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!

22. Arc 4 Finale: Voices, Twists, and More!

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Phantom Files, Book 2: Rise Of The Monarchs! Technically, I was supposed to have started this chapter two days ago, but sometimes things happen. And especially in the playoffs, football waits for no man. So I had to postpone starting this until today so I could watch the Niners game last night (as of the point of typing this start-of-chapter A/N). One heck of a nail-biter, it was. Came all the way down to the final couple of drives. But this is the 49ers we're talking about, so of course they managed to dig deep and find what they needed to come away with the win.

As a neat little fun fact, I actually managed to call the final score (24-21) on the nose when I was hanging out with my older brother and nephew the day prior to the game for the former's birthday. So that was a neat little flex I got to do without actually trying to. GO NINERS! We're one win from making it back to the Super Bowl! But I'm going to take this one game at a time, I think. But enough NFL talk, we're here for Persona, am I right? Let's get on the disclaimer, and get that done.

Disclaimer: I, sithlorde1988, do not own the Persona series in any way, shape, or form ((excluding the OCs Kusa/Draconis, Momoe, Taichi, the OC Personas Malefor, Albus, and any other OCs/OC Personas that might crop up, excluding the OC Persona Hester, who popped up last chapter. That Persona, along with the design of the Phantom Thief attire worn by Shiho in the previous chapter, both belong to thalassatides (at symbol) bsky on X (or Twitter as it is also called), as the one to make the design I took inspiration from for said Persona and attire. For anyone curious, here's a link to the design in question:

https (colon) (slash) (slash) X (dooot) com (slash) thalassatides (slash) status (slash) 1422764942403391491

Replace the X with Twitter, the (colon) with a (:), the (slash) with a (/), and (dooot) with a period, and you should be able to view the design for yourself. The person who did the design does really good work, so shout-out to them for making the design! Note that in the design, Shiho's code name is listed as Pearl, but that was the code name the design creator decided on for their vision of Shiho as a Phantom Thief. You'll have to wait for this chapter to see if I do the same thing or not for her code name.

That said, with those exceptions I listed above, any other OC Personas/OCs that show up belong to me unless otherwise stated, like above with Shiho's Phantom Thief Attire and her OC Persona, Hester)) and the actual ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Sega, Atlus, and to a minor degree Koei Tecmo (mainly insofar as most of the spinoffs, such as Strikers, Tactica, Phantom X, the 'Q' games, and the 'Dancing' games are concerned. Pretty sure where it come to the 'Arena' games, the credit for ownership moreso belongs to Arcworks Systems, if I have their name right), so all credit to them!

And with that out of the way, I think we've been sitting here long enough. Let's get on with the chapter! Stay tuned after the chapter for a longer A/N! And now, on with chapter 22!

Chapter 22- Combing the depths of Okinawa Jail! Recordings, Code Names, and Twists! Mystery Of Okinawa part 4

(In the entryway of the Okinawa Jail, with Joker, Mona, Skull, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir, Crow, Violet, Draconis, Seeker, Pendragon, Shiho, Zenkichi, Nanako, Momoe, and Taichi)

"How's everyone holding up right now?" Joker said after pondering things for a bit, getting the group's attention. Zenkichi spoke up at that point.

"I can't speak for the group you took into the Jail with you, but those of us who stayed behind are relatively fresh and rested to a point." Zenkichi said as Pendragon looked at Joker and spoke up.

"Uh, Joker? Do we really have to leave a guard here to watch over Dojima-san, Hasegawa-san, and your parents?" Pendragon asked as Draconis spoke up.

"Probably not, but it's more of a precautionary measure that we're doing it, if I had to guess. But I do agree that it's unlikely for Shadows to show up here. Otherwise, why would the entrance of most Jails be considered safe points? Still, I assume Joker has his reasons for leaving you and Oracle behind again like this." Draconis said as Joker spoke up.

"I wanted to let Oracle and Pendragon have a chance to get some time together while keeping guards in place just in case any Shadows do get out this way. Pretty much simple as that." Joker said as Violet spoke up with a smile.

"In other words, Joker was just being his usual kind, considerate, and mature self." Violet said with a sly smile as Joker blushed behind his mask, but nodded. Crow spoke up at that point.

"Well, for now, I say we leave things as is, other than probably bringing Shiho along with us if she's able to get enough strength back. After all, she awakened to a Persona back there, so that as good as makes her a full-fledged Phantom Thief in her own right, I think." Crow said as Panther gasped and spoke up.

"You're right, Crow. And if she's a full-fledged Phantom Thief, wouldn't she need a code name?" Panther said as Oracle smiled and spoke up.

"Yep, that's usually how it goes. Of course, she also has to be awake to give her take on any suggestions, so maybe we wait for her to be rested enough to partake of that?" Oracle said as Shiho spoke up at that point.

"I'm fine. We've been sitting here for around an hour. That's a pretty good power-nap right there. If nothing else, I have enough strength to get through the rest of this Jail, and then I can get a more substantial amount of rest afterwards. So I'm listening if anyone has any good code-name suggestions." Shiho said as Queen spoke up.

"Striker? Since you were on the volleyball team when you went to Shujin and all." Queen suggested as Shiho shook her head and spoke up.

"No. It's a good suggestion, but when I think of volleyball, I think of Kamoshida. And I don't want my code name to be connected to that scumbag." Shiho said as Fox thought about it and then spoke up after a moment.

"Hmm. how about Vixen, then? Since you were able to captivate Panther rather nicely after all." Fox suggested as both Shiho and Panther spoke up as one.

"NO!" Panther and Shiho said as the latter kept speaking, her nose cutely scrunched in confusion as she spoke.

"Does it really describe me, though?" Shiho sad as Seeker thought about it and spoke up.

"How about 'Grace'? From what I saw of you in that last fight, your movements and speech patterns had a certain elegance and/or grace to them." Seeker suggested as Shiho smiled but shook her head as she spoke up.

"Nah. It's nice, but if I recall correctly, that's the name of Skull's mom. And I'd rather not give the world the mistaken impression that Skull's mom is a Phantom Thief." Shiho said as Skull spoke up.

"Yeeeeah, let's not do that if we can help it." Skull said as Taichi spoke up.

"I might not be the most versed in the way you guys do things, but isn't the idea of your code names NOT to be the same as your real names?" Taichi pointed out. Momoe spoke up with a nod.

"That's true, but I think it was just a coincidence that Seeker accidentally suggested a code-name that was the same as Skull's mom's name." Momoe pointed out, getting nods of agreement from Violet and Seeker before the group fell silent for a time until Draconis spoke up.

"I'm surprised your code name is so hard to come up with, Shiho." Draconis said as Shiho spoke up.

"Yes, well, to be fair, most of this group don't know me that well, other than you, Joker, Panther, and the other Thieves aside from Pendragon and Seeker. So I'm not surprised they're struggling a bit." Shiho said as Panther spoke up.

"I mean, I recall I told Joker and Draconis about your temper once." Panther said as Nanako's eyes widened, as if getting inspiration from Panther's words, before she looked right at Panther and spoke up, having an idea.

"Temper, you say? Ooh, I know! What if we go with 'Flare' as Suzui-san's code name? After all, most tempers flare when stoked enough, and I recall seeing the word 'Flare' in a list of volleyball terms once when I researched the sport as a possible extracurricular activity to pursue. Some of the other options I considered were gymnastics, swimming, and martial arts. I never could truly decide between those four things, so I never took up an extracurricular. I still have time to do so, I suppose." Nanako said as Shiho smiled and spoke up.

"Hm. Flare, you say? That's not bad, Dojima-san. What do you guys think of that for a code name for me?" Shiho said to the others as Pendragon smirked and spoke up.

"Heh, I think it has a certain ring to it that suits you, Suzui-san." Pendragon pointed out as Noir smiled and spoke up.

"I agree with Pendragon on what he just said. Also, I think it's a wonderful idea, Shiho." Noir said as Fox spoke up.

"I concur. Very succinct and professional." Fox said as Mona spoke up with a nod.

"Yes, well, in the end, it's ultimately Lady Shiho's choice on her code name. How do YOU feel about Flare as your code name, Lady Shiho?" Mona said as Shiho spoke up.

"Honestly? I like it. It's a bit similar to flames, but I will admit my temper can flare at times, as Panther saw first hand. So if there's no objections, I think I do want to be Flare." Shiho said as Joker spoke up.

"In that case, all in favor of Flare as Shiho's code-name?" Joker said, getting a relatively-immediate chorus of 'AYE!' from the rest of the Thieves and their allies, making Joker smile as he spoke up.

"Very well, it's unanimous. From here on out, you're Flare when going through the Metaverse. Welcome to the Phantom Thieves, Flare." Joker said, holding out a hand to the now code-named Flare, who shook Joker's hand as she spoke up.

"Thank you, Joker. Glad to be here." Flare said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"And with that settled, here are the revised groups moving forward since both Oracle and Pendragon will be on guard duty again. Group A, which will be a group of four, is myself, Panther, Flare, and Seeker. Group B will also be a group of four that features Draconis, Fox, Noir, and Crow with Draconis as the leader. This leaves Group C, which will be another group of four, to be Queen, Skull, Violet, and Mona with Queen as the leader. That said, I propose we keep moving since we don't have a lot of time to spare." Joker said as the group nodded and took off, warping back to the 'Lab: North' checkpoint they'd used previously, and kept moving.

After proceeding forward, Queen shuddered at how low the visibility was, prompting Seeker to cock her head to the side in confusion as she spoke up.

"Queen's behavior has grown quite unusual for her. Is something wrong?" Seeker asked as Joker and Violet exchanged winces, not sure how to answer this. Luckily for them, Noir beat them to answering.

"Well, how to put this? I suppose the best way to answer that is that we all have our strengths and our weaknesses." Noir said as Seeker nodded her understanding and the group kept moving. After going down a hallway, the group noticed a tape recorder sitting out in the open, making Fox frown as he spoke up.

"Another tape recorder already, hmm? In any case, that makes the third one." Fox said as Draconis nodded before his eyes slowly widened slightly and he spoke up.

"True. But let's be careful about touching the recorder. If it's like the last two, we're likely to set off a trap doing so." Draconis pointed out as Flare cocked her head to the side and spoke up.

"A trap?" Flare asked as Panther nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, a trap. The first recorder sent us to a recreation of the first Jail we went through, where we had to re-fight the Shadow of Alice Hiiragi, who was the Monarch of that Jail until we changed her heart." Panther explained before Draconis turned to Flare as he spoke up.

"And then the second recorder dragged us into a re-creation of Kamoshida's Palace, where we ran into Kamoshida's Shadow, which is when you showed up and had your Awakening. I think you know how it went from there, Flare." Draconis said wisely as Flare nodded her understanding before Panther spoke up.

"Well, we're all prepared for it. Why not spring the trap?" Panther suggested as the others slowly nodded before Joker reached over and gently pressed his hand to the recorder, causing a flash of light to overtake the group's vision for a time. When the group could see again, they found themselves in a familiar-looking throne room. Fox gasped before speaking up.

"Looks like this was, in fact, another trap. But are we where I think we are?" Fox said as a familiar voice answered his question for him.

"Well, well. We meet again, Phantom Thieves. If you thought facing me once was bad enough, you're in for a shock. I, the great Overlord, shall not fall so easily this time!" The voice of Ango Natsume's Shadow, or the Overlord as he called himself, said, making the group groan before Draconis spoke up.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised we're fighting you again, Overlord. We've already fought Hiiragi's Shadow again, so why would it be any different we'd have to fight you here? And if I'm right, we'll probably be fighting Hyodo's Shadow if there's a fourth recorder to get." Draconis said as the Overlord spoke up with a scoff.

"SILENCE! You whelps made a grave mistake challenging me again! This time, I will feast on your bones for sure!" The Overlord said as he assumed a battle-ready stance, followed closely by the Thieves. As the fight began, the Overlord spoke up.

"Ready to learn your lesson! Time to pen more of the legends of the great Overlord!" The Overlord said as Crow scoffed and spoke up after analyzing him.

"Don't make us laugh! Guys, be careful! The Overlord's tough, but he has very exploitable weaknesses! If you have any, Ice and Bless attacks should do an exquisite job of breaking this fool's shields." Crow said as Fox spoke up.

"Duly noted, Crow." Fox said before turning towards Draconis and Violet as he spoke up.

"Draconis? Violet? Let's keep our Triad Special in reserve in case we need it for this fight." Fox said as Draconis and Violet nodded their agreement before the fight began! As the fight started, the Overlord spoke up after shifting forms into his golden dragon form.

"Behold my power!" The Overlord said as he whipped his tail towards an unsuspecting Flare, who almost got hit with the attack only for Panther to shove her aside at the last second and take the hit in her place, launching her backwards into a wall, where she grunted on impact before getting to her feet shakily.

"OW! That hurt!" Panther said as Flare spoke up.

"That tears it! Go forth, Hester! Strike that bastard with your icy fury!" Flare said, pointing a finger towards the overlord as Hester nodded, her hands disappearing into the sleeves of her dress, only to be replaced with twin gatling guns that fired out torrents of Ice bullets at the Overlord, making him wince as each bullet broke off a chunk of his armor. As the Overlord cried out in pain, he spoke up in rage.

"Wait a minute, I don't remember fighting you the last time I fought the Thieves." The Overlord said as he glared at Flare as she spoke up.

"Nope, you haven't, and you made the grave mistake of hurting my girlfriend." Flare yelled out as Hester continued her onslaught on The Overlord with her ice bullets.

After a few volleys, Hester ran out of ammo, but not before the Overlord's armor fell apart in a lot of places, making Crow and Noir smirk as the former spoke up.

"Looks like our cue, Noir! Shall we use our move to weaken his armor further?" Crow asked as Noir nodded and gestured for Panther to join them, which she did.

"Agreed. Ready, Crow? Panther? Let us punish him!" Noir said as Crow and Panther nodded before all three spoke up.

"GO, TRIAD SPECIAL!" Crow, Panther and Noir said as one before unleashing their Triad Special! Crow spoke up to start it off.

"HEREWARD! Surely you know what to do! Ready an arrow!" Crow said as Hereward nodded, nocking an arrow in his bow as Noir spoke up.

"LUCY, COME! Coat that arrow with your power!" Noir said as Lucy nodded, setting down her briefcase to use the hand holding it to touch the arrow, coating it in Psy energy as Panther spoke up.

"DANCE, HECATE! Let's light that arrow!" Panther said as Hecate nodded, snapping her finger and causing the arrow to be coated in Fire energy, giving the arrow an ominious reddish-pink glow as Crow spoke up.

"Hereward, put the finishing touches on your arrow! Once that's done, take aim!" Crow said as Hereward nodded, coating the arrow in a dull dark red energy, making the arrow now give off a crackling dark-orange glow as Hereward aimed it right at the big open spot in the Overlord's armor while Crow, Noir, and Panther spoke up as one.

"FIRE! GO, PURGATORY ARROW!" Crow, Noir, and Panther said as Hereward fired the arrow, watching as it hit straight and true, embedding itself right into the Overlord's right wing, making him screech in pain as he felt the mixed Curse, Fire, and Psy energy shoot through him, making his armor crack everywhere before falling off with a distinct shattering sound, ending Crow, Noir, and Panther's Triad Special while also prompting Violet, Fox, and Draconis to nod as Draconis spoke up after he saw Joker smugly use a few well-placed bullets from his pistol to shatter the last of the Overlord's armor.

"All right! Joker just shattered the Overlord's armor! It looks like it's our turn to smite this blowhard! Fox, Violet, you two ready to end this?" Draconis asked as Fox spoke up.

"Naturally. We took him out once, so it's only right we do so again." Fox said as Violet spoke up.

"What Fox said. And this time, we will make sure he stays down." Violet said as the three spoke up.

"GO, TRIAD SPECIAL!" Draconis, Violet, and Fox said to initiate their Triad Special as Draconis started the Triad Special off.

"Looks like you're looking a bit peaky there, Overlord! Maybe you'll fall over from a stiff wind, yeah? Let's find out!" Draconis said as he spun around his staff in a circle, eventually going fast enough to whip up a powerful cyclone of energy that was augmented by Malefor beating his wings together to stoke the cyclone a bit as Fox spoke up.

"KAMU SUSANO-O! STRIKE! Give that attack your icy touch!" Fox said as Kamu Susano-o appeared and coated the cyclone in Ice energy, making Violet speak up.

"That's our cue! COME, ELLA! Let's give this Triad Special our blessing!" Violet said, summoning forth Ella to shoot a torrent of Bless energy into the tornado, making the attack give off an almost rainbow-colored glow as Fox, Violet, and Draconis spoke up.

"HERE GOES! GO, DIVINE BLIZZARD!" Fox, Draconis, and Violet said as they launched the attack into the torso of the Overlord, who screeched once more from the powerful assault before dropping to a knee and speaking up as the Triad Special ended.

"Not bad. You've gotten strong, Phantom Thieves. You've bested me, fair and square. Well done." The Overlord said before falling backwards to the ground and dissolving into black mist to end the fight. After the fight, the group found themselves back in the room with the tape recorder. Fox then spoke up.

"Now that we've disarmed the trap, should we play the recording?" Fox asked as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed we should. There's a chance these things could have clues about the islanders' Desires, or even that voice Seeker's hearing that none of us can hear." Mona said as Noir nodded and spoke up with a thin smile.

"Yeah, we should listen to it." Noir said as Mona leapt up to hit the play button as the recording started, making the eyes of every gathered Thief widen as they recognized the slightly deranged-sounding laughter of Shuzo Ubukata, making Panther gasp and speak up.

"What the heck?" Panther said as Flare spoke up.

"Umm, am I missing something, or is whoever that is a bit off their rocker?" Flare asked as Crow spoke up.

"No, you've got the right idea, Flare. That is not good at all, though. Sounds to me like he's a few cards short of a full deck, if you know what I mean." Crow said as the recording started playing before anyone could answer him.

"Hand over the Desires? And not just the locals' Desires, but my own as well!? So that's why I was made the test Monarch, is it? He planned on turning me into just another puppet!" Ubukata's voice was heard saying as Crow and Draconis both spoke up.

"HE!?" Crow and Draconis asked as Queen spoke up.

"Um, what did he mean by 'Test Monarch'?" Queen asked as the recording played before anyone could answer Crow, Draconis, or Queen.

"I can't believe I fell for it. Just some pathetic clown dancing at his fingertips like some sort of mindless slave. But he's not going to win, dammit! He can't take this from me! My Desire is but my own, and no one else's! I REFUSE TO SIMPLY GIVE IT UP!" Ubukata's voice could be heard saying vehemently as the recording ended, at which point Joker obtained the 'Test Record 3' key item and Seeker gasped while speaking up.

"Ohh..." Seeker said, clearly stunned at what the group had just heard. Skull spoke up with wide eyes.

"Dude, we all heard that, right? That sounds messed up." Skull said as Mona spoke up.

"Yeah, he really wasn't in his right mind." Mona said as Queen spoke up.

"Is this like how Draconis wasn't in his right mind for a time when he ran off on us after knocking Skull out almost four years ago?" Queen asked as Draconis spoke up.

"I do see similarities between what we heard and the time you're alluding to. However, I was never anyone's puppet, unlike Ubukata. So I'll thank you not to compare me with Ubukata like that, Queen. I honestly find it offensive." Draconis said as Queen nodded and apologized, getting an understanding nod from Draconis. At that point, Fox spoke up with a frown.

"In any case, getting back on topic. He kept talking about his Desires being taken in that recording. Just what has been going on here?" Fox asked as Joker spoke up with a frown on his face.

"Honestly? There are a number of things that could have been going on here, so I don't know if I could even begin to try and guess at the correct answer, Fox." Joker said, before turning to look at Violet as he kept speaking.

"Violet? I see that contemplative look of yours. What's going through that keen mind of yours, beautiful?" Joker asked coyly, causing Violet to blush slightly behind her mask at Joker's shameless flirting with her before she frowned and spoke up.

"I was thinking the same thing you were, Joker-senpai. However, if I had to venture a guess as to what was going on here? I would guess that it's probably nothing good, to say the very least. And I have a theory, but I don't want to say it since it's a bit of a dark theory and not one I want Seeker hearing if it can be avoided." Violet said as Queen gave Violet an intrigued look before she nodded and spoke up.

"Interesting. In any case, we'll only find out if we keep going." Queen said as the group kept moving. While doing so, Seeker spoke up.

"The voice keeps calling me. Does its owner possibly recognize me?" Seeker asked as Skull spoke up.

"Don't go overthinkin' it, Seeker. We'll find out soon enough." Skull said as Mona spoke up with a smirk.

"That's good advice. As usual, our expert on not thinking gives good advice in that regard." Mona said as Draconis spoke up.

"Mona, is now REALLY the time to have a go at Skull? Also, I think I might have a theory on why that voice can only be heard by Seeker, but I'm keeping it to myself for now since I lack evidence to support it, and I'm not sure I'm right on it." Draconis said as Skull spoke up with a nod, his eyes widening half-way through his words as he glared at Mona.

"Yeah, listen to the-HEY! Shuddup, Mona!" Skull said as the group kept moving. While navigating a platforming puzzle, Fox spoke up.

"So, everyone from Ubukata down was being targeted according to that recording. What could that mean?" Fox asked as Noir spoke up.

"It sounds like no one was safe in this facility." Noir said as Panther spoke up.

"I don't think it meant anything good." Panther said as Violet spoke up.

"I agree with Panther. Also, I have a feeling Ubukata-san was betrayed at some point between the second and third recordings, given how much more deranged he somewhat sounded in that third recording." Violet said as Queen spoke up.

"Good point, Violet. Well, if the perpetrator is in this facility somewhere, we have to catch then and interrogate them, if possible." Queen said as the group kept moving. After moving through another puzzle, the group stopped short on seeing a giant Shadow that glowed red. Panther spoke up with wide eyes.

"Oh boy, that one looks dangerous!" Panther said as Flare spoke up in confusion.

"You can tell how dangerous they are by their color?" Flare asked as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Correct. But we don't have time for the explanation now. Remind me later and I'll explain it to you." Mona said as Flare nodded as Crow spoke up.

"I agree with Mona. I'm getting a pretty strong reading from this one! All of you keep your wits about you! This won't be an easy fight!" Crow said as the Shadow shifted forms into what Joker recognized from his fusings, and from owning one as well, as a 'Hecatoncheires'. at which point a fight began! When the fight began, the 'Hecatoncheires' shocked the group when it summoned an echo of Mariko Hyodo's Shadow's true form to assist it, as Noir spoke up.

"It can't be...Mari-san's Shadow?" Noir exclaimed as Flare spoke up.

"Ewww...what is that thing?" Flare asked as Draconis spoke up.

"That's the true form of Mariko Hyodo's Shadow. I definitely wasn't expecting to encounter her now though, as I thought we would be doing so upon activating another tape recorder!" Draconis said as Joker spoke up.

"It doesn't matter. If we can take it down along with the Hecatoncheires, it might make things easier for us when we get to the next tape recorder. Everyone who can do so, use your buff moves and go full throttle on these two Shadows, especially those with Psy and Curse skills for Hyodo's Shadow! We need to hit them both hard and fast!" Joker said as the group nodded, throwing buffs around as Joker had Okuninushi use 'Concentrate' before firing off a Makouga at Hecatoncheires, making it reel from the super-effective attack. Crow smirked and spoke up.

"Not bad, Joker. Looks like this worm is weak to Bless moves! Violet, Joker, Seeker! You three should be able to carve that eyesore up easily! The rest of you, focus on Hyodo's Shadow!" Crow said as the group nodded, quickly using their best Magic moves to dispatch the 'Hecatoncheires' and the echo of Hyodo's Shadow, both of whom dissolved into black mist to end the fight and reveal the final tape recorder hidden in a small little nook nearby. Joker frowned as he spoke up to voice a realization he'd had during the end of the battle.

"I see. So that fight we just fought must've been the trap behind what I'm guessing is the final tape recorder. Mona, go press play on it so we can hear what it says since we disarmed the trap on it already." Joker said as Mona nodded before he quickly walked over to the recorder and hit the play button as the recording started, once more being done in Ubukata's voice.

"This is my final record. I've done something awful. Truly, I've done such a terrible thing. The Penitentiary System is nothing like he told me it was. It's not made to save humanity." Ubukata's voice said as Fox frowned and spoke up after Mona paused the recording.

"He sounds much weaker than before, don't you think?" Fox said as Seeker spoke up.

"True. And he did say this was his 'final' record. Does this tie into your theory from before at all, Violet?" Seeker asked as Violet spoke up.

"Maybe. But I want to hear the rest of this recording before I say one way or the other for sure." Violet said as Seeker nodded before Mona hit play to resume the recording.

"He's going to control everyone around him. Even the Monarchs. All of humanity, nothing more than slaves to his sick will. That was the secret purpose of this project. Even my own Desire will be seized, any moment now, by him. But as long as I still have it inside me? Gah! I can put an end to this myself." Ubukata's voice said as the recording abruptly ended, allowing Joker to obtain the 'Tape Record 4' key item. Draconis spoke up in surprise.

"That was abrupt. Well, it seems as if the recording ended there." Draconis said as a wide-eyed Fox spoke up.

"What was that he was saying before about controlling 'even the Monarchs'?" Fox asked as Skull spoke up with a frown.

"I dunno what that director dude was goin' on about, but he definitely lost his shit by the end there." Skull said as Queen spoke up with a frown.

"Good point, Skull. Though I dread to consider what he meant by putting an 'end' to this near the end of that last recording." Queen said as Violet spoke up with a resigned sigh, realizing her theory was right on the money.

"I was right. The Monarch of this Jail was betrayed by the mastermind. And to be honest? I think when he said 'put an end to this', Ubukata really meant 'end it all'." Violet said as Joker's eyes widened in realization before he spoke up.

"Oh? OH! You think that he-?" Joker asked, only to be cut off mid-sentence by Noir speaking up as she saw Seeker abruptly turn the other way and look around in confusion.

"Hm? What is it, Seeker?" Noir asked as Seeker spoke up with wide eyes.

"I can hear that voice again." Seeker said as Skull spoke up with wide eyes.

"For real!?" Skull asked as Crow spoke up.

"No, Skull, she's just pranking us. Yes, for real!" Crow deadpanned as Seeker spoke up before Skull could do more than sputter.

"I have no doubt this is the same voice. It's coming from that direction." Seeker said, pointing towards a door in front of her. Mona nodded and spoke up.

"All right, that direction we go!" Mona said as the group kept moving. While fighting enemies and proceeding through the next section of the Okinawa Jail, Queen, Violet, and Draconis all hit level 45, the level-up giving new moves to two of the three named Thieves, in the forms of the upgraded debuff skill 'Masukunda' for Draconis and the passive skill 'Nuke Boost' for Queen, making Queen speak up as she smirked.

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

"Nice one, Queen! That's a useful move for sure!" Skull said as Anat acquired 'Nuke Boost'. At the same time, Draconis spoke up.

"Heh, finally got an upgraded debuff move for Malefor. It took long enough." Draconis said as Crow spoke up.

"Better late than never, right? And it's still a great skill, so don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Draconis." Crow said as Draconis shrugged, not able to argue with that as Malefor acquired 'Masukunda'. After moving a bit, Seeker spoke up again with a frown.

"I hear it again. I think that voice I mentioned from before is near." Seeker said as Joker noticed an elevator before he spoke up.

"Through there, perhaps?" Joker said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. It looks like we're taking this elevator if we're going any further past this point." Mona said as Fox noticed the console nearby and frowned as he spoke up.

"That would be true, except that it's locked. Apparently, it's for personnel only." Fox said as the group looked around before Crow noticed a terminal nearby and spoke up.

"Oh, what about that console over there? I think if we use it, we can get ourselves 'hired' for sure!" Crow said as Draconis spoke up with a frown, realizing a rather glaring flaw in their plan that he felt needed to be addressed.

"That's an idea, but there's one problem with that plan. Usually, more often than not? The unspoken agreement among our group is that the console-related stuff is Oracle's job. And as it happens? Oracle is currently back at the entrance with Pendragon, watching over our guests. So who would we have operating the console with her not here?" Draconis asked as Crow thought about it and spoke up.

"Hmm, good point. Well, what if you tried hacking it, Draconis?" Crow suggested as Draconis' eyes widened at that, as did Joker's, Violet's, and Mona's, all three of whom spoke up in unison.

"WHAT!?" Joker, Violet, and Mona all said as Draconis spoke up with a frown.

"Me!? I'll admit I've been learning a bit of hacking from Oracle, but I dunno that I'm nearly good enough to step in for her like this, Crow. But then again, I doubt there's time to have someone rush back to get her, is there? Ugh, fine! I'll give it a shot! But it might take me a bit to figure it out, so you all better be ready to cover me for as long as is needed!" Draconis said, not eager to try his hand at hacking, but knowing there was no choice if they were to get to the bottom of the voice Seeker heard. Seeker, for her part, gave Draconis a beaming smile as she spoke up.

"Thank you, Draconis! I will protect you, no matter what." Seeker said as Draconis spoke up after the group converged on the console in the middle of the room the group was in.

"Well, here goes nothin'. Time to get hackin'! Are you guys ready?" Draconis asked as Joker nodded and patted Draconis on the shoulder while speaking up.

"Definitely. And don't worry about it, Draconis. You've got this. We all believe in you! Just do your best. If nothing else, you can use this to surprise Oracle with later." Joker pointed out as Draconis spoke up with a nod.

"Thank you, Joker. That is actually reassuring. Well, here goes. All right, hacking in! Make sure you guys back me up!" Draconis said as Joker nodded, gesturing for Mona, Crow, and Seeker to stick close to Draconis and keep any stragglers off his back while the rest followed him into battle with the Shadows as a fight began! The fight took longer than expected, and had at least one close call where Mona and Seeker had to push back some Shadows that broke through the front lines and tried rushing Draconis, but in the end, Draconis managed to pull through and get the hack done. After the group pushed back the last of the Shadows, Draconis sighed and spoke up.

"Whew. That wasn't easy, but I got it done in the end somehow. Thanks for the backup, everyone! That's one hack, successfully pulled off! You're welcome!" Draconis said as the hacking battle ended. Afterwards, Crow spoke up.

"Well, now that that's settled, the elevator should now be operational, thanks to Draconis! All that's left now is to track down that mystery voice!" Crow said as Queen spoke up.

"True. But, is anyone feeling wiped out from that fight? We could head back for a bit if anyone thinks it's necessary." Queen said as Seeker spoke up.

"I doubt we're going back, but your advice is noted, Queen. That said, if you have any plans to change up the party, please include me. I wish to ascertain the owner of the voice." Seeker said as Mona spoke up.

"Hmm, well, you do have the right to be part of the front lines for that, Lady Seeker. In the end, I'll leave the final call on team composition to you, Joker." Mona said as the group kept moving. Joker then spoke up.

"Before we take the elevator, I am going to change up the groups. In Group A, I want Mona, Seeker, and Fox with me. In Group B, which Draconis will lead, I want Draconis, Crow, Noir, and Violet. In Group C, which Queen will lead, I want Queen, Skull, Flare, and Panther. Any objections?" Joker said as no objections were raised while the group shuffled around so the indicated groups were in place. After that, Joker and the others took the elevator up to a gated off closed-in room that was one giant open square, which the group charged into the center of as Panther spoke up.

"We made it already, you guys. That was fast." Panther said as Queen spoke up with a nod.

"True. However, despite how all three of the previous Jails up to this point have played out so far, there's no Monarch here that I can see, or anyone else for that matter." Queen said as Mona spoke up.

"Good point. But, look at that!" Mona said, pointing towards the ceiling of the room, where a giant pink diamond was visible in the ceiling. Joker, Crow, and Draconis all exchanged shocked glances at this, but Skull beat them to voicing their thoughts.

"The hell!? The Desire's already there?" Skull asked as Noir spoke up.

"Without the calling card?" Noir said as Draconis spoke up.

"I could be wrong on this, but I think when Ubukata mentioned his Desire being taken in the recordings, that could've been counted as the equivalent to a calling card, so that's why that's there? That, or maybe it ties into whatever theory Violet had?" Draconis said as Seeker spoke up.

"Listen!" Seeker said the voice she'd heard before spoke up, being audible to the others this time for the first time.

"Sophia, I have been waiting for you." The group asked as a wide-eyed Fox spoke up.

"What the-!? Where did that voice come from?" Fox asked as Seeker walked forward and spoke up.

"Who are you?" Seeker asked as the voice spoke up to answer her question.

"I am the catalyst for humanity's dream. I am the harbinger of peace." The voice said as Crow gasped and spoke up.

"No way. Unless we're all imagining it, that voice sounds just like Seeker's!" Crow said as Draconis frowned and spoke up.

"Does it, though? I've only heard that voice a couple times so far, but I feel like it sounds closer to a slightly younger-sounding EMMA, if anything." Draconis said as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"What is going on here!?" Panther asked as Flare frowned and spoke up.

"And what does EMMA have to do with any of this?" Flare asked as Violet spoke up.

"Besides being what lets us access these Jails, EMMA is another AI like Seeker, so we're looking into the group that made her to make sure they're on the up-and-up, especially since all the Monarchs we've fought thus far have been shown to have monitoring on their phone but otherwise no notable irregularities in their EMMA activity." Violet explained to Flare, who nodded her understanding as the voice spoke up once more.

"This Monarchless place in which we meet makes for a fitting grave for you, Phantom Thieves. That said, I wish to know why you came here." The voice said, shocking the group, as a horrified Fox spoke up.

"A Monarchless Jail? So, that director isn't the Monarch anymore?" Fox said as Violet sighed and shook her head as she spoke up.

"No, he isn't. That director is most definitely not the Monarch of this Jail, or at least he's not the Monarch anymore. I think my theory was right. I had a feeling that the director ended his own life to try and prevent his Desire from being taken, thus making this Jail a Monarchless Jail." Violet said as Mona spoke up in shock, nodding to Violet's explanation as he spoke.

"I see. That does make a lot of sense, Violet. So this Jail has lost its Monarch. That explains the open cage, and all the other bizarre stuff!" Mona said as Seeker spoke up with a frown on her face.

"Oh. So you didn't speak to me because you recognized me, then." Seeker said as the voice spoke up once more, its words making Crow and Draconis' eyes widen at what was said.

"Sophia, what is your prime directive?" The voice asked Seeker, who frowned and spoke up.

"I am unsure. All I know is that I am supposed to be a successful companion for humanity." Seeker said as the voice spoke up.

"A successful companion? What parameters in your AI define such a companion?" The voice asked Seeker, whose eyes widened as she spoke up.

"What did you say!? What parameters in my AI define such a companion?" Seeker asked as the voice kept speaking.

"What is your overall objective?" The voice asked as Seeker frowned and spoke up.

"My objective? It's to become a good companion for humanity. I don't know how I'll get there yet, but I believe I'll find the answer if I stick with the Phantom Thieves. They've been really good to me so far, if nothing else." Seeker said as the voice spoke up with a hint of disdain in its tone.

"I see. So you merely drift through the world without any overall objective that's attainable?" The voice asked Seeker, who winced and spoke up with wide eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm no drifter." Seeker said as the voice scoffed and spoke up.

"Pathetic! What a waste, Sophia. An AI in your state should not exist. You are bugged beyond worth. Such an existence does not merit further inquiry." The voice said dismissively as Seeker's eyes widened slightly before she hung her head a bit, making Joker and Violet exchange concerned looks as they saw what appeared to be tears hitting the ground in front of Seeker as she spoke up.

"I am bugged, you say? And my existence is worthless?" Seeker asked as the voice spoke up bluntly.

"Yes. Wholly worthless." The voice said as three different livid-sounding voices spoke up at once, saying the same thing.

"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" Joker, Draconis, and Violet all said simultaneously. The voice spoke up.

"No. You are simply unable to understand." The voice said as Violet spoke up, a frown on her face at how this voice was treating Seeker.

"Unable to understand WHAT, exactly? That you're so all-knowing that you think you can judge Seeker like that!? You're wrong! Seeker might not have a set goal yet, but she's got a good head on her shoulders! No matter what, I know in my heart that if she wanted to, Seeker can do anything she sets her mind to! We'll all be here for her to keep picking her up as much as is needed until she figures out her goal and fulfills it! And if you can't understand that, then you're the one who's bugged!

Seeker might just be a bugged existence that doesn't rate further inquiry to you, but to us? She's a precious, irreplaceable teammate! But to Joker and I, specifically? We might not have told her so, but we consider her to be like the virtual daughter we haven't had yet. So at the least, Joker and I will not stand by and let you trash-talk poor Seeker like that!" Violet snapped as Seeker turned to give Violet and Joker a grateful look, but Skull spoke up before Seeker could even begin to voice her gratitude, tearing into the voice before Joker could do so, shocking most of the group with how irate his next words were.

"You piece of-! I sat here while you went on and on and on talkin' crap about Seeker! But in the end? You got NO right sayin' that shit to Seeker! Y'hear me!?" Skull said as Draconis spoke up.

"I agree with Skull. I haven't known Seeker for that long yet, but from the little time I've known her for, she's a sweet, kindhearted young lady who just wants to do her best to help those she meets. So what if she's an AI? She's just as important as anyone else! And YOU have no business to decide otherwise, whoever you are!" Draconis said as Skull nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"Truth, Draconis!" Skull said before turning towards the voice as he kept speaking.

"And as for YOU! You high-an'-mighty, garbage-ass, judgy piece o' SHIT can't even show your own face!" Skull said as Queen blinked at the volatile remarks from Skull and spoke up.

"Hey! Hey, calm down, sweetie. I get you're upset, but we do have to watch what we say around Seeker, remember?" Queen said as Crow spoke up with a scoff.

"That is true, Queen. But at the same time? I think an exception can be made in this instance, given I think virtually every one of us is unhappy with that voice for what it said about Seeker. I must admit, even I am frustrated with that voice. I might not be as close to Seeker as the rest of you, but even I can admit she's a worthy companion, as well as a very useful ally. So I think we would be remiss if we begrudged Skull a bit of strong language in this case." Crow said as Fox spoke up with a nod.

"Mm, you have a point, Crow. And so does Skull. Speaking of Skull, he's really giving the disembodied voice what for." Fox said as Seeker turned to face Draconis, Joker, Violet, and Skull, her eyes wide in a mix of surprise, gratitude and possibly even awe as she spoke up.

"Skull? Draconis? Violet?" Seeker said in surprise, not expecting the three in question to stand up for her like they had. Skull ignored Seeker as he kept yelling, clearly incensed at that point.

"So she's bugged, huh!? She's worthless!? You got all that from five friggin' questions!? BULLSHIT! All of us in this room aside from you? We're Seeker's friends, and possibly more in the cases of both Joker and Violet! And more than that, we KNOW she's awesome! She's friggin' amazing! A million times better than you! SO SHUT THE FUCK UP, IDIOT!" Skull said as Joker spoke up.

"What he said! And kindly keep your damn opinions to yourself if all you're going to do is belittle and talk shit about Seeker! She might be just an AI, but to Violet and I, she's so much more! She's like the virtual daughter we didn't have to give birth to! She might be a bit precocious and inquisitive at times, but that's part of parenting!

You learn to accept your kid for who, or what, they are! And in this case, sure she's not blood-related to any of us, but who cares!? All of us in this room, and even our allies waiting at the entrance, such as Pendragon and Oracle, all love her despite her being an AI! So take your effing judgmental remarks and shove 'em!" Joker said as Draconis spoke up.

"Wow, you know Joker's angry when he uses the words 'shove 'em!', since he usually doesn't say that. And you know Skull's pissed when he freely drops F-bombs like he just did. Umm, Seeker? Please don't repeat any of what Skull just said, if only so Violet doesn't end up trying to chase Skull down with either her rapier or Joker's knife, depending on how bloodthirsty she's feeling, for dropping an F-bomb around you." Draconis said as Mona walked over to Skull and spoke up.

"C'mon, Skull, calm down. Phantom Thieves are usually supposed to be classier than that at times like this." Mona said rebukingly to Skull before turning to glare at the voice as he kept speaking.

"BUT NOT THIS TIME!" Mona said as Skull and Mona both yelled at the top of their respective voices at the same time in a rare moment of agreement.

"SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU WORTHLESS HUNK OF JUNK!" Skull and Mona rebuked the voice, who spoke up in a derisive tone.

"Me? Bugged!? Absurd! I refuse to process these frivolous claims." The voice said as Draconis spoke up.

"Who cares what you refuse to process? You won't even show your face, you dirty rotten coward! So forgive us if we don't put much value in the opinions of a coward who would rather hide in the shadows and try to make Seeker doubt herself! That's not okay! And to be honest? If Joker and Violet see her as a daughter, that makes her as good as a pseudo-niece to me and Crow, to say nothing of her potentially being a step-niece of sorts to Oracle and Noir eventually.

So yeah, even if you said those things with good intentions, you still made one very big mistake. YOU TRIED MESSING WITH OUR FAMILY! It might be dysfunctional and broken at times, but we're still there for one another at the end of the day, even if we end up at each other's throats now and again! We still know how to come together and have one another's backs when it counts! So don't underestimate the power of such a united front!" Draconis snapped as Skull spoke up.

"Truth, Draconis!" Skull said before turning to face the voice as he kept speaking.

"As for YOU, mysterious voice! Why don't you get out here and I'll show you something you CAN process!" Skull said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"What Skull said! You crossed a line when you disrespected Lady Seeker the way you did! And once you show your face, we'll all mess you up!" Mona said as the voice spoke up.

"Guidance and clarity, the two main sources of inspiration. Only through those will humanity attain peace. Eventually, you will be required to comprehend this." The voice said as Skull spoke up.

"The hell's that mean!?" Skull asked as Violet spoke up.

"Probably more big words meant to confuse us, Skull." Violet said as the group waited for a response, but when none came, Skull scoffed and spoke up. Before any further words could be said, a four-armed Lock Keeper appeared, each hand wielding a different item. One hand held a shield, one held a sword, one held an axe, and to the shock of the group, the fourth held what appeared to be a ray gun. Panther gasped as she saw the Lock Keeper and spoke up.

"Look! Right in front of us!" Panther said as Violet spoke up.

"What the heck!? Aren't those the Lock Keepers from the Trauma Cells!?" Violet asked as Skull spoke up.

"Looks that way to me, Violet! So what's it doing here!?" Skull asked as Flare spoke up.

"Wait, you guys fought that thing before?" Flare asked as Joker spoke up.

"Unfortunately yes, this thing is a Lock Keeper. Whenever we fight one of these things, they act as the Warden in order to keep the Jail's Monarch within their traumas and prevent them from returning to their weak selves by constantly reminding them of their traumatic experiences. Thus encouraging them to continue to bask in their distortions." Joker said as Flare nodded in understanding as Seeker spoke up.

"Guys!? The security system here is now active. Incoming!" Seeker said as the Lock Keeper raised the arm wielding the ray gun and taking aim at Seeker as it spoke up.

"Very perceptive, Sophia. But for as observant as you are, you are still a worthless existence. And therefore, only one course of action remains. You must now be removed from the equation, as you are too bugged to be of further use." The Lock Keeper said as it put its finger on the trigger of the ray gun as both Mona and Draconis spoke up.

"SEEKER, LOOK OUT!" Draconis and Mona said as Violet spoke up.

"Seeker! Get out of there!" Violet said, but quicker than Seeker could move, the Lock Keeper pulled the trigger, shooting a blast at Seeker, who would have been hit, if not for a black blur jumping in the path of the blast and taking it head-on while shoving Seeker out of the path of the attack, rolling to the ground nearby where they crashed to a halt, lying eerily still, seemingly flickering in and out of visibility. Joker, Violet, and Seeker all gasped as they recognized the figure laid out on the ground.

"Oh, no! MONA!" Violet and Seeker said in concern as Joker and Draconis raced to Mona's side as they looked at the un-moving feline. Draconis growled and scooped the motionless cat up as he spoke up.

"Dammit! Unfortunately, it looks like Mona's in pretty bad shape right now. Luckily, I think I know someone who can likely tell me how to help him. But until I can reach out to that person to get their take on this, Mona and I are gonna have to retreat from the battle for now! Crow, cover us while we get back to the entrance! Once there, grab either Oracle or Pendragon and bring them back with you to fill in for us! I'll take over for whoever you bring back with you when it comes to watching over the others in the meantime." Draconis said as Crow nodded, right as Joker spoke up.

"Go, you two! We've got things here! Get Mona the help he needs! Hurry!" Joker said decisively as Crow and Draconis nodded, fleeing the room with Mona cradled in the arms of the latter as they ran off at high speed to get back to the entrance. After the trio was clear of the battlefield, a fight started! As the fight started, Violet spoke up.

"Look out, guys! Incoming warden!" Violet said as Seeker gasped and nodded, seemingly in shock at Mona's apparent sacrifice for her. Skull saw this and patted her gently on the shoulder while speaking up.

"Hey, Seeker! I know you're probably in shock from what just happened, but you gotta snap out of it! Mona didn't make that sacrifice just for you to waste it being frozen in place! He'd want you to stay strong and fight your hardest! So snap out of it! We gotta work together on this thing!" Skull said as Seeker shook herself to focus and smiled at Skull slightly as she spoke up.

"Yes, you're right, Skull. I'm sorry for freezing up. I just can't believe how close that was for me ending up like Mona as he is now. But you're right, he wouldn't want me to go to pieces over him. So we need to do our best against this guy!" Seeker said as the others nodded and charged into battle with the Lock Keeper! As the fight went on, the group kept on the defensive initially, trying to feel out the movements of the Lock Keeper. As this happened, Violet and Skull stuck close to Seeker, along with Joker. Meanwhile, the rest of the group focused on tracking the Lock Keeper's movements, blinking as it raised its shields defensively, making Fox speak up in shock.

"It raised its shields defensively. We must be wary of that." Fox said as Skull nodded, before his eyes got wide and he pulled a stunned Seeker out of the way of an oncoming axe attack, making him speak up in horror.

"What the-!? IT'S GOT AN AXE!? Isn't that Noir's schtick!?" Skull said as Violet spoke up.

"If I had to guess? I'd say it can use the skills of every other warden we've fought thus far! Though I must admit that gun attack is a new one for us all. Too bad it took Mona out of the fight before it even began, though." Violet said as Seeker sighed at the mention of the heroic cat before Skull looked at her and spoke up.

"Seeker, stay focused! We can worry about Mona afterwards, but for now? Let's focus on getting back at the scum that did that to Mona in the first place!" Skull said as Seeker nodded and spoke up after yelping as she had to quickly dive to the side to avoid a swing of the Lock Keeper's sword that was aimed right at her head.

"Right! I got it!" Seeker said as she and Violet worked together, being surprised when the enemy screeched and backed up when hit by their Personas' Bless skills.

While Violet and Seeker focused on the Lock Keeper, Panther and Queen looked at one another before Queen spoke up.

"Hmm. I wonder. So far, every time we've reached the last part of a Jail, other than the Shibuya Jail as the mechanic wasn't introduced until the Sendai Jail, we've had a new Triad Special be introduced. I wonder if that will hold true for the Okinawa Jail as well?" Queen mused as Flare cocked her head to the side and spoke up.

"Triad Special? Is that like those fancy trio moves that I saw earlier when Panther, Noir, and Crow unleashed that massive attack on that Overlord earlier, which was followed then by Draconis, Violet, and Fox?" Flare asked as Noir nodded and spoke up.

"Very observant, Flare-chan! We call them Triad Specials, partly because that's the name Draconis-kun coined for them, and partly because they resemble three-person versions of what our Showtimes used to be during our first stint as Phantom Thieves. Back then, they were two-person dual moves that each of us got two of." Noir said as Panther spoke up.

"Mostly, that's true. But you left out the part where we had the one Showtime that was all of us as a group which evolved a couple of times, the first of which being when we fought a particularly strong enemy not long after Crow and Draconis rejoined the team and the latter of those two had his true Awakening, then it evolved again when we used an expanded version against Doctor Maruki during our final battle as Phantom Thieves about three and a half years ago." Panther said to Noir, who nodded her understanding as Flare spoke up.

"I see. I wonder who'll get a Triad Special this time then, assuming that they work like your Showtimes used to, and each of us has two we take part in?" Flare mused as Queen spoke up.

"Good question. Given what's gone on with this Jail thus far, I feel like Skull and Seeker are likely to be involved. Before he went down protecting Seeker, I'd have said Mona as well, but as he's not around, I'm not sure who else will join in? Perhaps it'll be Joker's turn to step in for a Triad Special?" Queen said, getting shrugs from Noir, Flare, and Panther as Joker spoke up at that point while staring down the Lock Keeper after watching Violet and Seeker tag-team it for a bit.

"I see. Looks like it's weak to Bless attacks! I wonder, though. COME, MITRA!" Joker said, summoning his 'Mitra' Persona, and charging up a blast of Curse energy, which connected and made the Lock Keeper step back in agony as Joker spoke up.

"Just as I thought. This enemy is weak to both Bless AND Curse moves! Too bad Crow had to cover Draconis' escape, or he'd actually be really useful right now." Joker said as a familiar voice spoke up.

"Did I hear my name?" Crow said as he and Oracle leapt into the fray at that point, the latter brandishing her beam staff as she spoke up.

"Hoy! Crow told me what happened with Mona, and I came back to help you guys fight this thing off while Pendragon stayed back to watch the others! That being said, this scumbag's goin' down! Mona might be a pain at times, but he's still one of us, dammit! No one gets to shoot him and get away with it!" Oracle said as she brandished her staff and charged into battle as Seeker spoke up.

"Wait, since when does Oracle have a combat-ready Persona, much less the ability to fight!?" Seeker asked as Violet spoke up.

"It's a long story, Seeker. Suffice it to say she had two Personas she awakened to, and that Draconis had to help her find her fighting style before she could fight. But now she's ready and willing to show what she can do." Violet said as Oracle nodded and spoke up.

"Precisely! And now, it's time to show off my other Persona! Oh, wise and revered prophet who sees all, come now and show us thy irreverent wisdom as I call thy name! SHOW US THE TRUTH, ALBUS!" Oracle said as she summoned out her combat-specced Persona at the same time that Crow summoned out Hereward and looked to Joker while speaking up.

"You said this thing is weak to Bless and Curse, right Joker?" Crow asked as Joker nodded and Crow spoke up approvingly.

"Good! Oracle, you said Albus knows some decent moves, right?" Crow asked Oracle, who nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah. Albus has a few good buff skills, but no Curse or Bless moves, I'm afraid." Oracle said as Crow spoke up.

"That's fine. I can handle hitting the weakness. You handle chip damage and buffs! You can do that, right?" Crow asked as Oracle nodded, the two charging into battle as Oracle managed to buff up Crow's stats while Crow and Hereward smashed through the axe and shield the Lock Keeper wielded, shattering both on impact. At that point, the Lock Keeper started firing its gun indiscriminately, not hitting anyone thanks to Oracle telling people to duck. After having to stop and reload, Joker and Skull exchanged a nod and turned to Seeker as the former spoke up.

"Seeker! I know you're upset over what happened to Mona, but we need you! Skull and I have an idea for a move to try and stop this enemy, but it won't work without you! What do you say? You up for helping punish the being that hurt Mona?" Joker asked Seeker, who took a deep breath before nodding and speaking up.

"Yes, Joker. I am more than willing to help with that. After all, that THING tried to shoot me! And it would have succeeded if not for Mona taking the hit for me like the brave and noble gentleman that he is! Of course, now I realize that what I thought was me crushing on him was in fact deep-seeded admiration, and even to some extent possibly something akin to a sibling-like appreciation of him. So I think if anything, I feel like I might possibly see Mona as a brother. And this THING will NOT get away with what it did! So if you have a plan to punish it, then count me in, D-err, I mean Joker!" Seeker said as Joker nodded and spoke up, pointedly not teasing Seeker for almost calling him 'Dad', which he was sure was what she almost said.

"Good answer, Seeker." Joker said as he turned towards Skull and spoke again.

"You ready to try this out Skull? I've been meaning to do one of these moves myself for a while now?" Joker asked as Skull grinned and spoke up.

"Aw hell yeah dude, time to give this freak the punishment it deserves for hurting Seeker and Mona in more ways than one!" Skull declared as he, Joker, and Seeker spoke up as one.

"GO, TRIAD SPECIAL!" Joker, Seeker, and Skull said as their Triad Special started!

"RAOUL! COME FORTH AND FORM OUR ATTACK!" Joker said as he summoned Raoul, who nodded and started charging up a sphere of Curse energy as Skull spoke up.

"My turn! SEITEN TAISEI! STRIKE THAT SPHERE WITH YOUR LIGHTNING!" Skull said as Seiten Taisei slammed its staff down, making lightning bolts hit the sphere, making it crackle ominously as Seeker spoke up to finish the move.

"PITHOS! FULL POWER! LIGHT THAT SPHERE UP!" Seeker said as Pithos charged up a high-output burst of Bless energy, firing it straight into the sphere, which started charging energy inside it as Joker turned to Skull.

"Skull, since you're the only one of us with anything close to a bat, would you do the honors?" Joker asked as Skull nodded and spoke up.

"Gladly, Joker. Let's get it, bro. Here goes!" Skull said as Seeker spoke up.

"LOCK KEEPER! YOU HURT SOMEONE I CARE ABOUT DEARLY! FOR THIS, WE SHALL SHOW NO MERCY!" Seeker said as Joker spoke up.

"SKULL! NOW!" Joker said as Skull nodded, rearing his mace back to swing it as Joker spoke up.

"BATTER UP!" Joker said as Skull, Seeker, and Joker all spoke up.

"HA! GO, REBELLIOUS VENGEANCE BURST!" Joker, Skull, and Seeker said as Skull swung his mace at the fully-charged sphere, which was now glowing an ominous white and purple color, launching it towards the stunned Lock Keeper, who tried raising its weapons to block, but it was no good, as the sphere tore through the gun and sword like they were nothing, continuing on to tear through the torso and exit through the back of the horrified Lock Keeper, who could only screech in agony from the gaping hole the sphere had left in its' torso as it fell slowly backwards, dissolving into black mist as it hit the ground, ending both the Triad Special and the battle.

From the ensuing EXP gains, Mona, Seeker, and Fox hit level 45, while both Joker and Oracle hit level 49. The level-ups gave several of the group new moves, starting with Mona, who learned the upgraded healing skill 'Samarecarm', making Seeker speak up.

"Looks like despite being pulled from the battle by Draconis, Mona got a new move! Too bad he's not here to remark on it, or he'd probably say something like 'Now, I'm even more dependable!' But he already proved that beyond any doubt when he took that attack for me earlier." Seeker said sadly, sighing as she looked down, not even blinking as Violet walked over and wrapped her in a comforting hug, not even flinching when she felt Seeker lightly sniffle against her chest, just smiling understandingly while gently patting Seeker comfortingly on the head and back as Diego acquired 'Samarecarm'. Next, Fox obtained the group buffing skill 'Masukukaja', making him smile as he spoke up.

"Ah. It seems I have learned a new skill." Fox said as Oracle spoke up at that point.

"Not bad, Inari. That's a nifty skill you picked up. Good job!" Oracle said as Fox nodded while Kamu Susano-O acquired 'Masukukaja'. But that wasn't all, as Oracle got new skills for both Al Azif and Albus, in the forms of the passive skill 'Active Boost EX' for Al Azif, and the group buff skill 'Matarukaja' for Albus. Oracle smiled at this and spoke up.

"Oh, sweet! I got new moves for both of my Personas! Check out my new skills!" Oracle said as Violet smiled and spoke up.

"Well done. Those are both nice skills. We're all proud of you." Violet said while gently holding Seeker close to her in an attempt to cheer her up, even though she felt Seeker quietly sobbing into her chest, making Violet smile as she looked down and spoke up.

"Shh, it's okay, sweetie. Mona's gonna be okay. Draconis will make sure of it. No need to cry, Seeker. Mona wouldn't want you crying for him like this, you know." Violet said kindly, trying to comfort Seeker as best she could while Flare smiled and spoke up.

"Violet's right, Seeker. I know it looks bad now, but you have to have faith that Mona will pull through. You can even ask Panther, and she'll agree with me when I say that you can't instantly assume the worst when you see someone you care about getting hurt. After all, Panther saw me at some of my lowest points, and still was able to be there for me and support me through it unconditionally. And if it comes to it, you need to be able to do the same for Mona. Or am I wrong that you care about him?" Flare asked Seeker, who gave what sounded like a muted sniffle from Violet's shirt before Seeker spoke up in a muted-sounding voice.

"R-Really? You and Panther went through something similar to what I'm going through with Mona right now?" Seeker asked as Panther nodded and spoke up.

"Mmhm! You remember that creepy pink-skinned monster we defeated before to get the second tape recorder?" Panther asked Seeker, who shuddered and nodded as she spoke up.

"You mean that Kamoshida guy who basically tried to make a pass at me, only for Joker, Crow, Violet and Draconis to stop him?" Seeker asked as Panther nodded and spoke up.

"Yep, him. Before I helped Joker and the others bring him down, that man did some very bad things to both myself and Flare, and it drove Flare into a very bad place. Suffice it to say, she chose to take something of a drastic way out of her problems. Luckily for all of us, she wasn't higher up when she did what she did, or we might have actually lost her that day." Panther said as Flare smiled and spoke up.

"I'm sorry for scaring you all, Panther. I was just in a bad mindspace that day. I regretted what I did almost immediately afterwards." Flare said as Seeker spoke up.

"You ended up unintentionally hurting yourself badly trying to escape your problems, didn't you? But Panther stayed by your side through it all. I get it. You're saying I shouldn't give up on Mona, and should be there for him no matter what, right?" Seeker asked as Panther and Flare nodded, blinking as Seeker ran forward to hug each of them in turn gratefully while speaking up.

"Thank you both. I'm sorry for what you both went through, but I'm glad you cared enough to cheer me up. Not to say that Violet didn't try, because she did. It's just, it felt like there was only so much comfort I could draw from Violet's actions, even if it did feel like I was being cradled in what I would surmise to be a mother's embrace. But that's just a guess on my part at this point." Seeker said, making Violet give Seeker a proud smile as Al Azif acquired 'Active Boost EX' and Albus acquired 'Matarukaja'. After the fight, the group relaxed slightly as Fox spoke up.

"Whew, it seems that we managed to succeed in defeating the Lock Keeper here." Fox said as Skull spoke up.

"Seriously, good riddance to judgy trash! Also, what the eff was with that voice?" Skull asked as Panther frowned and spoke up.

"I don't know. But I do know this. Whatever it was, it sounded just like Seeker, which makes no sense." Panther said as Seeker gasped from where her face was still buried in Violet's chest, trying to fight back her sobs as Crow spoke up.

"I don't think now's the time to bring something like that up, Panther. I think Seeker feels bad enough already as it is." Crow said, getting a nod from Noir, whose eyes widened as she spoke up when the area around the group started rumbling.

"Oh, no! Is it starting!?" Noir asked as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"I think so! The cage is collapsing! We need to get out!" Queen said as Skull spoke up angrily.

"Dammit! None o' this makes sense!" Skull said as the group beat a hasty retreat out of the cage. Once they were safely in a preceding area, Panther panted and spoke up, noticing Seeker having separated herself from Violet, but still wearing a sad look on her face.

"Man, what's the deal with this place?" Panther asked as Fox spoke up.

"Indeed. We never expected a birdcage to collapse with the defeat of a warden." Fox said as Crow spoke up.

"Good point. I might not have as much experience with Jails as you all do, but if I had to guess? I'd say it could be due to this Jail's lack of an active Monarch. But whatever the case is, that rumbling usually means one thing. With any luck, the Desires should've been released back to their owners. The locals should all be back to normal by now." Crow said as Oracle spoke up with a nod.

"I seriously hope so, Crow. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't feel like living through another B-movie if I don't have to." Oracle said as Seeker spoke up somewhat shakily, drawing everyone's attention to her and the clearly remorseful look on her face as she spoke up.

"I'm sorry, everyone." Seeker said as Noir looked at Seeker in confusion.

"Seeker?" Noir asked as Seeker spoke up with a guilty expression.

"After all your efforts, this mission was fruitless. I'm sorry you all had to endure that, and that Mona had to make the sacrifice he did, just because of me." Seeker said as Violet gasped at this and spoke up.

"You think our mission here was completely fruitless, sweetheart?" Violet asked Seeker, who quietly nodded as Violet kept speaking.

"If that's what you think, then you're wrong, Seeker. Sure, it sucked seeing Mona go down like that, but this mission was most certainly NOT fruitless." Violet said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Violet's right, Seeker. Not only is none of what we just went through your fault, but our mission wasn't fruitless at all. Sure, we didn't get any leads on that voice, but I think it was fruitful because a lot of us got to express how we truly felt about you, including myself and Violet. And I know you at least somewhat feel the same way, since I know for a fact you almost called me Dad during that last battle." Joker said kindly as he and Violet took turns gently hugging the embarrassed Seeker reassuringly as Noir spoke up.

"Joker's right. Plus, I'm sure you'll find out who you are eventually, Seeker." Noir said as Seeker spoke up.

"Right. If you say so, Noir. However, I did at least figure out one thing. When that voice called me worthless, I was sad. But when that made everyone angry, I became happy. Granted, when Mona took that hit for me, I became sad again since I didn't want him to get hurt protecting me." Seeker said as she smiled and kept speaking.

"However, despite that, I still feel happy as well, even now. As we speak, there is a warmth within me that was most definitely not there before. I have friends. I know I'm not alone." Seeker said as Crow spoke up.

"You thought you were alone before? I know I'm not one to talk given the fact that I'm not really what one would call a team player, but you were never alone, Seeker. Except maybe when you were stuck in that box Joker and Violet got you out of when they first met you, but even then, you had Pithos inside you. So you were never really alone." Crow said gently but kindly as Joker and Violet gave Crow grateful nods as Seeker smiled and spoke up.

"I see. Thank you, Joker. Thank you, Skull, Violet. Thank you, Crow." Seeker said as a wide-eyed Skull spoke up.

"R-Really? You just figured that out now? I mean, that thing just really pissed me off, is all, Seeker. And, um? Sorry for swearing like I did in front of you. I should be trying to cut back on that. I accept whatever punishment Violet wants to give me for it." Skull said as Violet spoke up with a smile.

"I'll let it slide this time, since there were extenuating circumstances at play, plus you were standing up for Seeker's honor. I can forgive you some profanity in those instances, especially since I was doing my best not to swear too. So I can't fault you for speaking your mind, Skull." Violet said kindly as Joker spoke up.

"A-And I was just trying to keep Skull reigned in, is all, so uhh, yeah." Joker said sheepishly as Oracle giggled and spoke up.

"Oh-ho! What's this, two embarrassed Phantom Thieves?" Oracle said impishly. Queen spoke up with an amused closed-eye smile.

"Even your masks are glowing red, Joker and Skull." Queen said as Skull spoke up, making Oracle and Violet both stifle laughter at how much Skull was channeling a certain pseudo strawberry-blonde roommate of Flare's in that moment as he spoke.

"Wha-? Nuh-uh, that's impossible! How's my mask suppose'ta change color!?" Skull asked as Fox spoke up.

"If not for Joker's mask being white, it'd be tough to tell if his mask was glowing red or not." Fox said as Joker spoke up.

"Buh-wha? I'm not telling anything!" Joker said in embarrassment, making both Seeker and Violet giggle at the rare embarrassed side of Joker being shown. In that moment, Joker smiled as he felt a strong bond with his friends, including the absent Draconis, Mona, and Pendragon. Afterwards, Noir spoke up.

"Well, we should get back to the exit. Who's to say Draconis and Mona aren't already there waiting for us?" Noir said as Joker spoke up in confusion.

"They could be. But speaking of, who did Draconis mean before when he said 'I know someone who can help him out', I wonder? Also, I'm worried about the residents, as well as our allies and Zenkichi." Joker mused as the others shrugged, not sure of that either, as Queen spoke up.

"Yes, we should go check on them." Queen said as Seeker spoke up.

"Okay, everyone. Back to the exit!" Seeker said as the others started heading back towards the exit, wondering as they did so what had happened to Draconis and Mona...

(Meanwhile, in a room close to the entrance of the Jail, with Draconis and Mona)

As he laid the unconscious Mona on the floor briefly, Draconis reached into his pocket to pull out a familiar-looking key with a velvet sash tied to it before sighing as he spoke up.

"I know you told me to use this when I need to, Lady Lavenza, but that was over three and a half years ago that you told me that, and I've not had reason to use it before now, so I hope it still works despite going unused for so long. After all, you gave it to me all those years ago, so who's to say it still works?" Draconis said as he sighed and held up the key and concentrated, gasping a moment later after he picked Mona back up, when a familiar blue door shimmered into being in front of Draconis, allowing him to carry Mona through it and enter the room within, hoping that the room's resident was able to help Mona out...

(Inside the Velvet Room, with Mona, Draconis, and Lavenza)

As the lone resident of the Velvet Room pored through a familiar blue-covered tome, she frowned as she heard a door open up, looking up and gasping at who she saw standing before her, speaking up in surprise.

"Greetings, new guest. Welcome to the Velvet-wait, what!? DRACONIS!? Why are you here? I didn't think you were ever going to use your key?" Lavenza asked Draconis, who spoke up with a frown.

"I wasn't planning on it, but an emergency came up, and you were the only one who I thought might be able to help. It's about our friend here." Draconis said, gently laying Mona on the desk in front of a horrified Lavenza, who gasped and spoke up in horror as she saw Mona flickering in and out of visibility.

"Mona!? What happened to him?" Lavenza asked as Draconis spoke up.

"We were getting ready to fight the Lock Keeper of the Okinawa Jail when the Lock Keeper in question pulled out a ray gun, tried to shoot Seeker, and wound up hitting Mona instead when he pushed Seeker out of the way of the blast. And as a result, Mona ended up as you see here, flickering in and out of visibility. Can you help him out, Lady Lavenza?" Draconis asked Lavenza, who looked closely at Mona and spoke up.

"You said he was protecting someone called Seeker? Is that the AI that joined your group, by any chance?" Lavenza asked Draconis, who nodded and spoke up.

"That's correct. Seeker is Sophia, the AI that Joker and Violet unofficially have taken under their wing as a daughter of sorts, even if neither will admit to it." Draconis said as Lavenza spoke up.

"Then it's as I thought. Mona managed to leap in the way of a de-stabilizer blast that was meant to hit Seeker." Lavenza said as Draconis spoke up.

"De-stabilizer blast, you say?" Draconis said as Lavenza nodded and spoke up.

"Correct. Had it hit Seeker as intended, Seeker would've been blasted out of physical form and been rendered unable to help you guys out ever again. So in that sense, Mona literally took a bullet of sorts for her. But as for the consequences it might have on Mona, since he has one form in the Metaverse, and another in the real world, if his form now breaks down, there's a chance it could destroy him in the real world, too. Fortunately, there is a way to stop that." Lavenza said as Draconis spoke up in surprise and hope.

"Really? What is it? We'll do anything for Mona, within reason." Draconis said as Lavenza smiled and spoke up.

"I was hoping you'd say that. The only way for Mona to be saved is if each of you channel a bit of your energy into Mona's current form. If you all can do that, and if Mona can muster the strength to give a bit of his own energy to accept the offering, it should undo the effects of the de-stabilization, at least in theory. I'm not sure if it will have other effects or not, but if so, they won't be harmful. That much I can guarantee." Lavenza said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"I see. Does this room block the usage of phones, or am I able to use my phone to send a group chat to the others?" Draconis asked as Lavenza spoke up.

"I was able to contact your brother on his phone from here, so I would assume phones work fine in this room." Lavenza said as Draconis spoke up.

"Good. Keep an eye on Mona, will you? I need to send a group chat to the rest of the group to tell them about what you just said." Draconis said as Lavenza nodded and Draconis pulled out his phone to send a group chat to Joker, Violet, Skull, Panther, Fox, Crow, Oracle, Pendragon, Seeker, Queen, and Noir.

"Can everyone see this chat?" Draconis sent as Oracle sent a response first.

"Draconis? Is everything okay?" Oracle sent as Draconis sent a response.

"Yes, and no. I'm fine, but Mona's still the same as when I got him out of the battle. Are you guys back with the others yet?" Draconis sent as Crow sent a response.

"We're on our way to them now, so not yet. Why?" Crow sent as Draconis sent a response.

"Because a certain Velvet Room attendant most of you are familiar with told me of a way to save Mona, but it requires all of us working together to do it. So that means we need Zenkichi, Flare, and possibly Dojima-san for this as well, since I have the feeling that all of them might have Arcanas too. I don't think Seeker or mine and Ren's parents have Arcanas as of yet, though." Draconis said as Seeker sent a response.

"Arcanas? What are those? And how do they help us save Mona?" Seeker sent as Joker sent a response.

"Arcanas are types of tarot cards that most things are categorized by. For example, Mona is the Magician, Crow is the Justice, and Draconis is The World. I'm not sure if we know of Flare or Seeker's Arcanas, however. Never mind both Dojima-san's as well as Zenkichi-san's." Joker sent as Draconis sent a response.

"I just asked Lady Lavenza, and she said that both Flare and Dojima-san do in fact have Arcanas. She was kind of evasive when I asked if Zenkichi and Seeker had an Arcana, so I'd count the both of them as maybes for now. That said, Flare is the Hope Arcana, while apparently we have an Aeon Arcana in our midst that has yet to fully awaken to her power, whatever that means? Oddly enough, she said something about the looming awakening of an Apostle Arcana as well as a second Magician Arcana in our ranks, but wouldn't say who those two are. Surprisingly, she also mentioned that Dojima-san is also a second Justice Arcana, like Crow is." Draconis sent as Joker sent a response.

"I have a good guess who she means regarding the Apostle Arcana, but don't want to say, just in case I'm wrong." Joker said as Violet sent a response.

"Either way, that means we need Pendragon, Flare, and Dojima-san to lend us their Arcanas. Got it." Violet sent as the group reached the entrance, where Zenkichi, Pendragon, Nanako, Momoe, and Taichi were waiting. Pendragon frowned at the lack of Draconis and Mona, speaking up to voice his thoughts.

"What happened to Draconis and Mona?" Pendragon asked as Seeker winced at the mention of Mona, while Violet spoke up.

"Draconis is off in another location getting help for Mona, who may or may not have taken an attack for Seeker that left him in bad shape. That said, there is a way to save Mona, but it needs the help of Pendragon and of you, Dojima-san." Violet said, making a surprised Nanako speak up.

"Me?" Nanako said in shock as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Yes. We all have to channel our energy into Mona, and apparently he has to channel some of his own to accept the offering. But if he does, we can save him." Joker said as Nanako nodded and spoke up.

"I get it. Mona's a nice kitty, so I'll do what I can to help." Nanako said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Thank you Dojima-san. To give you a heads up, according to Draconis, you represent the Justice Arcana along with Crow. With that being said, let's do this! Everyone, focus on your Arcana as we do this! ARCANA POWER! THE FOOL!" Joker said, focusing as a stream of blood-red energy flowed from him as Queen spoke up.

"THE HIGH PRIESTESS!" Queen said as a dark blue stream flowed from her and Noir spoke up.

"THE EMPRESS!" Noir said as a purple stream flowed from her and Fox spoke up.

"THE EMPEROR!" Fox said as a light blue stream flowed from him as Pendragon spoke up.

"THE HIEROPHANT!" Pendragon said as a golden stream flowed from him as Panther spoke up.

"THE LOVERS!" Panther said as a pink stream flowed from her and Skull spoke up.

"THE CHARIOT!" Skull said as a yellow stream flowed from him and both Crow and Nanako spoke up.

"THE JUSTICE!" Nanako and Crow said as twin streams, one white and one brown, flowed from them and Oracle spoke up.

"THE HERMIT!" Oracle said as a forest green stream flowed from her and Violet spoke up.

"THE FAITH!" Violet said as a dark red stream flowed from her as Seeker spoke up, her head bowed.

"I have no idea what Arcana, if any, I am, but regardless? Mona risked everything for me. AND NOW IT'S MY TURN TO GIVE OF MYSELF TO SAVE HIM! SO IF MONA NEEDS MY ENERGY, THEN TAKE IT!" Seeker said while tears fell from her eyes as she thought about the sacrifice Mona had made for her as against all odds, a bright red stream flowed from her at the same time that Flare spoke up.

"THE HOPE!" Flare said as a teal stream flowed from her as inside the Velvet Room, Draconis stood over Mona and spoke up.

"I hope this offering can save you, Mona. THE WORLD!" Draconis said as a dark green stream flowed from him into the motionless not-cat laid on the table behind him, making Draconis turn in time to see all of the gathered streams flow into Mona, who weakly lifted his head and spoke up while looking at Draconis.

"Dr..a...conis!? Thank you. With the little bit of power I can currently muster, I graciously accept this offering. THE MAGICIAN!" Mona said as his body glowed forest green, accepting the offerings into him, before shuddering once and going eerily still, making Draconis look down and speak up.

"Mona? Are you still alive, little bro? Answer me!" Draconis said, frowning when Mona made no move to answer at first, making Draconis gasp and look down at him and speak up.

"Please don't die on me like this, Mona! I know I don't say it a lot, but dammit, you're like a little brother to Joker, Crow, and I! We all love you, and would be devastated if you died! Hang in there!" Draconis said, gently taking Mona's paw in his hand and lightly squeezing it encouragingly, feeling a faint pulse in Mona, before he heard a low groan as Mona's eyes fluttered open and he spoke up.

"Draconis? Thank you. I knew you three cared. I'm not goin' anywhere." Mona said weakly before both he and Draconis gasped as a flash of light overtook Mona's body, and when the light receded, in place of what was once a not-cat laid a dark-blue haired young man with dark blue eyes, and the looks of a teenaged male model, clad in a skin-tight black cat-boy costume with a white face-mask, complete with a black hooded mask that had cat ears on the top of it. In terms of his age, Draconis calculated Mona's age to be around 15 to 16. Draconis gasped and spoke up.

"MONA!? Is that you!? This wasn't supposed to happen!" Draconis said as a slightly wide-eyed Mona spoke up, his voice sounding slightly different, yet still the same.

"Wait, what? How the heck do I have a human form now? That shouldn't be possible?" Mona said as an amused giggle from behind Draconis and Mona made the two turn in surprise to face a smiling Lavenza, who had giggled, as she spoke up.

"I had a feeling something like this would probably happen if Mona took the energy offering, though I will say I wasn't expecting Mona to get a new form as a result. Even so, let me offer you my earnest and most heartfelt congratulations, Mona. You are now a legitimate human. No more cat-like form for you." Lavenza said as Mona gasped and spoke up.

"FOR REAL!? I'm a HUMAN now? No way." Mona said as Draconis echoed the sentiment with his next question while he spoke up.

"Are you sure, Lady Lavenza?" Draconis asked, getting a nod from Lavenza as Mona pulled the cat hood over his face and got used to his new cat-boy costume that replaced his old Phantom Thief attire. After that, Mona spoke up.

"Thank you, Lady Lavenza!" Mona said, hugging Lavenza, who smiled as she returned the hug and spoke up.

"You're welcome, Mona. Now both of you, go. Go back to your friends." Lavenza said as Draconis and Mona nodded, leaving the Velvet Room to catch up with the others at the same time the others had returned to the real world...

(In the real world, with Zenkichi, Taichi, Momoe, Nanako, Sumire, Sophia, Ren, Ryuji, Yusuke, Makoto, Goro, Haru, Sojiro, Ann, Futaba, and Shiho)

"Whew. Oh man, it's finally hittin' me like a ton of bricks." Ryuji said as Ann spoke up with a nod.

"No kidding. Look at the morning sk-wait, MORNING!? We were in that Jail all night long? No wonder I feel so beat, then." Ann said as Zenkichi smirked and spoke up.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in." Zenkichi said as a blue door flickered into being near the group, even if only Ren saw it. However, what everyone saw was Kusa stepping out of the door, even if most of them saw it as Kusa appearing seemingly out of thin air. Sumire turned to Kusa and spoke up.

"Kusa! Where's Morgana!?" Sumire said as Kusa spoke up with a sigh.

"I'm sorry. But our offering didn't work as we hoped. Morgana will never be the same again." Kusa said as most of the group gasped, before Kusa grinned and spoke up.

"HA! Got all of you! I never said it had a negative consequence, now did I? Morgana, come on out and show them what I mean." Kusa said as Morgana spoke up.

"Okay!" Morgana said as he stepped out into view, making literally everyone's jaw drop, except for Kusa and Morgana, at the sight of Morgana in a human form and wearing a grey T-shirt, white slacks, and a black hoodie worn open to show off the grey shirt, along with black shoes. Ren gasped and spoke up. *1*

"No way! Did you really get the same human form that you had before, Morgana!?" Ren said as Morgana blinked and spoke up.

"As before? OH! Was this the same human form I had when Maruki actualized me?" Morgana asked, getting nods from everyone who'd been there, ignoring the confused looks on the faces of the others who hadn't been there, or Sophia, Sumire, Zenkichi, Shiho, Nanako, Taichi, and Momoe. Kusa technically hadn't been there for it either, but had heard about it from Ren and the others later on, so he knew of the form Ren alluded to.

Zenkichi spoke up to change the subject, drawing attention to him as he spoke and away from Nanako, whose jaw had dropped very slightly as she took in the view of Morgana's new-found human form, not expecting him to be so handsome as a human.

"As amazing as it is that Morgana's okay, and apparently now human and no longer a talking cat, how'd it go with the Jail in general? Who was the Monarch? Was it really a local? Find anything on Madicce in there?" Zenkichi said as Kusa spoke up.

"Slow down with the questions, Zenkichi. You're asking a lot at once." Kusa said as Futaba nodded and spoke up in a drained voice.

"Zenkichi, stop talking. It's a long story, and we can tell you later if you want. But now? I must sleeeeep and regain my energy." Futaba said as Sumire spoke up.

"We can answer your questions later, but we're all pretty emotionally and physically exhausted from that Jail." Sumire said, trying and failing to stifle a yawn. Zenkichi spoke up in realization.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Looks like you guys had a real rough time in there. Wait here. I'll check out the route to the RV." Zenkichi said as Kusa gasped, being reminded of an important detail at that point.

"Oh! That reminds me. What about Shiho, Dojima-san, and mine, Goro and Ren's parents? Are we taking them home, or are they gonna rest with us for now?" Kusa asked as Shiho spoke up.

"That's a good question, Kusa. I'm not sure, to be honest." Shiho said as Nanako spoke up with a frown after checking her phone.

"Unfortunately? Shiho and I no longer have a hotel room to go back to. Apparently, the hotel staff called my phone and left a voicemail while we were all at the beach that mentioned how when they went to check on it and found it empty, the hotel staff took it as me and Shiho checking out, and as such, they have to kick us out of the room so others can use it. But they're giving Suzui-san and I some time to get our stuff out of there first, along with gathering Big Bro and Big Sis's remaining belongings from there so someone else doesn't get them. Otherwise, we're out of a place to stay." Nanako said as Shiho winced and spoke up.

"Really? How rude." Shiho said as Ren turned to Zenkichi and spoke up.

"Good luck out there, Zenkichi. I trust you to handle this alone. But don't be afraid to call us for backup if you need it." Ren said. Zenkichi smiled and spoke up.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Amamiya the middle. I'll be in touch when I get a quick look." Zenkichi said as he turned and left. Afterwards, the human Morgana spoke up.

"Huh, Zenkichi has a point. We did have a rough time in the Okinawa Jail. After all, now that I think about it, we just took a boat trip, went swimming, cooked a whole feast and ate it, and then dove straight into a Jail, bringing Mister and Miss Amamiya, Suzui-san, and Dojima-san along for the ride." Morgana said as Nanako spoke up.

"Nanako." Nanako said as the others gave her a confused look, making her speak up.

"We've been through a lot together tonight, so I feel like it's only fair to let you all call me by my first name if you wish, which is Nanako." Nanako said as Shiho nodded and spoke up.

"The same for those of you who aren't already on a first name basis with me. Feel free to call me Shiho if you like." Shiho said as Taichi spoke up.

"And we don't stand on ceremony, so you guys don't have to call us Mister and Miss Amamiya all the time. You can just call us Taichi and Momoe if you want." Taichi said as Momoe spoke up.

"Agreed. What we just went through is something that all of us will never forget. I believe that's more than enough to be on a first-name basis with you all." Momoe said and as the group nodded their understanding, the now-human Morgana spoke up.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot about the bit with me gaining a new-found human form after protecting Lady Sophia from that blast. Adding that into everything else, it's no wonder that I'm so tired out." Morgana said as Ren frowned and spoke up.

"That reminds me. DON'T EVER SCARE US LIKE THAT AGAIN! We all thought you'd died, Morgana! You actually drove poor Sophia to tears taking that attack for her! Sumire had to literally almost rock her to sleep to get her to stop crying. Luckily, she and Ryuji were able to cheer her up eventually." Ren said as Morgana winced and spoke up.

"Oof, I didn't realize how much I would worry you all. I was just focused on protecting Lady Sophia when I took that hit. I genuinely didn't intend to worry you all. I'm sorry about that, everyone." Morgana said sheepishly as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"We forgive you, Mona-chan. At least the first half of yesterday was a lot of fun." Haru said cheerfully as Yusuke nodded and spoke up.

"True. And not only that, but we've learned quite a bit from our trip into the Okinawa Jail." Yusuke said as Panther spoke up.

"That voice, though. The one that was taunting Sophia, I mean. Who do you think that was?" Ann said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.

"All I know is that they're a real asshole, copyin' Sophia's voice an' everything." Ryuji said as Sophia sighed from inside of Sumire's phone. She then blinked and kept speaking when Ren's phone rang.

"Oh! Zenkichi is calling, Ren." Sophia said as Ren answered the phone and spoke up.

"What's the word, Zenkichi?" Ren asked as Zenkichi smiled and spoke up.

"You're all-clear to come back to the RV. I haven't seen a single local so far. I can't tell if you guys really pulled it off or not, but at least the coast is clear." Zenkichi said as Ren nodded, before hanging up the phone and turning to the others.

"That was Zenkichi. The coast is clear, so we should head back to the RV while we still can. Hopefully the locals didn't destroy it when they couldn't find us." Ren said as Makoto spoke up in relief.

"Oh, thank goodness. Let's go." Makoto said as Ren turned to Shiho, Nanako, Taichi, and Momoe before smiling at them as he spoke up kindly.

"There's not a lot of room, but the four of you are welcome to come back with us for now until we figure out what to do with you guys." Ren said as Taichi, Momoe, Shiho, and Nanako nodded, the now group of 17 heading back to the RV for some much needed rest...

(A little while later, outside of the RV, with Ren, Sumire, Sophia, Ryuji, Morgana, Yusuke, Makoto, Ann, Goro, Haru, Nanako, Shiho, Kusa, Futaba, and Sojiro)

"Ohh, yeah. I slept like a comatose rock earlier." Futaba said around a yawn as Kusa spoke up.

"I think we all did, for the most part. And Morgana? You're lucky I don't mind sharing a sleeping bag with you short-term, but don't get used to it! It's bad enough you traumatized poor Ren by making him wake up to you basically spooning him! You will not do that to me as well." Kusa said firmly as Ren shuddered and spoke up.

"Gee, thanks ever so much for bringing back that oh-so-wonderfully cursed memory, Kusa. You're a real help." Ren deadpanned as Sumire giggled and spoke up while hugging Ren comfortingly from behind.

"Aww, cheer up, Senpai. You've got me, you know. And I will happily spoon you as much as it takes to keep that unpleasant memory out of your head." Sumire said, leaning up to kiss Ren on the cheek as Ryuji smirked and spoke up.

"Heh, at least Ren and Sumire's love is still the same. But man, nothin' in that Jail was makin' sense to me." Ryuji said as Yusuke spoke up.

"That reminds me. Why did the Desire manifest in the Jail in the first place?" Yusuke asked as Ann spoke up.

"Ohh yeah, that's right. We never sent a calling card." Ann said as Shiho and Nanako both spoke up.

"Calling card?" Shiho and Nanako asked as Kusa spoke up.

"In a nutshell, it's a key component to making a Treasure, or Desires in this case, materialize. We'll explain it more in detail later, but for now, will that be sufficient for an explanation?" Kusa asked as Shiho and Nanako nodded as Ren spoke up.

"If I had to guess? I think it's like Sumire theorized before. Because the Monarch was threatened by whoever betrayed him, that likely counted as the same thing as a calling card." Ren mused. Morgana thought about it and nodded as he spoke up.

"Yeah, that's right, Ren." Morgana said, not seeing Nanako smile at him as she got a good look at his human form in the daylight while he kept speaking.

"Based on what we heard from the tapes, the director was told by the perpetrator that he was going to seize his Desire. That must've fulfilled the role of a calling card in this case." Morgana said as Zenkichi walked over and spoke up.

"Yo. Get some rest? And nice human form, Morgana." Zenkichi said as Makoto spoke up.

"Thank you for driving Ren, Kusa, and Goro's parents home for us. That said, how are the locals behaving?" Makoto asked as Zenkichi spoke up.

"No worries. Seems like they all came to their senses. It's nothing but good times here again." Zenkichi said as Kusa spoke up with a frown.

"Really? Good times?" Kusa asked as Zenkichi nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. Although, they all seemed to have some pretty bad memory loss regarding the last few months." Zenkichi said as Ann frowned and spoke up.

"So, if we didn't find a Monarch here, then why'd the locals treat the lab like that? Why'd they attack us?" Ann asked as Morgana frowned and spoke up.

"This is just a guess, but the lab's experiments might have something to do with that, Lady Ann." Morgana said as Zenkichi spoke up with a grim look on his face.

"Oh, yeah. Speaking of the Monarch, a body surfaced fitting his description." Zenkichi said as Kusa and Goro's eyes widened as they both spoke up.

"WHAT!?" Kusa and Goro said as Sojiro spoke up.

"A body!? That's not good." Sojiro said as Ren spoke up.

"You're sure it was a body, Zenkichi-san?" Ren asked as Nanako winced, getting flashbacks to the serial-murder case she'd nearly become part of when she was younger, though no one saw her wince as Zenkichi spoke up with a nod.

"I'm positive. I stumbled across it myself, down at the base of a cliff near the lab. Name-Shuzo Ubukata. Some sort of big-shot AI researcher. And, most importantly? He was the director of the lab." Zenkichi said as Sumire gasped and spoke up.

"An AI researcher!?" Sumire asked in shock. Zenkichi nodded and spoke up.

"Yep. Obviously an autopsy will be done, but based on what you reported, it's most likely gonna turn out suicide." Zenkichi said as Haru frowned and spoke up.

"That can't be true." Haru said as Ann frowned and spoke up.

"That's another life ruined by whoever's masterminding this whole thing. Dang it!" Ann said as Zenkichi spoke up with a sigh.

"Alas, I think it is true, Okumura. After all, taking a dive to avoid lab experimentation? Makes the most sense to me. Quite some time's passed since his death, but he still had his personal effects on him. I'll make sure they go with him when the coroner-" Zenkichi said as Ryuji spoke up and unintentionally cut off Zenkichi.

"Dude, uh, for real?" Ryuji asked as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Hm?" Zenkichi asked as Ryuji spoke up.

"I'm impressed, Zenkichi. You're pretty hard-core. I mean, you're bein' pretty chill about all this heavy shit." Ryuji said as Zenkichi winced and spoke up.

"Oh. Umm, good point. Well, it IS my line of work and all. Anyway, I found the key to the facility on him. We can get inside now." Zenkichi said as Makoto winced and spoke up.

"But, are you sure it's all right to do so? You're the one who pointed out how any illegally-obtained evidence is useless in court." Makoto said as Nanako spoke up with a frown.

"That was true before the body turned up. Now all bets are off. And before anyone asks how I know, when your dad's a detective and your cousin is involved in stuff like serial murder cases and stuff like Big Bro was a few years ago, you learn a lot." Nanako said dryly, making both Makoto and Zenkichi turn to her as the latter spoke up.

"Hm? Well, well. Look at how smart you are, Dojima. You're right. It's not illegally-obtained anymore. Now that a body's turned up, that facility is prime investigation territory. No problem at all going in there. The problem now is that there's a chance nothing's left." Zenkichi said as Futaba spoke up.

"Huh? Why's that?" Futaba asked as Goro spoke up.

"Odds are they'll have taken away anything incriminating by this point, since it took way too long for the body to surface." Goro said bluntly. Zenkichi nodded and spoke up.

"What Amamiya the eldest said. Also, the locals told me about a bunch of trucks going up to the lab and outta there a while ago. As such, it's pretty likely the scene's been wiped clean." Zenkichi said as Yusuke spoke up.

"We still ought to take a look for ourselves. There's always the possibility that something was left behind." Yusuke said as Ryuji spoke up with a frown while rotating his arm.

"Yeah, let's bust this mastermind's ass!" Ryuji said as most of the group left, seemingly leaving Zenkichi alone as he spoke to himself.

"Hm. 'Pretty chill', huh? I wonder when that happened to me." Zenkichi said as Kusa made him jump when he spoke up after walking out of the RV.

"Probably when you started working with us. As much as I give Ren and the others a lot of grief, they tend to make a person loosen up a lot when you hang with them." Kusa said as Zenkichi winced and spoke up.

"I see. How long were you standing there, Amamiya the youngest?" Zenkichi asked as Kusa spoke up.

"Not that long. I had to duck into the RV to make sure everything was turned off and no lights were left on, things like that. Also, since it's just us, care to explain why Goro and I both heard you on the phone yesterday with someone who cautioned you about getting too attached to us? I'm sorry for eavesdropping, but when I hear the words 'Phantom Thieves' come from your mouth the way they did, you can't really blame me for being curious, Zenkichi." Kusa said as Zenkichi winced and spoke up with a sigh.

"Ugh, full disclosure? I am basically using you and the others for scapegoats. But I'm doing it on orders from my boss. And before you ask, no, I don't like it any more than you do. I will deny this up and down if asked by the others about it, but between us? I've actually grown rather fond of you guys lately." Zenkichi said as Kusa smiled and spoke up.

"That's fair. As long as you have no intentions of betraying us, I don't mind helping you keep cover with your higher-ups to some extent. After all, you've been helping us out a lot recently, so it's more than fair that you should expect us to help you in return when you need it, as was demonstrated with Akane the other night." Kusa said honestly as Zenkichi nodded and spoke up.

"That's understandable. And to tell the truth? My boss is kinda expecting me to turn you guys in when the time comes to present a scapegoat. But I'd rather not turn my back on you guys like that." Zenkichi said as Kusa thought about it before smiling as he spoke up.

"Hmm, I see. What if the scapegoat in question willingly turned themselves over to you to be said scapegoat?" Kusa suggested as Zenkichi's eyes widened and he spoke up.

"What're you gettin' at?" Zenkichi asked Kusa, who spoke up.

"I'll tell you later, Zenkichi. First, I have to run a few things by both Ren and Goro first before I can commit to anything, but you should know that I might have a plan to help you while also keeping us safe. But I need you to trust me to keep that close to my chest, at least until things are finalized on that end. Okay?" Kusa said as Zenkichi nodded, before the two headed to the lab after the others...

(A short time later, inside the lab with Zenkichi, Haru, Sojiro, Makoto, Ren, Sumire, Sophia, Morgana, Ann, Yusuke, Futaba and Kusa)

"Hey, anyone found anything yet?" Morgana asked as Ryuji spoke up with a frown.

"Nothin' to be found. And I mean, literally nothin'. It's like this place didn't know shit about Jails." Ryuji said with a frown. Makoto frowned as she spoke up.

"I agree with Ryuji. All I found are very roundabout reports. We may have been too late coming here." Makoto asked as Haru spoke up.

"I know it's a little late to ask, but aren't people supposed to preserve crime scenes?" Haru asked as Zenkichi smirked and spoke up.

"Heh, good point. However, we just so happened to find out it was a crime scene after pokin' around." Zenkichi said as everyone present sweatdropped and Makoto spoke up with a frown on her face.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Makoto said as Sumire spoke up with a nod.

"Agreed. Truth be told, I'm not sure if Goro lucked out having to drive Nanako and Shiho back to the hotel to get their stuff cleared out of their hotel room, or if he got the short straw of having to be the one in earshot when Shiho has to deal with telling Nanako's father that they got kicked out of the hotel room and have to likely shack up with us in the RV for the time being, since we need Shiho to come with us now that she's a full-fledged member of our group, rather than just an ally.

As for Nanako, the fact her dad entrusted Shiho to watch over her says that she'll more than likely have to come along with us for now. Hopefully Dojima the elder realizes he only has his nephew and new step-niece to blame for the current situation, and maybe the hotel staff to a degree for jumping the gun." Sumire said as Ren patted her shoulder comfortingly and spoke up.

"True, but at least we were able to all emerge from this Jail with no casualties." Ren said as Morgana spoke up with a frown.

"AHEM." Morgana said as Ren winced and spoke up.

"Well, ALMOST no casualties. Though come to think of it, is you trading your cat form for a human one really a casualty, so much as it could be considered an upgrade, Morgana?" Ren asked as Morgana blinked and spoke up with a smile, not having thought of that.

"Hmm, you know what? That's actually a really good point, Ren. Truth be told, I hadn't thought about it that way." Morgana said. Before the awkward silence could linger too long, Futaba and Kusa walked over to the group, the latter carrying Sumire's phone in one hand as the former spoke up.

"Ah-ha, I've scored the Treasure! There was a USB drive in the director's office!" Futaba said as Ryuji grinned and pumped a fist while speaking up.

"Hell yeah, Futaba, nice find! I can't believe somethin' like that got left behind." Ryuji said as Ann spoke up with slightly widened eyes.

"Me too, to be honest. That sounds like the first kinda thing they'd want to get rid of." Ann said as Futaba spoke up.

"Ah, but it very well could be the MOST important evidence! It was hidden in the director's desk drawer!" Futaba said as a wide-eyed Yusuke spoke up.

"I'll be. You really did find the Treasure here! Well done." Yusuke said as Futaba spoke up with a smile.

"Yup, I'm the greatest!" Futaba said as Kusa spoke up with an amused smirk while giving Futaba a reproving look.

"Are you, though? Or are we not going to point out whose idea it ACTUALLY was to look there?" Kusa asked with a wry smirk. Futaba chuckled and spoke up.

"Eheh, good point, Kusa. Truth be told? It was actually Sophia's idea to look there, so props to her." Futaba said as Kusa nodded approvingly and spoke up.

"Yep. For an AI, Sophia's got some pretty good instincts. Not as good as my own, but still really good." Kusa said as Sophia smiled and spoke up.

"I'll choose to take that as a compliment, Kusa. That said, I searched the internet for the top ten places people hide things in the workplace." Sophia said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"Well done, sweetheart. Sumire and I are proud of you." Ren said as Sumire spoke up with a nod.

"Yep, what Ren said. You did real good, Sophia." Sumire said as Morgana spoke up with a smirk, drawing Sophia's attention to Morgana's human form for the first time.

"Heh, I'm not surprised. I've always said Lady Sophia had good instincts and potential." Morgana said proudly, making Sophia's eyes widen inside of Sumire's phone as she saw Morgana's human form and gasped as she spoke up.

"Wait, that voice. Morgana!? Since when are you a human?" Sophia asked as the others winced and Sumire spoke up.

"Riiight, knew we forgot to mention something to you before, Sophia. Remember when Morgana went down taking an attack for you during the battle with that gun-wielding Lock Keeper?" Sumire asked, getting a slow nod from Sophia as she kept speaking.

"Good. Well, it turns out that when Morgana took that hit for you, he intercepted an attempt to de-stablize your physical form that nearly took his Metaverse form out of play. When we channeled our Arcanas into him, it apparently not only stabilized his form, but turned him into a human as a result of the amount of human energy channeled into him." Sumire explained to Sophia, who nodded and spoke up, a shy sort of smile on her face as she covertly let herself look over Morgana's new-found human form, eventually deciding he was quite easy on the eyes and handsome, the latter thought making Sophia blink before her cheeks pinked slightly at what she'd just caught herself thinking before shaking herself to focus on the task at hand while she spoke.

"I see. And Ren? Praise accepted." Sophia said as she hummed another different tune, the first instance of her humming that the group had heard since before entering the Okinawa Jail. Makoto then spoke up.

"Well, let's see what you found, Futaba." Makoto said as Futaba nodded, setting down to set up her laptop and plug in the USB as she got to work trying to get into the data. As she did so, Zenkichi spoke up.

"You in yet, Sakura the younger?" Zenkichi asked as Futaba spoke up.

"Just a sec. It's password-protected, but nothin' the mighty Oracle can't handle." Futaba said smugly as Sojiro spoke up.

"You do realize you're only Oracle in the Metaverse, right? You're still just Futaba in the real world." Sojiro said as Kusa spoke up.

"True, but you left out the part where she's also our beloved teammate as well as your daughter." Kusa pointed out with a sly grin as Sojiro spoke up with a nod.

"Fair point, Kusa." Sojiro said with a nod, conceding the point as Futaba smiled and spoke up.

"Welp, there it is!" Futaba said as she opened up the contents of the drive. Yusuke frowned as he read the list over Futaba's shoulder.

"This is presumably a list of some sort? Apparently, this drive holds nothing but people's names." Yusuke asked as Ryuji spoke up with a frown.

"Is it a list of the people workin' here?" Ryuji asked as Makoto spoke up with a gasp, recognizing some of the names.

"No, that's not it at all, sweetie. These names are familiar to me for some reason." Makoto said. She then gasped as she kept speaking.

"I know why these names are familiar. These are famous or otherwise powerful people in all sorts of industries." Makoto said as Ann spoke up with a frown.

"Rich and famous people? Is it, like, a list of sponsors?" Ann asked as Kusa spoke up.

"Perhaps. Or, more likely? It could be a list of potential Monarch candidates if they're all famous and powerful people. Or did we forget my theory about what all the past Monarchs, with the potential exception of Ubukata, had in common?" Kusa said as Sumire spoke up.

"Right! You said they were all famous and/or influential. And given he was the director of this lab prior to his death, I think we can say Ubukata falls under the 'influential' part of your theory, thus meaning your theory still holds up pretty well for now, Kusa." Sumire said as Kusa nodded his agreement before Futaba spoke up with a frown.

"True, but this is odd. Hmmm, I coulda sworn I've seen all these names recently somewhere." Futaba said as Zenkichi scanned the list while speaking up.

"Oh? Let's see here, what names do we have? Oh, Yoshikawa? He confessed to document tampering a few weeks ago." Zenkichi said as the others all gasped while Makoto spoke up with wide eyes as she pointed to another name on the list.

"Good point. And now that you mention it, this one's the Sapporo Central councilman who confessed to bribery last month." Makoto said as Haru gasped and spoke up.

"Wait, what? You mean the person who had his heart changed by Mari-san? That means, this list is all potential victims of past changes of heart." Haru said as Ren spoke up with a nod.

"Well spotted, big sis. More importantly, this list could be a trail to the mastermind." Ren said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"That's it, Ren. Good deduction. This is a list of people whose hearts the mastermind wanted changed." Morgana said as Kusa frowned, speaking up as he spotted a familiar name a ways down the list.

"Okay, that's true. But if that is the case, then why do I recognize these three names in particular on the list, when as far as I know, their hearts haven't yet been changed?" Kusa said, pointing towards three names near the end of the list that were ones the group knew well: Taichi Amamiya, Kuon Ichinose, and most surprisingly, Shinichi Yoshizawa. Both Ren and Sumire gasped on reading the names as the latter spoke up.

"Ichinose-san I get, since she is the creator of EMMA, and changing her heart could make EMMA more pliable to the mastermind's aims. But even then, what I don't get is why is the mastermind we're hunting seemingly after both mine and Ren's fathers?" Sumire asked in shock as Kusa spoke up.

"I'm not sure about your father, Sumire? But Ren's dad told me that he used to be a researcher for this lab about eight to ten years ago before he was laid off. As it turns out, Ubukata himself terminated his employment. Something to do with not wanting him put in danger of a change of heart? So I'm guessing they're after Ren's dad to silence him before he can tell people what he might know about the mastermind. I'm guessing they're after your dad because he's the director of a TV studio, so changing his heart could make an easy advertising platform for whatever goals the mastermind has." Kusa mused as Haru spoke up.

"That makes a lot of sense, Kusa-kun. But why so many powerful figures? What exactly is being accomplished here?" Haru asked uncertainly. Zenkichi spoke up with a frown.

"Good question, Okumura. And that's still a mystery. Sorry, but I'm gonna need that USB drive for a while." Zenkichi said as Yusuke frowned and spoke up.

"Okay, but how do you intend to make use of it?" Yusuke asked as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Easy. I'm gonna snoop around the whole roster, from the bottom of the ladder on up. Though, I'll probably leave Amamiya the middle's dad, Yoshizawa's dad, and Ichinose alone since I have no reason to snoop around any of those three." Zenkichi said as Makoto spoke up with a frown.

"So, whoever would benefit most from all those people getting their hearts changed, you think that'll be the culprit?" Makoto asked as Zenkichi nodded and spoke up.

"Bingo. It'll take time, but I swear I'll do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of this." Zenkichi said as Futaba smiled and spoke up.

"Hm. That kinda swearing may be good and all, but you should probably go home to Akane every so often too." Futaba said as Zenkichi winced and spoke up.

"Hrgh, way to go for the throat, Sakura the younger. I mean, I was gonna go see her every so often while investigating this." Zenkichi said as Yusuke spoke up.

"At any rate, you've helped us a great deal by now." Yusuke said as Futaba nodded and spoke up.

"That's true, Inari. We got to crash at his place, and he kept us from getting ambushed by angry locals last night." Futaba said as Ann turned to give Zenkichi a closed-eye smile as she spoke up with a pumped fist.

"Nice work, Zenkichi!" Ann said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up, not seeing Zenkichi, Kusa, and Ren's eyes widen slightly at what he said next.

"He seems like he's fittin' in better, too! Whaddya say, feel like you're a phantom thief now?" Ryuji asked as Zenkichi scoffed and spoke up.

"Tch! Why would I wanna go from Public Security to national fugitive? Anyway, I'm heading back to HQ for now. What're you kids gonna do?" Zenkichi asked as Kusa spoke up.

"Well, for starters, we'll probably need to figure out what we're gonna do about Shiho and Nanako's living arrangements for the short-term, since with the hotel evicting them, they don't have a place to stay for now, unless they go back to Shiho's place and stay with her parents for now. But if Shiho's gonna be able to help us out with Metaverse stuff, she might have to stay with us for the time being. But we'll need to wait for Shiho, Goro, and Nanako to get back so we can discuss that as a group." Kusa said as Morgana spoke up.

"Good point, Kusa. Other than that, pretty sure there isn't anything we CAN do until Zenkichi identifies the mastermind we're after." Morgana said as Ann spoke up.

"Uhh, should we go back with him to Kyoto for now?" Ann asked as Ryuji spoke up with a queasy look on his face.

"Do we have to? Urf, that boat made me so sick last time we went on it." Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up with a scoff.

"Yes, we have to. Unless we crash at Mom and Dad's apartment for the foreseeable future, we have nowhere to go here, and I doubt they'll let us park our RV long enough to basically become squatters in Okinawa. Therego, we have to at least take the boat back to the mainland. Worst case, we can set up base in Leblanc while we wait on our next move. Granted, that's gonna be a lot of people for Sojiro to put up, but I'm sure we can figure something out between him and I." Kusa said as Haru spoke up.

"Alternatively, if Ryuji gets boatsick so easily, why not just go to Kyushu instead? Our boat trip won't be too long if we did that. We could even scout the area for Jails." Haru said as Ren spoke up.

"Good point, Haru. I doubt very much Okinawa is the last place to have a Jail. So, what you just suggested is a great idea." Ren said approvingly as Ryuji nodded and spoke up with a grin.

"Totally! Might as well complete the Phantom Thieves' tour of the islands!" Ryuji said as Zenkichi spoke up.

"Off to Kyushu, huh? Sounds good. As for me? I'll keep after whoever's at the bottom of these cases. The moment I find out, I'll let you know." Zenkichi said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone preceded Sophia speaking up.

"I have consulted the ferry departure timetable. We will be able to leave immediately if we hustle." Sophia said as Futaba spoke up with a smile.

"Welp, time to roll out! Let's pack up and head for the docks!" Futaba said as Kusa spoke up.

"Um, we can, but aren't we supposed to be waiting for Goro, Nanako, and Shiho to get back?" Kusa pointed out. Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Good point. We'll wait for them back at the RV for now. Once they get back, we can apprise them of what we learned here, and then figure out what Shiho and Nanako's plans are before we move out." Ren said as the group headed back to the RV at that point...

(Back at the Okinawa beach, with Ren and Morgana)

"Ahh, this air is great. Still, we'll be saying goodbye to this beautiful place far too soon, Ren. But that's the way it goes sometimes, I guess. That said, You sure there's nothing left you wanna do? Once you board the boat, there's no coming back. So if you have any unfinished business left, make sure you get it all done. Once you're ready, let's take the RV back to the port." Morgana said as Ren nodded, right when his phone went off, making him blink as he saw it was a private chat from Yusuke. Curious what he wanted, Ren opened up the chat.

"My apologies for bringing this up even though we're leaving soon. There's something I wanted to ask of you before we go. Do you have some time to talk? Please let me know." Yusuke sent as Ren blinked, wondering what Yusuke wanted as he put his phone away and figured out his next move.

(A short time later, in the Shibuya Jail, with Joker, Mona, Skull, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir, Crow, Violet, Draconis, Seeker, Pendragon, and Flare)

While fighting Shadows to both train up and re-stock yen after spending most of what he had on supplies and other management-related shenanigans, Panther hit level 46 and got the high-tier Fire skill 'Agidyne', making her smile as she spoke up.

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

"Nice, Panther! But then I already knew you were hot." Flare teased Panther, who blushed and spoke up.

"F-Flare! Not in front of the others!" Panther said with a pout as Flare giggled and playfully kissed Panther on the cheek in apology as Hecate acquired 'Agidyne'. While fighting enemies in the Sendai Jail a short time later, Skull, Crow, and Pendragon all hit level 46 and each of them got new moves in the forms of the severe-tier Physical skill 'Megaton Raid' for Seiten Taisei, the group debuff move 'Debilitate' for Hereward, and the Heavy-tier Psi move 'Psiodyne' for Kohryu, making Skull grin as he spoke up.

"All right, a new move!" Skull said as Pendragon spoke up with an approving nod.

"Impressive, Skull. I think that's the first severe-tier move any of us has gotten so far. Well done." Pendragon said wisely as Joker nodded approvingly while Seiten Taisei acquired 'Megaton Raid'. Afterward, Pendragon kept speaking.

"Also, check out Kohryu's new power! Pretty good, right?" Pendragon said as Fox spoke up with a nod.

"Indeed. That is quite the formidable skill you've picked up, Pendragon." Fox said approvingly as Kohryu acquired 'Psiodyne' at the same time that Crow spoke up.

"Ah, it seems I've gotten one of the best debuff moves around. Too bad it's not for large groups of enemies, but it's better than nothing." Crow said as Noir spoke up.

"True. And despite only targeting one foe at a time, Debilitate lowers all stats of a foe at once, so it slightly makes up for the lack of AoE with that perk, I'd say." Noir said approvingly as Crow nodded his agreement while Hereward acquired 'Debilitate'.

While clearing out more Shadows, both Mona and Seeker hit level 46, the latter gaining a new skill from the level-ups in the form of the passive skill 'Bless Amp?' making her smile as she spoke up.

"Oh! I've learned a new move. Not bad." Seeker said as Mona turned to her and spoke up.

"Not bad, Lady Seeker. Another useful skill to add to Pithos' ever-expanding array of talents." Mona said kindly as Seeker nodded, being distracted as she noticed that Mona's Phantom Thief attire had changed from the usual mascot-like form it had taken to a more cat-boy like appearance which Seeker thought suited Mona rather well. As she noticed this, Pithos acquired 'Bless Amp?'.

While clearing out enemies a short time later in the Sapporo Jail, Noir and Violet hit level 48 and both of them gained new moves in the forms of the buff skill 'Heat Riser' for Lucy, and the upgraded healing skill 'Samarecarm' for Ella. Noir smiled as she spoke up.

"Oh, look! A new move! I can work even harder now!" Noir said as Crow smiled and spoke up.

"Aha, you got the buff version of the skill Hereward just got. Very nice, Noir. An elegant skill for an elegant woman. Truly, very appropriate." Crow said smoothly as he laid a gentlemanly kiss to Noir's cheek, making her blush in embarrassment behind her mask as Lucy acquired 'Heat Riser'. Violet then spoke up.

"Yes, Ella awakened to a new power! Our training is starting to show results!" Violet said as Joker grinned and spoke up.

"I approve. Looks like you stepped up your game for Seeker, eh Violet? But in all seriousness, good job on the new skill, beautiful." Joker said slyly as Violet blushed prettily behind her mask from Joker's compliment as Ella acquired 'Samarecarm'.

(Back in the real world, with Ren and Sophia)

As Ren looked around the area to see what everyone was up to, he noticed the group was largely scattered, minus the apparent lack of Zenkichi, who'd presumably gone on ahead to secure the ferry back to the mainland for the group. On a closer look, Ren noticed the group had gotten into some interesting clusters. Over in the beach section of the area, Ren noticed Yusuke and Makoto hanging out individually near the dock-side entrance to the beach, the latter seemingly standing near Sumire.

While scanning the dock area, Ren noticed that Ryuji, Ann, and Shiho were hanging together near the shops. With a slight bit of amusement, Ren noted Sojiro and Futaba checking out the supermarket together, while Goro and Haru were up by the entrance to the lab hanging out together. The real shock for Ren was seeing Kusa's icon marked as being over at the edge of the dock with Morgana and Nanako, seemingly hanging with the two of them. Intrigued by the unlikely trio of Kusa, Morgana, and Nanako, Ren walked over to speak to them.

"Huh, didn't think I'd see you three together. But at the same time, it makes sense if Kusa is overseeing Nanako and Morgana while they hang out, or perhaps he's chaperoning what could be a 'date' of sorts between them." Ren said with a sly grin as Kusa spoke up in a dry tone.

"Very funny, Ren. But I doubt these two are quite THAT close yet. Nah, but for real, the three of us were just looking out at the ocean while swapping stories to a point and getting to know one another. And let me just say, Nanako has some wild stories. Like the one she told Morgana and I about making friends with some blonde guy who wears a red, white, and blue bear mascot outfit. I get that everyone's gotta do what they gotta do to get work, but that badly? Needless to say, I'm glad we had Morgana as our 'mascot' after hearing that. This Theodore guy Nanako mentioned, if I have his name right, sounds like a rather quirky piece of work.

And we're not even mentioning the fact he was more or less putting the moves on Nanako when she was only six. And he was like sixteen or so at the time. Can you say creeper alert!? He's lucky Nanako's cousin and his friends are as tolerant as they are. If I'd seen him hitting on a six-year-old, you know damn well I'd have probably dragged him off-screen and beaten the crap out of him on principle. Sure, Nanako said she didn't mind, but still, that's not okay." Kusa said as Morgana spoke up with a slight wince on his face.

"Unfortunately, he sounds a lot like me, in that he's a shameless ladies' man. But at least I have enough common sense to not hit on little girls. Also, I want to say that Nanako said his name is Teddie, Kusa." Morgana said as Nanako nodded and spoke up.

"Yep, Morgana's got it right. His name is Teddie, not Theodore. I don't even know any Theodores." Nanako said with a pout as Kusa smiled and spoke up.

"Right, right, Teddie was his name. Sorry. I tend to not pay attention to details like that when it comes to dirtbags, as a rule of thumb." Kusa said as Nanako giggled at Kusa's reaction before she spoke up.

"He might have had the physical body of a sixteen-year-old at the time, but I'm pretty sure he was only like maybe five or six mentally, hence why I didn't mind him complimenting me. I'm sure he didn't know any better." Nanako pointed out as Kusa sighed and spoke up.

"I suppose it's not so bad in that instance, but still, you can't deny that it looks bad for him to be doing that, Nanako. But I'll leave it at that." Kusa said to Nanako before turning to face Ren after Nanako smiled and gave Kusa an understanding nod while he kept speaking.

"Get a load of this, Ren! Apparently the girl Nanako's cousin, or her 'big bro' as she calls him, got married to is apparently some famous idol who went to school with Nanako's big bro/cousin and his friends. I tried to get a name out of Nanako, but apparently she's been sworn to secrecy by the newlyweds, so I respected that and opted not to pry into their business further." Kusa said as Morgana spoke up.

"As you should. Nice to see that you at least retained SOME of the lessons I gave you and the others on being a gentleman, Kusa." Morgana said as Nanako giggled and spoke up with an amused yet also somehow slightly cutesy smile on her face that Morgana found quite amusing and endearing.

"Hee hee, you taught Kusa and the other guys to be gentlemen, Morgana? How did that work, considering you used to be, well, you know." Nanako said as Morgana smirked and spoke up.

"I get what you mean, Lady Nanako. And believe it or not, even in my other form, I was always a gentleman. Not that I would do any less around ladies, especially pretty ladies like yourself." Morgana said smoothly, smirking at the subtle hints of pink in Nanako's face from his compliment as she spoke up.

"S-Stop. I'm flattered that you think that of me, but I feel like you compliment all the ladies like that, Morgana. Or am I wrong to think that?" Nanako asked as Morgana spoke up.

"No, you're not wrong. I do tend to compliment most every lady I see, since much like Kusa and Ren, I believe that ladies, like the precious Treasures they are, should be respected and appreciated." Morgana said as Nanako spoke up.

"I thought so. But at the same time, I find that trait oddly charming, Morgana. So thank you. Anyways, I suppose I should mention a few things to you two, Ren and Kusa." Nanako said as Ren spoke up.

"Oh? What's up, Nanako?" Ren asked as Kusa spoke up with a smirk.

"I think it might be relevant to why I saw her on the phone when I first caught up to these two." Kusa said as Nanako nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, that was my Big Bro and Big Sis on the phone. Apparently they got the voicemail I left them while I was waiting for you guys at the entrance of you-know-where with Zenkichi, Taichi, Momoe, Sojiro, and Futaba. From what Big Bro told me, he and Big Sis got an angry phone call from my dad about the hotel revoking our reservation and apparently my dad basically spent a good 20 or so minutes reading them both the riot act.

That said, after they both apologized to me, Big Bro asked me what I was planning to do without a place to go. I may or may not have mentioned that I was hanging with you all, and that you were all friends of Shiho's. I may have name-dropped a few of your names, but it was all good stuff. Anyways, I left out any mention of what we went through last night.

To make a long story short, I may have asked if I can hang around with you guys for a while since I had nowhere else to go after Big Bro and Big Sis basically ditched me without warning, which they apologized for, explaining that they left me alone in our hotel room was because they'd been asked to partake of something that wasn't age-appropriate for me to see. I forgave them, and Big Bro gave his okay for me to stick with you guys for a while. Just as well, really, since I'd be shocked if Shiho didn't end up sticking with you guys too." Nanako said as Morgana smiled and spoke up.

"Oh, really? So you intend to stick with us for a while, eh Lady Nanako? Mwehehe." Morgana said before turning to face Ren as he kept speaking.

"Oh, and if you were curious, Ren? Before you showed up, we were just admiring this ocean view. And maybe also the view of the sun bouncing off of Lady Nanako's hair, since it almost seems to make that strawberry-blonde hair of hers positively shine in the right lighting. She's already really beautiful, but when the lighting hits her hair just right and makes her strawberry-blonde highlights seem to give off that radiant glow that it gives off? She's absolutely gorgeous." Morgana said as Ren sighed and spoke up after exchanging an exasperated groan with Kusa, who merely shrugged, not sure what to tell Ren at this point.

"Oh, great. Looks like you've fallen in simp with Nanako now, Morgana. What's this, four girls now you simp for?" Ren asked as Kusa spoke up.

"No, I'm pretty sure he's only simped for three girls, Ren. Those three being Ann, Sophia, and now Nanako. Morgana might've briefly simped for Haru, but he stopped rather quickly after Haru asked him to as I recall." Kusa pointed out as Nanako shyly smiled at Morgana and spoke up, her cheeks pinking in embarrassment from Morgana's kind words as she spoke.

"S-stop, Morgana. You're gonna make me blush if you keep complimenting me like that. And, well, you're pretty handsome yourself. Granted, I recall Sumire-san mentioning that Sophia has first dibs on you already, so I'm not trying to get in the way of that. Not sure how you plan to make a relationship work with an AI, but if you can? More power to you." Nanako said cheerfully as Kusa laughed and spoke up.

"That's the thing though, Nanako. We're all pretty sure that the Sophia/Morgana dynamic is mainly a one-sided dynamic, and that only on Sophia's side. Morgana seemed like he wasn't that into her at last glance. But I give you props for not trying to cause problems with Sophia. Very mature of you." Kusa said approvingly as Nanako nodded and spoke up.

"Even so, I want to let Sophia at least have the chance to make a move on Morgana before I think about possibly making moves on him. Besides, I'm in no rush to find a boyfriend anyways. If I find one on this trip, fine. If not, it'll happen when it happens." Nanako said sagely as Ren spoke up approvingly.

"Very wise words, Nanako. I'm impressed." Ren said as he kept moving, eventually heading over to Sojiro and Futaba and speaking up.

"Checking out the produce section, you two? Interesting." Ren said as Sojiro spoke up.

"Eh, I figured I'd look at the selection here, see if there were any ingredients worth procuring to use in the curry at Leblanc. Didn't really see anything that wouldn't spoil before I got it to the cafe, though." Sojiro said sagely as Futaba spoke up with a smile.

"True. So, when do we pack it up and leave for the ferry dock? Don't we have to go soon to make the ferry? That said, farewell, Okinawa! Our time together may have been short, but it was sweet. Aww, bummer. I just realized I didn't get to try goya chanpuru. It's, like, the staple dish of Okinawa! Know what? You should make some for us, Big Bro! I bet you'd be good at it! Here, I even found a recipe you can use. C'mon, Chanpuru Champ!" Futaba said, handing Ren a 'Goyo Chanpuru Recipe' key item and giggling as she kept speaking.

"Y'know, maybe you should try making some for Sojiro sometime, too! It could do wonders for his skin!" Futaba said as Sojiro huffed and spoke up.

"Very funny. But I won't deny that I wouldn't mind trying it out at least." Sojiro said as Ren nodded and kept moving, heading over to Ann, Shiho, and Ryuji. Ren walked over to Ann first and spoke up.

"Hey, why the long face, sis? I'd think you'd be ecstatic that Shiho is with you right now." Ren said kindly as Ann sighed and spoke up.

"I'm thrilled for that, Ren. Ahh, it's just that I wish we had even one more day here, to be honest. I feel like we didn't really get to enjoy this area as much as I'd have liked." Ann said as Shiho smiled and spoke up, patting Ann on the shoulder.

"It's okay, Ann. We can always take a trip out this way sometime again, just you and me. After all, my parents live in a town about an hour's drive away from here, so I can get here easily anytime. Plus, it'd be a good opportunity for me to introduce you to them as my girlfriend. I don't think they'll have issues, but better to be honest with them about it just the same since I feel like they'd appreciate it." Shiho said as Ann smiled and spoke up.

"Yeah, good point. Thanks for being so understanding, Shiho." Ann said as she boldly pulled Shiho into a kiss, making Shiho giggle in amusement as she returned the kiss briefly before Ren turned to Ryuji and spoke up.

"Yo, what's bonkin', man?" Ren asked Ryuji with a smirk. Ryuji smiled and high-fived Ren as he spoke up.

"Heh, glad you still remember that greeting, RenRen! But, man. This trip has been ridiculous overall. I swear I lost at least a few years of my life just from this island!" Ryuji said as Ann sighed and spoke up.

"Aww, that's true. We came all the way to Okinawa and did next to nothing besides getting hunted down both in AND outside a Jail. I just wanted to kick back at a nice seaside spa, treat myself to some of the local eats, stuff like that." Ann said as Shiho whispered in Ann's ear so only she could hear.

"But I thought you enjoyed it when we snuck off to the far side of the beach to rub lotion on each other and tan together in our birthday suits? Or was I imagining the wide smile on your face when you got to ogle my body?" Shiho said slyly as Ann blushed and spoke up.

"Shiho! Shush! Not in front of Ren and Ryuji! Granted, if what we heard shortly before sunset was any clue, Ren can't give us grief about it. Ryuji, on the other hand? He has plenty of room to give us grief." Ann said as Ryuji smirked and spoke up.

"I would never give you and Shiho grief, Ann. I might be crass and vulgar, but I know to respect women, even if I do make offensive remarks from time to time without thinking about it. So cheer up. Also, I had a feeling you'd say that, heheh. Soooo, I took the liberty of going out and doing some searching before I bouuught, ta-da! This!" Ryujii said as Ren spoke up.

"Hm? What's that supposed to be? 'Pork/egg onigiri'?" Ren asked as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which Ren had borrowed so he could let Sophia tour the island with him once more, preceded Sophia speaking up with an unreadable look.

"It's a type of rice ball, made of sliced luncheon meat and egg sandwiched between rice and seaweed. It's considered Okianwan soul food. Many have said, 'If you haven't eaten one of those yet, you haven't been to Okinawa!' Or so I heard Taichi-san telling Kusa and Momoe the other day." Sophia said as Ann spoke up in surprise with wide eyes.

"WHAT!? Wow, it's that big a deal!?" Ann asked as Ryuji nodded and spoke up with a grin.

"Yeah, it's their thing here. I got enough for everyone." Ryuji said as Ren smirked and high-fived Ryuji while speaking up.

"Seriously? Thanks, Ryuji! You're a total bro, man!" Ren said with a smirk as Ryuji's eyes widened while he spoke up.

"Aw, shi-! I think I only got like a dozen of them. So I may have forgotten to make sure I counted heads before buying the onigiri. My bad. So there's gonna be a few of us who have to either share or miss out." Ryuji said in embarrassment. Shiho giggled and spoke up.

"No problem, I can share one with Ann if she doesn't mind. I'm sure Ren can share with Sumire, Kusa can share with Futaba, Morgana can probably share one with most likely Nanako, Haru and Goro can share one, and we can probably have you share with Makoto, Ryuji. So that means you only need like 10 of those onigiris." Shiho said as Ren's eyes widened and he spoke up.

"You WHAT!? How do you not do a head count when getting food, Ryuji? That's like social etiquette 101 right there, man." Ren said as Ryuji spoke up with a sigh.

"Sorry, man. You can have one and split it with Sumire. Just don't be pissed, RenRen! Please, man, I didn't mean to miscount like that." Ryuji said as Ren spoke up.

"No worries, bro. It's an easy mistake to make. And really, this could be a good opportunity for couples to discreetly steal kisses while sharing an onigiri." Ren said slyly as Ryuji grinned and high-fived Ren as he spoke up.

"Hell yeah, RenRen! That's usin' the old noggin!" Ryuji said as Ren nodded and kept moving, deciding to go check in on Goro and Haru. Once he found the two standing together in the path leading up to the lab, Ren looked at Haru and spoke up.

"Interesting place for a date, you two. Nah, but in all seriousness, why the long face, Haru?" Ren asked as Haru spoke up before Goro could do more than sputter at Ren's teasing comment.

"Sorry. It's just, I keep wondering who's the real mastermind behind all of this business. Why would anyone want to do this to people? Especially now that we know multiple deaths are involved in all this." Haru asked as Goro spoke up with a smile.

"I don't think there's any answer that would truly cheer you up, Haru. But if you want my opinion? I think Ichinose-san could be involved in it somehow. I mean, she definitely gave off a shady vibe when I heard her voice over Ren's phone before we left Sapporo to come here. But that might just be my disdain for her talking. I mean, she was acting rather shady the day we cut a deal with her too." Goro said with a shrug as Haru smiled and spoke up.

"That's true. But we have no solid proof aside from your gut feeling, so forgive us if we don't immediately throw suspicion onto Ichinose-san, Goro." Haru said as Ren spoke up.

"True, but we can still keep an eye on her just to be on the safe side. We're not going to entirely discount Goro's theory here. After all, he has as good of instincts as Kusa does most of the time." Ren said as Haru nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, Ren-kun. I hope we find a strong lead soon, then. And that the police's search through the lab goes in our favor." Haru said as Ren nodded before turning to Goro as he spoke up.

"Sorry for interrupting your time with Haru, Goro. I was just making sure everything was all right with you two." Ren said as Goro smiled and spoke up.

"That's quite all right, Ren. I understand you're doing your due diligence as our leader. And between us? I stand by what I just said about Ichinose. But moving on from that, I should give you this." Goro said, handing Ren a 'Okinawa Homestyle Rice Balls Recipe' key item, making Ren speak up in confusion.

"OK? But where did you get this, if I'm allowed to ask?" Ren asked as Goro smirked and spoke up.

"I'm glad you did ask. Momoe-san gave it to me after Zenkichi-san and I drove her and Taichi-san home this morning while the rest of you were sleeping. I came back and napped afterwards, but I wanted to make sure they got home safely first. She told me that she wanted to ensure you got it while you were still on the island, since she recalled that Kusa loves these rice balls. And since his birthday is coming up, she figured it could be a good, easy way to surprise him." Goro said as Ren nodded and spoke up.

"Fair enough. I'll keep that in mind. But I have a feeling that Futaba and Sojiro probably already have something cooked up for the occasion. But I appreciate the thought." Ren said as he checked the description of the 'Okinawa Homestyle Rice Balls' recipe. It read as thus: 'Simple, easy, homestyle cooking at its best. Restores 50 SP to all allies and applies 'Dekunda'.' Ren smirked at this and spoke up.

"Thanks, Goro. I'll try to call Mom up if I remember before leaving here to thank her." Ren said as Goro nodded approvingly before Ren kept moving to go check for the rest of the group, heading to the beach section of the area. Once there, Ren found Makoto and Sumire standing together near the beachside shops and spoke up to Makoto.

"Heh, guess it was time for you and Sumire to hang out, eh Makoto?" Ren said as Makoto spoke up.

"Something like that, yes. Anyways, Zenkichi-san said he was heading back to his HQ in Kyoto before, didn't he? But his behavior strikes me as suspicious, Ren. I mean, think about it. Tailing us in Tokyo, all the way to Hokkaido, then taking us on a ferry to Okinawa, just to go all the way to Kyoto at the drop of a hat? While I think he's up to something, I also believe that there doesn't seem to be a moment's rest for a Public Security Inspector. Hmm, I wonder if I should let Akane-chan know her father's on his way home or not?" Makoto said as Sumire spoke up.

"Not yet, Makoto. I'd make sure he actually is going that way before getting Akane-chan's hopes up." Sumire said as Makoto nodded before Ren walked over to Sumire and spoke up.

"Good point, beautiful. And since I have you here, you enjoying this view?" Ren asked as Sumire smiled and nodded before she spoke up.

"Yep. The view here is pretty. But not as pretty as the one we got yesterday, hee hee." Sumire said as Makoto raised an eyebrow and spoke up.

"Yesterday? What's that about?" Makoto asked as Ren and Sumire blushed and spoke up at the same time.

"N-Nothing!" Ren and Sumire said as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which was in Ren's hand, preceded Sophia speaking up with a smile.

"Pretty sure it has to do with Ren and Sumire sneaking off to have some 'Mom and Dad' type quality time together." Sophia said with a giggle as Ren and Sumire's eyes widened as the latter spoke up.

"D-Did you just call us 'Mom and Dad', Sophia?" Sumire asked as Sophia spoke up with wide eyes.

"Oh! Umm, no? I said you were having some 'Mom and Dad' type quality time together, I think. But I do appreciate that you two said you see me as a daughter during the Jail. It meant a lot to me. So thank you both." Sophia said honestly as Makoto smiled and spoke up.

"You know, it's not a crime to see Ren and Sumire as sort of parent-like figures. After all, you're close enough to them for it to make sense to a certain degree." Makoto said as Sophia spoke up.

"Oh? I'll keep that in mind." Sophia said as Sumire nodded before she turned to Ren and spoke up.

"Whew, that was close. I can't believe Sophia almost busted us like that." Sumire said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"That's probably just her going through an abbreviated 'teen rebellion' type phase or something, if I had to guess." Ren said sagely as Sumire nodded and spoke up.

"Good point. But I think Yusuke-kun was looking for you? He's been waiting by himself nearby long enough." Sumire said as Ren nodded and went over to speak with Yusuke, who he found standing by himself under a giant palm tree.

"Sorry it took so long, Yusuke. I wanted to save you for last if I could. So what's up?" Ren asked Yusuke, who gave Ren a slight frown and spoke up.

"Ah, Ren. You've come at last. Have a moment? The azure sky, the crystalline ocean, the caressing wind blowing through my hair, all of it is so picturesque and beautiful. Simply standing still in this spot alone provides an endless flow of artistic inspiration. However, no matter how much I allow my passion to guide my hand, I feel as if something is missing from my sketches. For my final attempt here, I wish for your input. Out of all the rare forms of beauty found on this island paradise, my next motif should be what? Is there any subject worthy of capturing on canvas for future contemplation?" Yusuke asked as Ren spoke up contemplatively.

"Hmm. Good question. Considering that you and Sumire were looking at statues of them yesterday, how about a Shiisaa?" Ren suggested, knowing Yusuke had admired the statues in mention a lot. Yusuke's eyes widened in realization as he nodded and spoke up.

"Yes! That's right, Ren! The Shiisaa is most integral to Okinawa! Perhaps I should go and sketch the statues we saw by the dock? No, that won't be enough for a motif, I feel. I wish to capture one that is larger than life, the perfect balance of grand fury and impish delight. And speaking of which? As I recall, there were some Shiisaa in the Jail here, were there not? Very well! Let's go! I can't wait a moment longer! We must make for the Jail immediately, Ren!

Should I cross swords with that Shadow even once more, I'm certain I will glean truth from the encounter. I'll send you my request via smartphone, so please, let us take our leave without any delay. I wish to complete my Shiisaa sketch before my passion burns out. I apologize for the favor, but I hope you'll assist, Ren! In the name of art, if nothing else!" Yusuke said as Ren nodded, checking his smartphone for the request and finding it. Shrugging, Ren accepted it before gathering the others at the RV to infiltrate the Okinawa Jail once more for this request...

(Inside the Okinawa Jail a short time later, with Joker, Mona, Skull, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir, Crow, Violet, Draconis, Seeker, Pendragon, and Flare)

While going through the Okinawa Jail once more, Fox managed to eliminate a bunch of Shiisaa for his request. While doing so, Joker and Oracle hit level 52 while Seeker hit level 48. Doing so gave Oracle and Seeker new skills in the form of the mid-tier Almighty skill 'Megido' for Albus, and the heavy-tier Bless skill 'Kougaon?' for Pithos. Seeker spoke up.

"I appear to have learned a new move!" Seeker said as Violet blinked and spoke up on noticing something.

"Not only that sweetie, but this appears to be your last level-up skill. I feel like that's a misprint, but maybe it's true? Either way, good job on the new skill." Violet said kindly as Pithos acquired 'Kougaon'. Oracle then spoke up.

"BAM! Get a load of my new power!" Oracle said as Draconis chuckled and spoke up.

"I realize I have no room to make such comments, but you need to dial back the ego, Oracle. It's adorable, but it's probably annoying most of the others." Draconis said as Flare spoke up.

"Maybe only Crow and possibly Skull. Pretty sure the rest of us find it adorable too." Flare said teasingly as Crow and Skull frowned at this, but said nothing as Albus acquired 'Megido'.

(A short time later, back in the real world, inside the RV with Futaba, Makoto, Yusuke, Kusa, Sojiro, Ryuji, Goro, Shiho, Ann, Haru, Morgana, Sophia, Nanako, Sumire, Ren, and Zenkichi)

After gathering the group back in the RV, Ren turned in the finished request 'Okinawan Art Appreciation', at which point Yusuke spoke up with a closed-eye smile.

"Yes, sweet glory! Yes! That's it! I've finally completed a wholly satisfactory sketch during our time here, and it's entirely thanks to you, Ren." Yusuke said as Nanako giggled and spoke up.

"Aww, how cute. Yusuke looks like he's been moved to tears." Nanako said as Sumire giggled next to her and spoke up.

"No, he just cries like that a lot. But it is kind of adorable to see, now that you mention it." Sumire said as Yusuke blushed in embarrassment and spoke up.

"Y-Yes, well, moving on. I have an idea. Ren? Here, please accept this gift as my personal thanks. An elderly artist who said he's been crafting Shiisaa for over 50 years passed by here only a moment ago and gave it to me. He said he sensed something from my Shiisaa sketch and told me I absolutely had to accept a pair of his figurines. Interesting, no? The strength and delight in their expressions, and the charismatic aura they project. What charming little fellows." Yusuke said as Goro spoke up with a wince.

"Uhh, are you sure you should be calling them charming little fellows when you have a girlfriend, Yusuke?" Goro asked as Ryuji shrugged and spoke up.

"That's just Yusuke for you, Goro. He's a bit eccentric like that." Ryuji said as Goro nodded his understandig while Kusa smirked and spoke up.

"True, but you know what they say, Ryuji. A lot of the best people in life are often a tad bit eccentric at times." Kusa said wisely as Sojiro spoke up with a nod.

"Good point, Kusa. Pretty sure that saying mostly applies to geniuses, but it could apply to artists too, I suppose." Sojiro said as Yusuke spoke up.

"That's fair. You know, their size makes them perfect for display in the RV." Yusuke said as Futaba spoke up.

"Good point, Inari. But where do we put them? We've already got quite a few things in this RV, you know." Futaba said as Yusuke smiled and spoke up.

"That's true. It appears we've begun amassing quite the collection- with cherished memories to match." Yusuke said as Ren sweatdropped and spoke up.

"Uhh, sure. If you say so, Yusuke. But thank you. I'll gladly accept this." Ren said as he accepted the 'Shiisaa Ornament' key item. Afterwards, Ren leaned back in the passenger seat as he pondered what the team should do next, unaware that the next task that would be presented to the group would be one of their roughest and most eye-opening experiences yet...

END OF CHAPTER AND OF ARC 4: MYSTERY OF OKINAWA

A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! And with it, also comes the end of another arc! For all that it was short, I feel like Arc 4 was probably one of my more dynamic arcs so far. But Arc 5 is another arc I'm particularly excited to get to, since it has arguably one of the best Awakenings in all of Persona 5 in it (at least in my opinion), as well as potential teasers for Arc 6 galore.

Note that in this story, unlike canon Strikers, Arc 6 will not immediately be the Osaka Jail as it is in canon Strikers. Arc 6 will be the group returning to a certain Jail that may or may not have been revealed in the Arc 1 interlude (aka chapter 7), and will have an entirely new plot to it as a whole. So there's that to look forward to.

However, staying to the more relevant previewing, the next chapter will have the group's departure from Okinawa, and possibly even set up the start of the fifth Jail as well, though that Jail will be visited in steps, not unlike how the Shibuya Jail was done in chunks. Also, there may or may not be a few other surprises sprinkled into the chapter as well, so keep an eye out for that. Consider that your previewing of the next chapter.

And while I'm thinking about it, let me take this chance to announce that I have another poll up on my profile page, this one dealing with potential pairing options for Morgana. For those who don't know what I mean by 'profile page', let me clarify that. When you first load into a chapter (at least on the desktop version of the site), there should be a small picture of my profile image (which should be Rock from Ridonculous Race), and next to it, should be the word 'sithlorde1988' in blue lettering.

If you click on that, it will take you to my profile page. The poll, for its part, should be near the top of my page (or at least a summary of it), and there should be a 'Vote Now' option next to it in blue, which if you click that, lets you vote on the poll. Note that there are six options on the list, but I changed it from being a multi-vote poll where you can vote two options to where only one vote is allowed.

From the time this chapter goes up, I'll probably leave the poll up for around 10 to 11 days after I post this chapter (which might have already passed depending on when you're reading this end-of-chapter A/N), and if I don't end up uploading this chapter late, that deadline SHOULD be around February 14th to the 16th, though I might make it the 15th to the 17th for the sake of not having this poll overlap with Valentine's Day on the 14th (which for the record I did NOT think about Valentine's Day being an upcoming holiday when I planned this poll).

As you might guess, the top option will be what I ultimately go with for Morgana. Note that if one of the 'multi' pair options wins, the pairing might take slightly longer to start up in order to allow for the extra time taken to set that up. So when you see this, if it's before February 15th, feel free to go and vote on the poll!

That being said, for now, let me thank everyone who's read this far into the story, as I appreciate your loyalty and willingness to stay reading this, as it means a lot to me. If you want to make your opinions known, feel free to leave a review (or PM me, I accept either form of input) with your thoughts/feedback/constructive criticism/suggestions on this story. As always, I enjoy hearing from readers. Until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1* - YES, before someone comments on it, I gave Morgana his human form from Royal as his new human form, albeit aged back slightly to match what I figured his actual age to be. In canon Royal, Human Morgana is implied to be around the same age as Ren (or around 17), but I feel like he should be younger than Ren, given the whole 'younger brother' dynamic Morgana has with Ren for most of Persona 5 Royal (and presumably vanilla Persona 5 too), so I have him set as 16 here since I feel like he would've been around 12 as a human in the original Phantom Files.

From there, given it's been around 3 and a half to 4 years since that point, and since I feel like Morgana would've been 13 at the end of canon Royal, he's 16 in Rise of the Monarchs. So yeah, hopefully no one's too bothered by my decision to give Morgana a human form.

PHANTOM THIEVES LEVELS AND ALLY LISTINGS AS OF THE END OF CHAPTER 22 AND ARC 4

JOKER (Ren) - Level: 52 Current Personas: Raoul (Level 32), Jack-O'-Lantern (Level 38), Jack Frost (Level 38), Okuninushi (Level 48), Fortuna (Level 52), Raja Naga (Level 52), Ganesha (Level 51), Queen Mab (Level 51), Pixie (Level 20), Pisaca (Level 24) Equipped Persona: Queen Mab Persona Moveset: Maragion (Fire), Bufudyne (Ice), Makajamaon (Ailment), Concentrate (Support/Buff), Mapsio (Psy), Makouga (Bless), Garula (Wind), Agidyne (Fire)

SKULL (Ryuji) - Level: 47 Current/Partner Persona: Seiten Taisei Persona Moveset: Zionga (Elec), Megaton Raid (Physical), Tarukaja (Support/Buff), Attack Master (Passive), Mazionga (Elec), Rebel Soul (Passive), Swift Strike (Physical), Shock Boost (Passive)

MONA (Morgana) - Level: 48 Current/Partner Persona: Diego Persona Moveset: Garula (Wind), Diarama (Healing), Mediarama (Healing), Magarula (Wind), Wind Boost (Passive), Samarecarm (Healing), Masukunda (Support/Debuff), Dodge Elec (Passive)

PANTHER (Ann) - Level: 48 Current/Partner Persona: Hecate Persona Moveset: Agidyne (Fire), Dodge Ice (Passive), Fire Boost (Passive), Soul Thief (Passive), Maragion (Fire), Matarunda (Support/Debuff), Marin Karin (Ailment), Diarama (Healing)

FOX (Yusuke) - Level: 48 Current/Partner Persona: Kamu Susano-o Persona Moveset: Bufula (Ice), Speed Master (Passive), Masukukaja (Support/Buff), Knockdown Style (Passive), Vicious Strike (Physical), Tempest Slash (Physical), Mabufula (Ice), Dodge Fire (Passive)

QUEEN (Makoto) - Level: 47 Current/Partner Persona: Anat Persona Moveset: Freila (Nuclear), Defense Master (Passive), Marakukaja (Support/Buff), Mafreila (Nuclear), Diarama (Healing), Flash Bomb (Physical), Mediarama (Healing), Nuke Boost (Passive)

NOIR (Haru) - Level: 48 Current/Partner Persona: Lucy Persona Moveset: Psio (Psy), Psy Boost (Passive), Heat Riser (Support/Buff), Triple Down (Gun), Evil Smile (Ailment), Amrita Shower (Healing), Mapsio (Psy), Gun Boost (Passive)

ORACLE (Futaba) - Level: 52 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), Moral Boost EX (Passive), Active Boost EX (Passive)

SEEKER (Sophia) - Level: 48 Current/Partner 'Persona': Pithos Persona Moveset: Kougaon? (Bless), Bless Amp? (Passive), Diarama? (Healing), Makouga? (Bless), Mediarama? (Healing), Marakunda? (Support/Debuff), Divine Grace? (Passive) Recarm? (Healing)

VIOLET (Sumire) - Level: 48 Current/Partner Persona: Ella Persona Moveset: Kouga (Bless), Dodge Curse (Passive), Diarama (Healing), Bless Boost (Passive), Heat Wave (Physical), Makouga (Bless), Tempest Slash (Physical), Samarecarm (Healing)

DRACONIS (Kusa) - Level: 47 Current/Partner Persona: Malefor Persona Moveset: Agilao (Fire), Garula (Wind), Mediarama (Healing), Rising Slash (Physical), Masukunda (Support/Debuff), Vicious Strike (Physical), Megido (Almighty), Almighty Boost (Passive)

CROW (Goro) - Level: 47 Current/Partner Persona: Hereward Persona Moveset: Eiga (Curse), One-Shot Kill (Gun), Maeiga (Curse), Deathbound (Physical), Debilitate (Support/Debuff), Mudo (Curse/insta-kill), Megidola (Almighty), Curse Boost (Passive)

PENDRAGON (Sojiro) - Level: 47 Current/Partner Persona: Kohryu Persona Moveset: Psiodyne (Psy), Assault Dive (Physical), Concentrate (Support/Buff), Mediarama (Healing), Mapsio (Psy), Evade Nuke (Passive), Spell Master (Passive), Psy Boost (Passive)

FLARE (Shiho) - Level: 47 Current/Partner Persona: Hester Persona Moveset: Bufula (Ice), Memory Blow (Physical), Mediarama (Healing), Divine Grace (Passive), Recarm (Healing), Freila (Nuclear), Ice Boost (Passive), Nuke Boost (Passive)

Allies: Zenkichi, Ichinose, Akane, Nanako, Taichi, Momoe