked, pointing towards the console in question as Oracle looked where Crow was pointing before she smiled and nodded while speaking up.

"Yep, that's a hackable console all right. That said, if this is a console, I think I can hack this place open. That'll attract Shadows, though, so you'll need to clean 'em up!" Oracle said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Definitely, Oracle. You focus on your hacking and leave the Shadows to the rest of us. And for good measure, I'll have Group 2 stick close to you so they can drive off any Shadows that get too close to you while you do your hack." Joker said as Draconis nodded and spoke up from where he was standing with Violet, Skull, and Panther.

"So the four of us are on Oracle protection detail while the rest of you keep the larger chunk of the enemy forces at bay? Sounds fair to me. Our job, then, is to take out any Shadows who get too close to Oracle." Draconis said before turning to Oracle while he kept speaking.

"As for you, you just focus on getting this place opened up, and let the four of us watch your back, okay?" Draconis said as Oracle nodded resolutely and spoke up.

"Okay! All right, hacking in! Make sure your group keeps me safe, Draconis! Joker, you make sure the others keep the enemy forces at bay!" Oracle said as a fight began! After a short, but intense, struggle, Oracle spoke up from the terminal she'd been typing at, giving a shy yet amused smile when she saw Draconis standing smugly next to her, having stayed by her side for the entirety of the fight while using Malefor to blast away any Shadows who got too close to Oracle, launching them back towards the others that were fighting the larger portions of the enemy forces.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your hack is now complete! Been a pleasure! And I'd especially like to thank YOU in particular for staying close by while I did this, Draconis." Oracle said as she slyly wrapped her arms around Draconis and briefly gave him an appreciative kiss as the fight ended. Skull then spoke up.

"Good, the path forward is open. Let's keep goin'." Skull said as the group kept moving. After Joker turned on the nearby heater, Oracle spoke up.

"Good, we're on our last one!" Oracle said as Crow spoke up.

"Finally. One last heater and we're in the clear." Crow said as Pendragon spoke up with a smirk.

"And then we have two more Prison Keeps to hit. We're still far from done here, Crow." Pendragon said sagely as Crow nodded and spoke up.

"Fair enough. You make a good point, Pendragon." Crow said as the group kept moving. After hopping some ledges to get closer to the final heater, a Shadow sentry spoke up as it stood in the group's path.

"I won't let you pass!" The Shadow sentry said as it shifted forms into what Joker knew from his forays into fusion to be a 'Principality'. After the ensuing fight, the group moved forward to hit the final heater, causing a jingle to play as the snowstorm subsided, leading Noir to smile as she spoke up.

"Oh look, the snowstorm stopped." Noir said as Crow spoke up.

"Good, one less annoyance to worry about." Crow said bluntly as Queen spoke up.

"Fair point, Crow. Anyways, to what Noir just said, perhaps the heaters have stopped it for good." Queen said as Pendragon spoke up while crossing his arms.

"Yeah, probably only in this area though. I'd be willing to bet that we might have to go through this again in other parts of this Jail." Pendragon said sagely as Violet spoke up.

"You think so, Pendragon? I could see it, but at the same time, is there really enough of the Jail left to justify multiple instances of a heater puzzle?" Violet asked warily as Fox spoke up.

"I concur with your line of thinking, Violet. But I don't think there is enough of the Jail left for another heater puzzle. Moreover, if Queen is right about the heaters being the key to stopping the snowstorm, then that must be why the enemies were guarding them." Fox said as Mona nodded before speaking up.

"Makes sense to me, Fox. Also, looks like these heaters are pretty handy. Let's keep them in mind in case we run into anymore snowy issues." Mona said as Oracle spoke up.

"Okay. Aww, I'm glad the snowstorm stopped and all, to be sure. Aww, what!? But there seems to be nothing here. Let's head back toward Odori Park for now. Huh? Hold up. The checkpoint's still dead despite stopping the snowstorm for some reason." Oracle said as Mona spoke up.

"I see. There may be something else interfering. All right, let's double back." Mona said as the group kept moving. While clearing out some Shadows on the way to Odori Park, Noir hit level 33 and gained the mid-tier Psy skill 'Mapsio', making her smile as she spoke up.

"Oh! I've got a new skill!" Noir said as Seeker spoke up.

"Not bad. Looks like we're all just about at our mid-tier elemental skills. Good job, Noir." Seeker said as Astarte acquired 'Mapsio'. But that wasn't all, as both Crow and Draconis hit level 32, the level-ups allowing Crow to gain the mid-tier Curse skill 'Maeiga', allowing him to smirk as he spoke up.

"Well, well. Would you look at that? Unless I'm mistaken, it seems that Hereward has unlocked a new ability. Pretty impressive, no?" Crow said as Noir smiled before speaking up.

"Not bad, Crow-kun. You're getting stronger, and your resolve to become a better person is shining through with each level up. Good work." Noir said kindly as Crow smiled while blushing at Noir's compliment while Hereward acquired 'Maeiga'. After entering Odori Park, a strong Shadow, eventually identified as a 'Snowstorm Admin', spoke up.

"Aah!? H-How'd you make it through the snowstorm unscathed!?" The 'Snowstorm Admin' asked as Crow scoffed and spoke up.

"Wouldn't you like to know? I'm afraid that's for US to know and for YOU to never find out." Crow snarked, not seeing the intrigued/appreciative look Noir was giving him as he spoke, while Mona frowned and spoke up.

"I agree with Crow. That's no concern of yours. That being said, I feel I'd be correct in assuming this is the good behind this snowy mess, then." Mona said as Draconis cracked his knuckles excitedly and spoke up.

"Aha, so this is the guy whose ass I get to kick for trying to make Oracle freeze? Works for me. And I'll try to save some ass for Joker to kick, since I'm sure Violet almost froze too, even if she didn't make nearly the show of it that Oracle did." Draconis said as Violet spoke up.

"Umm, I really didn't even come close to freezing. But that might be because Joker kept me cuddled against him most of the time, except when we were on the move or fighting Shadows." Violet said honestly, blushing at her own admission as Joker spoke up with a smirk.

"Of course I did. I'd be an idiot not to keep the sexiest girl I know cuddled close to me so I can keep her warm. Besides, I know for a fact I'm not the only one here who cuddled their girlfriend and/or possible crush to them during that snowstorm." Joker said, giving Crow, Draconis, and Skull knowing smirks as they looked away, before turning the look onto a confused Mona, who then spoke up.

"Eh? Why are you looking at me? If you're referring to me and Seeker cuddling, she was the one who cuddled me! Besides, you saw me slide out of her arms when she tried to cuddle me, right?" Mona said as Noir giggled and spoke up.

"I think that was mostly because of your unfortunate situation of having a cat-like form, Mona-chan. But I will say you and Seeker look really adorable together." Noir said with an amused giggle as Seeker blushed at Noir saying she looked cute with Mona. Pendragon frowned and spoke up.

"Uh, as amusing as this by-play of sorts is, don't we have a Shadow to fight?" Pendragon said, getting the conversation back on track as the Snowstorm Admin spoke up.

"Ohhh, I'll get punished for sure if she finds out I goofed up and let people out of the snowstorm. Sorry, but you're all gonna die right here!" the Snowstorm Admin said as Draconis scoffed and spoke up.

"Oh, yeah? That a fact? Bring it on, then! Between the collective might of all 13 of us, I'm sure we can end a sniveling peon like you with little difficulty." Draconis said confidently as the Snowstorm Admin became a giant Jack Frost and a fight began! While the giant Jack Frost threw hands with Joker, Crow, and Draconis, the others all started fighting the army of smaller Jack Frosts. After Joker knocked the giant Jack Frost into a wall, Draconis smirked as he noticed his Showtime gauge fill up.

"Ooh, nice. Shall I use my Showtime and put the hurt on this thing?" Draconis asked as Crow and Joker grinned before nodding as Violet spoke up, having made her way over to back the trio of Joker, Draconis, and Crow up.

"Your meter filled? Let's see your Showtime, Draconis!" Violet said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Gladly. SHOWTIME!" Draconis said as he called forth Malefor and smirked at the giant Jack Frost before speaking up.

"Not so tough now, are you!? MALEFOR! FEAST ON THAT FOOL!" Draconis said as Malefor nodded, lunging forward to snap at the giant Jack Frost, scaring it a lot before leaping back to breath out a stream of high-intensity flame at the giant Jack Frost while Draconis spoke up.

"And now you see why challenging us was a fatal mistake. MELT BEFORE OUR RED-HOT FLAME!" Draconis said as he tossed two of his throwing knives at the giant Jack Frost after having swiped them several times on Malefor's flame to set the blades ablaze, smirking as the blades landed right in the torso of the target, making the giant Jack Frost screech in agony as he slumped over and slowly melted into a puddle of black mist as Draconis spoke up.

"BEGONE, SCUM!" Draconis said, turning to pose like a badass as his Showtime, along with the battle, ended. Afterwards, Skull spoke up.

"Good, we defeated that thing. All right, this oughta stop the snowstorm with any luck." Skull said as Oracle spoke up.

"Makes sense to me. What!? NO WAY! Oh! The checkpoint's functionality is back! I guess that Shadow was blocking it. Now we should be able to go back and forth like we want." Oracle said as Joker spoke up.

"Aha, so it's like how we had to take out Doma to restore the checkpoints in the Sendai Jail. Interesting." Joker said as Crow spoke up.

"Indeed. I wonder if that means every Jail going forward is going to have a point where there'll be some sort of target we have to eliminate to restore checkpoint functionality for that Jail. Could be interesting, if it's true." Crow said as the group kept moving. After returning to the ice wall that had been blocking their path previously, the group gasped as they saw the ice wall was missing, making Noir speak up in shock.

"Huh? The ice wall's gone!" Noir said as Oracle spoke up in surprise, her eyes widening behind her visor as she spoke.

"No kidding! Wonder why." Oracle said as Fox spoke up.

"Something tells me even a massive heater couldn't have done this." Fox said as Mona spoke up.

"Indeed. Hmm, in that case, I have a hypothesis." Mona said as the others turned to face him while he kept speaking.

"In Shibuya and Sendai, our key to progression both times was the core at the top of the Prison Keep. Therego, if the same logic applies here that was applied in each of the two previous Jails, then couldn't that core we found earlier be the key to melting these ice walls?" Mona said as the others gave him contemplative looks before Fox spoke up.

"That could very well be possible, Mona." Fox said as Skull spoke up warily.

"Yeah, ehh, not gettin' it still." Skull said as Mona, Pendragon, and Crow all facefaulted at Skull's remark before Crow spoke up.

"I have no idea how Queen puts up with having a simpleton like you as her boyfriend, Skull. It's really not that difficult of a concept." Crow said as Pendragon spoke up.

"Crow's right. Basically, each time we get a new core for this Jail, we melt another ice wall, thus moving closer to reaching the Desires. That is, assuming Mona's logic in figuring the core is what melted the ice wall checks out." Pendragon said as Violet spoke up.

"As someone who was here for the first two Jails, I can say that Mona's probably right in his guess. So I say we trust Mona's logic and go by his guess for now." Violet said kindly as Mona and Seeker both gave Violet impressed looks at her standing up for Mona. Queen, for her part, frowned at Crow and spoke up, clearly unimpressed with his cheap shot at Skull.

"Crow can you not insult my boyfriend in front of me like that, please? I know he's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he's got a good heart, and is a nice guy deep down. So that's why he's my boyfriend." Queen said before turning to Skull as she kept speaking.

"As for you sweetie, remember, we're in the Metaverse. Some things we just have to accept and move on. In this case, we'll need to melt more ice walls to get inside the castle." Queen said as Skull nodded his understanding before Panther spoke up with a smile.

"Then we know what we need to do. All right, Seeker, ready or not-" Panther said as Seeker spoke up to finish Panther's sentence while bouncing up and down in place excitedly, a smile on her face as she spoke that Mona found oddly endearing for some reason.

"Here we come!" Sophia said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"Fair enough, so we know what we need to do next. But, ahh, so where are the other cores?" Skull asked as Queen spoke up.

"No clue, sweetie. But for now, we know that this seems to be the only path we can take. Let's keep moving and get going!" Queen said as the group kept moving. After deciding to leave the Sapporo Jail for a bit to re-stock and check requests, the group detoured into the Sendai Jail for some requests. While fighting off Shadows for one of the requests, or more specifically Slimes, Fox hit level 34 and gained the Physical skill 'Tempest Slash', making him smirk as he spoke up.

"Well, well. I've gained a new skill." Fox said as Mona spoke up.

"Yep, and it's a really good skill too. Well done, Fox." Mona said as Kamu Susano-o acquired 'Tempest Slash'. After fighting off more Shadows, Mona hit level 34 and gained the mid-tier healing skill 'Mediarama', making him speak up with a smile.

"This new skill suits me! Now I'm even more dependable!" Mona said as Seeker spoke up.

"Good job, Mona. We needed a better group healing move." Seeker said happily as Diego acquired 'Mediarama'. After fighting off a tough Shadow for a request, Queen hit level 34 and gained the buff skill 'Marakukaja', making her smirk as she spoke up.

"I've awakened to a new power!" Queen said as Skull grinned and spoke up.

"Not just a new power, babe. A new level of buffing power. Good stuff." Skull said proudly as Anat acquired 'Marakukaja'. After returning from the Jail, the group got comfortable for a bit in the RV so they could stop for a meal and to plan out how to proceed further in the Sapporo Jail, knowing they were going to have to be rather methodical in their chosen method of attack for this Jail...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! We're well into the third Jail at this point, but even so, I'm going to estimate that at most, there's only another two chapters left of coverage for that Jail, given that the next chapter will probably be more of the Sapporo Jail, including the infamous 'Hee-Horde' roadblock that most people who played Strikers probably know of at least to some extent, as well as maybe securing the route to the birdcage.

But it'll more likely be the chapter after next where the birdcage, Lock Keeper, and third calling card all happen. Maybe the third Monarch fight will be in the chapter after next as well, but that'll probably be in chapter 18 if I have to guess. So there's a bit of time-lining for people to look forward to.

Also, since this chapter is likely replacing the last 'update' I did, let me take this chance to once again recap the poll results, as the poll in question ended three days ago as of the point of typing this part of the end-of-chapter A/N (or at 12:56PM on Monday, January 8, 2024). After taking out a few votes that were illicitly added through various means, which the guilty parties were reprimanded for and swore never to do what they did again, the results look like this:

1st place: Shiho (6 votes)

2nd place: Akane (4 votes)

3rd place: Mystery Persona 4 Character (3 votes)

4th place: Mishima (2 votes)

5th place: Maruki (0 votes)

And due to the aforementioned vote tampering, I decided to put the top 3 into the story for the sake of being fair to anyone that legitimately voted the Mystery Persona 4 Character and/or Akane, while acknowledging that Akane took 2nd place and Mystery Persona 4 Character took 3rd, just barely getting the third spot in the story, and leaving Mishima and Maruki to take 4th and 5th place, respectively. As such, my commiserations to anyone who voted for Maruki and/or Mishima, and to the aforementioned characters themselves for just missing the chance to get in.

As for the identity of the mystery Persona 4 Character? If you read the update that this replaced, you already know who they are. But in case you're seeing this instead of that update, the identity of the Mystery Persona 4 character is none other than the player character's cousin, Nanako! But the poll winners won't start getting integrated into the plot until Arc 4.

And again, allow me to offer my most sincere and humble apologies for the poll results being tampered with, as well as for being one of the ones to partake of said tampering. But I regretted doing it almost immediately afterward, so hopefully I won't have too many of my readers upset with me over it. But I understand if anyone decides to not want to read this story anymore as a result. So, there's your look at the poll results! Thanks to everyone who voted, and congrats to the three winners!

That being said, thanks as always to everyone who's followed, favorited and/or left a review on this story, as your support is valuable and appreciated since it lets me continue to fine-tune my content to be better enjoyed by my readers.

So don't be shy about leaving a review and/or shooting me a PM if you have any feedback/thoughts/suggestions/constructive criticism for the story, as I enjoy hearing from my readers! And until next chapter, sithlorde198 out!

NOTES

*1* - Pretty sure there's not nearly as many 'group chat' sequences in Strikers as there are in vanilla Persona 5 and/or Royal. But the main reason for this note is to address the chat icons for Sojiro, Kusa, Goro, and Sumire. For their parts, Kusa, Goro, and Sumire's chat icons are basically the same as they are in Royal, with the exception that Sumire's icon has her hair down at Ren's insistence, since he apparently finds Sumire more beautiful with her hair down than she is with it in a ponytail.

As for Sojiro's, his chat icon is a bit different. The one time he has a chat icon in Royal/vanilla Persona 5, he has a simple red and black icon with his face in grey. But in Strikers, once he awakens, his chat icon background color shifts from red to gold, to reflect the fact that the majority of his Phantom Thief attire is made of gold, and the framing is black since some of his attire is black. Also, pretty sure this is the only time in Strikers that Sophia initiates a group chat after the road trip part of the game begins.

*2* - Again, not a fanfic of mine unless I have at least one reference in every chapter. In this case, it's another Persona 3 reference, or rather a paraphrasing of a quote from that game. However, despite being a paraphrase, only one word in the quote is different. Anyone who recognizes this quote is not only amazing, but has played a lot of Persona 3. And I felt like a Persona 3 reference was more than warranted here after the new trailer for Persona 3 Reload dropped at the Game Awards last night (as of the point I typed this note anyways).

PHANTOM THIEF LEVEL INFO AND ALLY LISTINGS AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 15

JOKER (Ren) - Level: 37 Current Personas: Raoul (Level 24), Orthrus (Level 27), Legion (Level 37), Shiisaa (Level 37), Arahabaki (Level 37), Neko Shogun (Level 37), Mothman (Level 33) Equipped Persona: Neko Shogun Persona Moveset: Maragion (Fire), Sukukaja (Support/Buff), Megido (Almighty), Null Forget (Passive), Maeiga (Curse), Makouga (Bless)

SKULL (Ryuji) - Level: 33 Current/Partner Persona: Seiten Taisei Persona Moveset: Zio (Elec), Lunge (Physical), Tarukaja (Support/Buff), Headbutt (Physical), Mazio (Elec), Rebel Soul (Passive), Zionga (Elec), Swift Strike (Physical)

MONA (Morgana) - Level: 34 Currnt/Partner Persona: Diego Persona Moveset: Garula (Wind), Dormin Rush (Physical), Mediarama (Healing), Magaru (Wind), Technical Adept (Passive), Recarm (Healing), Diarama (Healing), Dodge Elec (Passive)

PANTHER (Ann) - Level: 33 Current/Partner Persona: Hecate Persona Moveset: Agilao (Fire), Dodge Ice (Passive), Tarunda (Support/Debuff), Soul Thief (Passive), Maragi (Fire), Dekaja (Support/Debuff), Marin Karin (Ailment), Diarama (Healing)

FOX (Yusuke) - Level: 34 Current/Partner Persona: Kamu Susano-o Persona Moveset: Bufula (Ice), Speed Master (Passive/Buff), Sukukaja (Support/Buff), Freeze Boost (Passive), Vicious Strike (Physical), Tempest Slash (Physical), Mabufu (Ice), Dodge Fire (Passive)

QUEEN (Makoto) - Level: 34 Current/Partner Persona: Anat Persona Moveset: Freila (Nuclear), Defense Master (Passive), Marakukaja (Support/Buff), Mafrei (Nuclear), Diarama (Healing), Flash Bomb (Physical), Media (Healing), Sledgehammer (Physical)

NOIR (Haru) - Level: 33 Current/Partner Persona: Astarte Persona Moveset: Psio (Psy), Evil Touch (Ailment), Hysterical Slap (Physical), Triple Down (Gun), Technical Adept (Passive), Amrita Drop (Healing), Mapsio (Psy), Gun Boost (Passive)

ORACLE (Futaba) - Level: 37 Current Personas: Al Azif and Albus Equipped Persona: Al Azif Persona Moveset: Analysis (Passive), Moral Support (Passive), Active Support (Passive), Moral Boost (Passive), Active Boost (Passive)

SEEKER (Sophia) - Level: 34 Current/Partner 'Persona': Pithos Persona Moveset: Kouga? (Bless), Rakunda? (Support/Debuff), Diarama? (Healing), Makouha? (Bless), Media? (Healing), Bless Boost? (Passive), Divine Grace? (Passive), Recarm? (Healing)

VIOLET (Sumire) - Level: 36 Current/Partner Persona: Ella Persona Moveset: Kouga (Bless), Rebellion (Support/Buff), Diarama (Healing), Bless Boost (Passive), Heat Wave (Physical), Makouha (Bless), Dream Needle (Physical), Recarm (Healing)

DRACONIS (Kusa) - Level: 33 Current/Partner Persona: Malefor Persona Moveset: Vicious Strike (Physical), Agilao (Fire), Garu (Wind), Rising Slash (Physical), Media (Healing), Megido (Almighty), Sukunda (Support/Debuff), Almighty Boost (Passive)

CROW (Goro) - Level: 33 Current/Partner Persona: Hereward Persona Moveset: Eiga (Curse), Megido (Almighty), Mudo (Curse/Insta-kill), Triple Down (Gun), Maeiga (Curse), Giant Slice (Physical), Rakunda (Support/Debuff), Curse Boost (Passive)

PENDRAGON (Sojiro) - Level: 33 Current/Partner Persona: Kohryu Persona Moveset: Psio (Psy), Headbutt (Physical), Psy Boost (Passive), Spell Master (Passive), Mediarama (Healing), Evade Nuke (Passive), Psy Wall (Support/Wall), Mapsi (Psy)

ALLIES: Zenkichi, Ichinose, Shiho