The flames of revolution were burning bright, as the city was a battleground between the joint forces of the Phantom Thieves and Rebel Corps, and Marie's forces. Their combined numbers and strength was enough to push back the Legionnaires, despite their best efforts to defend themselves. Toshiro was standing high on the rooftops, observing the battlefield and waiting for the timing of their next move. There! "Their forces have been scattered! Now's our chance!" He shouted to everyone below.
The target? Marie's flag that was attached to her statue. Erina and Joker stood side by side, eyes locked with a Slammer that stood between them and the statue. The two of them glanced at one another, before nodding and rushing forward. "I've got this one!" Erina exclaimed.
"Got it!" Joker sprinted forward without hesitation. The large Slammer enemy attempted to punch at him, but he was blocked by Erina thrusting her spear for a clash.
"I don't think so!" Erina said with a smirk. "You'll have to get through me first!"
With all this fighting, Joker had a clear shot to the flag. He latched his grappling hook around the Marie statue's neck, using that for leverage as he then drew his pistol. He fired off a few shots at the flag, succeeding in destroying it. As the flag burnt away in purple embers, the Legionnaire's in the city square felt their strength leave them. They collapsed onto the ground, weakened considerably.
With the statue beginning to collapse, Rebels began to cheer. "Hell yeah! We did it!" Skull cheered with the rest of the Rebels.
"We did it, everyone!" Noir gave a Rebel a high five.
"This is no time to relax!" Dragon exclaimed. They may have accomplished success in the first part of their mission, but this was only the beginning of the revolution. They still had plenty of fighting left to do.
"She's right!" Toshiro exclaimed as they were going to push their offensive. He threw his arm out before calling out to the next squadron. "Artillery men, move forward! All others, fall back!" Multiple Rebels marched forward with cannons at the ready. "Fire!" And on that call, the Rebels fired, shooting cannonballs at Marie's statue, which toppled violently.
Erina saw her chance and sprinted ahead, using the Legionnaire she was engaged with as a stepping stool. "HAAAAAAH!" She summoned forth her Flag of Liberation, stabbing it into the stand where Marie's statue once stood. The power of her flag washed over the city square, eliminating the remaining Legionnaires. Joker leapt up onto the stand alongside her, as she began to speak to the Rebels. "Rebels! In the name of freedom, the time for revolution has come!"
The declaration of war had been made. It wasn't going to be long before the forces within Marie's castle began to flood out in response to this. Mona looked ahead, giving a firm nod. "Alright, it's time for the sneaky part of the plan."
"They've got a whole buttload of troops. Are you sure you'll be okay?" Oracle looked to the Rebels with a bit of concern.
The veteran rebel shook his head. "You needn't worry about us. You and the Captain go on ahead- we'll keep them distracted!"
"We've been awaiting the chance to defy Marie for so long!" Another rebel in yellow added. "We vow, the Rebel Corp will hold its ground!"
"Thanks, guys." Erina said with a soft smile. She could hardly believe this moment was finally here. But now that they made it this far, victory was their only option!
"More eyes out here, less eyes in there." Wolf said. "We won't waste this chance."
"I hope Marie's ready to get knocked off her high horse!" Skull was raring for a fight.
"I'll drag her down by he split ends if need be." Viper smirked.
"Let's go!" Joker told everyone. They all nodded. The path to Marie's castle was open, and they all darted inside as quickly as they could.
.
.
The Phantom Thieves pushed into Marie's castle. They quickly looked around, making sure they weren't spotted right away. "We made it inside!" Violet let out a sigh of relief.
"Yeah, looks like we're pulling it off. The Rebel Corp, too." Erina glanced back at the door they came from. "Even Toshiro's turned out to be a natural!"
"This is hardly a challenge for me. I'm just making use of my natural talents." Toshiro said smugly, although his legs were trembling the whole time.
"Try not to have your legs shake when you say things like that." Ichinose pointed out.
"I detected strong nervousness from Toshiro the whole time." Sophie added. Toshiro was trying and failing to keep himself together.
"Yes, well, this is no time to fall apart now." Crow stared at the door ahead of them. "We're in the belly of the beast, now. So we can't afford any mistakes.
"Do you remember where Marie is?" Dragon turned to Panther and the others who were mind controlled by Marie.
"She's in the most secure area of the castle." Queen said while closing her eyes. "I have a vague recollection of it."
"It resembles a wedding hall, if memory serves." Fox stroked his chin. "The aesthetics were honestly not too terrible. There was even a large bell as well."
"Of course he remembers the aesthetics." Oracle rolled her eyes. But it was a nice bit of information.
"All I can remember is her yelling at us." Panther scratched her cheek.
"Heads up! We got company!" Oracle warned. "Looks like they know we're here!"
"Looks like it's time to get to business!" Wolf was ready to fight. The sooner they trampled Marie and her forces, the sooner they could finally go home!
"Alright, guys! Let's kick some ass!" Joker declared, and everyone was ready to fight.
Legionnaires began to flood the main hall. "Intruders located! Intruders located! Annihilate the traitorous scum!" The Legionnaires exclaimed. "For Lady Marie!"
"Leave it to me! My blade shall cut them down!" Fox sprinted forward as Gorokichi appeared beside him. Gorokichi breathed out a strong exhale of air, freezing the approaching Legionaries in place, preventing them from moving the way they wanted to. Fox then slid across the ice, slashing down enemy after enemy, clearing a path rather quickly.
"Nice going, Inari!" Oracle gave Fox a thumbs up.
"Let's keep moving." Crow didn't want to waste any time. They had many reasons to work as quickly as possible, and everyone could agree with that. The Phantom Thieves moved through the door, only to find a large corridor waiting for them. This corridor had multiple wedding decorations all around, coupled with numerous balloons that were scattered along the walls and ceiling.
"Talk about eye vomit. All of these colors suck." Viper rolled her eyes at the color scheme. She wanted to poke one of the balloons with her claws, but decided against it. The noise might give them away.
"Here I was expecting one huge, open room. I guess it's not going to be that easy for us." Erina sighed quietly.
"It's never that easy, unfortunately." Dragon added. "We're going to have to press on."
"Considering the castle's appearance from the exterior, it seems quite vast in here." Fox said. This may as well be the first time he's seen it, since he had no real memory beforehand. "But due to our lack of intel on the site, we have no choice but to press on."
"We have to hurry." Violet was looking around for any windows, but unfortunately, the corridor didn't have any. She couldn't help but express her worry for the Rebels outside.
"Got it! Move out, folks!" Skull exclaimed.
With pep in their steps, the Phantom Thieves hurried forward. Eventually they did enter a large room. There were numerous tables scattered about, and at the far end of the wall was a banner that said 'Welcome to our Wedding'. When Noir saw this, she couldn't help but furrow her brows. "Hmmmm..."
"Is something wrong, Noir?" Panther asked.
"Yes, a little." Noir gestured to their surroundings. "It's just, now that we're inside, I've been noticing how much this place reminds me of a wedding venue."
"The giant welcome sign really gives it away." Wolf commented.
"And the stacks of...gift envelopes, I'm assuming?" Panther pointed those out.
"The sheer amount of white in here, the red carpet, the rose decorations...She's really gone all-out." Queen said, in a bit of amazement.
"All out in horrible tastes!" Viper groaned.
"If her cognition was what manifested all this, it's like we're in her Palace." Queen surmised. "But that's not the case, I know. The Kingdom is different than the Metaverse..."
"If Marie's cognition really is responsible for this, then maybe this is close enough to be considered her Palace." Mona said.
"Oh! Then maybe we can find some information about her!" Noir said.
"That would be ideal." Wolf said. "Even I don't know everything about her, I only met her once, after all. I bet there's some kind of hidden truth somewhere around here."
"Something tells me she won't be a sympathetic victim." Crow scoffed at the thought.
"I wonder what sort of things we'll find on her." Ichinose said idly.
"There's only one way to go but up." Skull looked to Toshiro afterwards. "You still good to go, Toshiro?"
Toshiro gave Skull a firm nod. "Believe me, I'm as ready to finish this as all of you are. All of this business with Marie and this other world...it's clear that I'm not merely a spectator here. At this point, I need to know the truth. I may not be as brave as you all, but I'm just as determined."
"Well said, Toshiro!" Sophie approved of Toshiro's attitude. He certainly came a long way from the cowering man in the corner when they first met. "We'll be here to support you!"
"Look who's learned to talk the talk!" Panther giggled. Toshiro's attitude was a breath of fresh air. "Don't you think he's come far, Viper?" She nudged Viper, trying to get her to say something nice. Viper didn't say a word and just scoffed dismissively as a result. "Worth a shot."
.
.
The Phantom Thieves continued through Marie's castle, soon happening upon a room that wasn't like the others. There was a screen on the wall, and a projector right in the middle. Naturally, they were confused and curious about it. "Oh! A projector!" Ichinose was pleasantly surprised.
"What is this doing here?" Violet asked. "It's so...out of place."
"You can say that again." Joker nodded in agreement. He wasn't sure why this was here.
"I agree it's pretty weird, but we're better off findin' Marie than talkin' about this projector." Skull shrugged casually, not seeing the worth of the projector.
"Now hold on, it doesn't hurt to watch!" Ichinose countered. "Who knows what's on it?" But as she went to examine it, she found that there was no button. "Huh? There's switch!"
"I guess that's that, then." Crow shrugged. While he was curious, there was nothing they could do if it wouldn't turn on. But that wasn't going to be a problem, because the room lights turned off, and the projector turned on. "What the-?"
"It turned on by itself?" Queen gasped.
Toshiro stared at the screen as it slowly came to life. "T-That's..."
On the screen was Marie Anto, sitting down with her legs crossed. In front of her was a bowing Toshiro. "Toshiro, why must you continue to disappoint me? I don't understand why you can't play along. Are you toying with me, or something?" Marie asked with a quirked brow.
"..." Toshiro on the screen said nothing in response. He just let out a disgruntled sigh.
"You couldn't have come across more awkwardly at the engagement party. Our relationship is one that will build great things someday soon. Letting your feelings interfere with that is simply childish." Marie scoffed. "What if your bungling led to some sleazy journalist to run a hit piece on us? There's already gossip."
"I'm...I'm sorry..." Toshiro choked out, apologetically.
"Of course you are." Marie rolled her eyes. If she counted the amount of times she heard an apology from Toshiro... "Begging for forgiveness is the only thing you're any good at. Listen for once - you are my sorry excuse for a puppet. When a puppet can't do what it's supposed to do, you can imagine how I handle it." With that, the projector turned back off, and the lights returned.
"Puppet, huh?" Ichinose mumbled those words under her breath.
Panther had no idea what it was she just saw. "W-Who was that?"
"That was Marie Anto." Wolf said while crossing his arms. "I saw her not too long ago before I was pulled in here. So I know that's her."
Toshiro gripped his head, as something stirred within his memory, "Marie...Anto...that's right, I...ngh...!"
"Toshiro!?" Mona exclaimed.
"I-I'm alright..." Toshiro shook his head slowly. "I think I'm just starting to remember some things. I believe that Hasegawa-san-, er, I mean, Wolf, was right after all...I am Marie's fiancé."
"What do you remember?" Wolf crossed his arms.
"Marie is the daughter of a CEO for a major conglomerate." Toshiro began to explain. "And our marriage was arranged by my...father? Yes, my father. He's a politician as well. He'd long been focused on marriage as a potential career booster for me. Marie's needed our power, and my father needed their financial backing. It all boils down to a marriage of convenience so our families could get what they wanted."
"..." Noir let out a quiet grunt. She of all people knew exactly what that felt like, so she empathized with Toshiro greatly.
"I see." Wolf leaned against the wall. "So their frantic search for you isn't out of concern for you, but what you mean for them. That certainly puts some of our interaction in a different light."
"Ugh. Just when I thought I couldn't hate her anymore." Viper scowled. She wasn't mad at the way she treated Toshiro, oh no. Marie's ego is what really pissed her off, and she couldn't wait to break it.
"Do you really want to marry her?" Sophie asked. "Based on your tone of voice, I could tell that you didn't even want to be around her." She sure was getting better at picking up on emotion.
"What I wanted didn't matter." Toshiro grimaced. The memories really were coming back to him; at least when it came to Marie. "If I raised a fuss, it would've tanked the marriage talks. And who knows what Marie's family would've done in retaliation if I happened to harm their reputation. So considering that fact, I figured I would just grin and bear it. That may have been a mistake, though."
"Grin and bear it?" Crow had to keep from letting out a distasteful scoff. "Even though your face was hidden, even I could tell that there was no smile on your face."
"Yeah." Toshiro couldn't argue that. "In hindsight, that approach may have only worsened her frustrations on me."
"Still you two were engaged, right? Why'd you let her treat you like shit?" Skull asked.
Noir chimed in immediately. "I know why. Your father's expectations of you, and the pressure you're under...you start telling yourself, "If I just put up with it now, it'll get better later!", but I know that's a lie. I regretted never speaking up for myself. I was only able to start, because Dragon stood up for me on that rainy day. Because of her, I was able to meet everyone else and have friends. When it was bad, I could escape to other people, even if it was for a little while..."
"Noir..." Dragon said with a soft tone.
"That's how it was for me. I was lucky." Noir admitted while rubbing her arm. Toshiro's situation brought back some unpleasant memories, but unlike Toshiro, she had some nice ones during those hard times.
Toshiro was in shock. Noir managed to completely nail how he was feeling. "You're right..." He nodded slowly. When she brought up the idea of regret, he figured out that it was exactly what he felt. "Thank you. But it's okay, I'm alright! I'm actually handling the stress a bit better after winding up here. Now, if only my legs would stop trembling..." He tried to play it off with a small joke, but Dragon and Wolf weren't buying it.
"We'll make her regret it." Joker said firmly. "You're holding up well."
"I don't want to exactly vilify her, since I'm not perfect either. But I am determined to settle this on my own terms." Toshiro was firm on this.
"Don't worry, I'll vilify her." Viper grinned.
"You're doing great, Toshiro-san!" Violet cheered for Toshiro, assuming he could use the morale boost.
"I'll help you however I can, too!" Noir said.
Erina went off ahead to scout. She returned to the room, gesturing at the others. "The area up ahead is free of guards. We can keep moving."
.
.
Another room. This time, it was even grander than the last. There were plenty of tables, all of them lined with flowers. In the back was an extremely large wedding cake. Panther would normally love to indulge, but the deeper they got into Marie's Palace, the more annoyed she got at it. "Ugh, could this place get any gaudier!? Her obsession with this wedding is downright creepy! Now I'm starting to understand why Viper is so hellbent on putting an end to it."
"See?" Viper was taking that as a victory.
"..." Toshiro grunted silently.
"Considering how far she's willing to go for her wedding, maybe it's about making a show of her power?" Noir suggested.
"That would definitely do more for her pride than any old wedding would." Queen had to agree with that assessment. "It would certainly explain her demand for turning this entire Kingdom into her wedding venue."
"Taking over an entire nation just to host a wedding? I can only imagine how hellish it must be for her subjects." Fox shook his head.
'My fiancée is extremely obsessed with gaining political power." Toshiro explained. "I suppose that's why she agreed to our engagement. She wants my title, nothing more."
"Leech." Viper waved a hand dismissively.
"Toshiro..." Erina frowned. She could see the pain on Toshiro's face now that the memories returned to him.
"So being filthy rich wasn't enough for her - she needs the power too, huh?" Mona grumbled.
"The mad race for political power makes me sick." Crow grunted. It was already irritating enough with Shido, and now that his seat was empty, too many others were craving for it now as well.
"Guys, let's keep moving before they find us. They're closing in fast, but we can slip past them!" Oracle warned. with this in mind, they quickly crossed the room. They moved into the next hallway, but this one was a lot different than the rest.
Violet observed the balloons, noting the pictures on them. They were of the bride, Marie, and her groom. The groom, however, was faceless in every single picture. "Erm...these pictures...they're a little..."
"Huh? Wh-...what the heck!?" Panther gasped when she saw the pictures.
"Something is missing here. Toshiro's face is gone." Sophie pointed out.
"Yet Marie is grinning happily..." Dragon felt unsettled by this.
"It is more akin to a horror film than a wedding celebration." Fox said.
"Her obsession with political power is that foul, is it? I can't even be sick. At least she knows what she wants." Crow was by no means giving Marie any praise, but her goals were at least clear as day.
"My face has nothing to do with our marriage. She only wants my power." Toshiro said coldly.
"Still, it must suck when she's this blatant with it." Oracle felt bad. This was a level of vanity she hadn't seen in a very long time.
"The lady's selfish enough to turn a whole city into a wedding venue. You're surprised she only remembers her own face?" Said Skull with an exasperated expression. He made a great point, though.
"And what an ugly face is it. How much makeup does she cake on each day?" Viper took a picture and practically burned a hole into it with her stare, before ultimately tearing it to shreds.
"Marie is clearly not a person of sound mind. That's why it's up to us to right her wrongs!" Erina said with determination.
"Now let's hurry along and track her down..." Mona said, but as they walked, they came across something extremely strange. A large, torn up stuffed bear with a dopey expression. The bear was in a suit, and its stuffing was showing underneath some bad wear and tear. "W-What the heck is that!?"
"Gives me the creeps." Dragon shook her head. She wanted to walk past it.
"What is with this messed up bear?" Oracle stared at it. "It's not hostile to us, so what's it doing here?"
"I guess it's part of Marie's wedding decor? I'm not sure why anyone would want thisin their reception, though." Panther was just spitballing ideas.
And then...
It spoke.
"I'm..."
"What the!?" Joker was a bit startled by this, as was everyone else.
"D-Did you guys hear that?" Erina spoke in a hushed whisper.
Queen, worrying that this was something from beyond, tried to keep her composure. "C-Come on, cut it out! That's not funny!"
"The bear continued. I'm a..."
"EEEEEK!" With a shrill squeal, Queen latched onto the closest thing she could. In this case, it was Mona, and she hugged him to her chest in fear. However, his face was dangerous close to the spikes on her shoulders.
"Ack-! Queen! The spikes! THE SPIKES!" Mona cried out.
"I'm so sorry!" Queen whimpered.
"I'm a...pathetic puppet..." The bear spoke.
Upon closer inspection, Noir realized... "Um, doesn't this puppet kind of sound like Toshiro? I mean, it's even dressed like him."
"Ah..." Toshiro realized that Noir was right...
"Lady Marie...give me my orders...I can't make my own decisions. I don't want to think about anything..." The bear's voice was whiny and needy, dragging out each sentence much to everyone's chagrin. "I live to obey your orders. I promise I won't defy you..."
Toshiro was stunned. "I...I'm just..."
"Pleaaaaaaaaaase let me serve you...Lady Marie...please let me serve yoooooou. It's so much easier to go with the flow...why make things harder for yourself? Right?"
"..." Once again, Ichinose said nothing. Sophie noticed this and looked to her with some worry.
Joker hated the words he heard. It reminded him of the depths of Mementos, when the populace was chained to the Holy Grail. "Shut up." He said with venom, unaware if the bear was even aware of their presence or not.
"Hahaha...hahahah...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" The bear let out a very long laugh, which slowly died down in an eerie fashion, before it died down with a sigh.
"...Is it done?" Violet asked meekly. That was some pretty harrowing emotional damage right there.
"It's not attacking us directly, but in terms of psychological damage...it certainly dealt a low blow." Fox shuddered. Nobody was immune to what just happened.
"What a piece of work." Wolf glanced over at Toshiro. He could only imagine how difficult that was for Toshiro. "You alright?"
Toshiro didn't respond at first. But then, he just started to laugh. "Heh...hahahahahahaha!"
"Oh no! The bear broke Toshiro!" Erina gasped in horror.
"Ah, no, no. Don't get me wrong. I'm merely laughing because that bear finally made me take a good, long look at myself. Once you realize how you come across, there's nothing left to do but change." Toshiro said with a small smile, but there was pain behind it. "Now I know I have no intention of taking this lying down anymore. When we find Marie, I'm going to make that monster eat her words!"
"That's the spirit!" Violet beamed.
"Yes. That woman, who's been controlling and humiliating people...she's DONE getting her way!" Queen's anger finally exploded. Everyone was now more concerned about this than anything.
"She's angry...!" Oracle gasped.
"Well, be sure to let those fists of yours fly when we close in on Marie." Crow said.
"Yes. This is good. Everyone's ready to tear her hair out." Viper could almost taste the victory. Everyone walked along, but Toshiro lingered behind for a moment. He was still walking, but slowly now. As he did, he noticed Ichinose beside him.
"A puppet, huh?" Ichinose had her hands in her coat pockets, looking ahead at everyone else. "I still can't tell if this is how she sees you, or if this is how you see yourself."
"..." Toshiro glanced off to the side. He knew the answer to that question. Even though he knew he wanted to change, he couldn't deny what he felt.
"Puppet, doll...I was one of those myself." Ichinose said, which cause Toshiro's attention.
"What do you mean, Ichinose-san?" Toshiro asked. He honestly wasn't expecting this from the woman who took everything in stride. He could never get a read on her.
"I won't bore you with the exact details," Ichinose waved a hand. "But I know how it feels to be considered an empty, useless doll. People always gave me strange looks, or even outright shunned me because of how I was. I never reacted to anything, I never had any friends, I was alone for a long time. I even thought that nothing bothered me...until I created Sophia...Sophie, I mean."
"You made Sophie?" Toshiro blinked, glancing at the AI companion who was walking along with the others.
"That's right. I wanted to understand the human heart. To find what I was lacking." Ichinose closed her eyes. "But that was pretty stupid of me at the time. She asked me a question and I threw her away immediately. Then she comes back, with a heart of her own. A Persona, proof of her heart and soul. It made me so mad, I wanted nothing more than to destroy her. I was envious. Every emotion I thought I lost, bubbled up to the surface in that moment. And then, she helped me realize that I was human, too."
Toshiro was surprised. He had no idea... "Ichinose-san, I..."
"I felt that spark of anger again, when Marie called you a puppet." Ichinose admitted with a half smile. "There are still a lot of things I don't understand about the heart, but there are things I do know. When I look at you, Toshiro, I don't see a spineless puppet. You're a person, and even if you've buried your emotions deep down. Whatever strings she may have on you, I can see them breaking with every step you take. I know that is what a heart does; it breaks free from what tries to tie it down. And you know who taught me that?"
"Who?" Toshiro asked quietly.
"Sophie, and the Phantom Thieves." Ichinose glanced at the Phantom Thieves as they took the lead. "Part of me wonders what would've happened if I met them sooner. They're bright and full of life and justice. Even if it gets them into trouble, they really do their best to make sure nobody is left behind. I'm only standing here because of them. But I digress...you're more than just a puppet."
Toshiro opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Ichinose walked a bit faster ahead of him. "..." Toshiro was left to stew in his thoughts. "I may be a puppet right now, but...but..."
.
.
They finally made it to the top of the castle. The moment they did, Queen's memory flared up. "Oh, this room! If I remember correctly!"
"I think I remember it too!" Panther gasped!
"This is the place, isn't it?" Violet rubbed her head.
"This is the place she got in our heads!" Oracle breathed out. "Making us say stuff like 'Lady Marie's the greatest'!" And oh, how she hated that.
"Really? Is that complaining I hear?" Marie's voice caused everyone to turn around. She was standing at the far end of the room, near the window. "When I'd taken such good care of you? You were fortunate enough to have been made my subjects. That sort of thing usually results in tears of gratitude!"
"Marie!" Skull glared towards the woman.
"Look what the cat dragged in, the ugliest bride known to man!" Viper laughed to herself for that one. Toshiro went silent, but stared at Marie.
Marie would have been infuriated by Viper's words, but she simply smiled. "That's all water under the bridge, now that you've brought my fiancé back to me. In fact, I'll let you off the hook - just make sure he doesn't try to slink away from me!"
"Ha! You think we came back just to take more of your orders?" Skull laughed at the thought.
"Your reign ends here and now." Noir said firmly. "If you're willing to surrender and accept your fair punishment..."
"What?" Marie tilted her head. Their words now offended her. "My punishment? Listen, you bottom-feeding swine! If there's any punishing to be done, I'm the one who does it around here! This is why I can't stand the poors! Show them the smallest mercy and they bite the hand that feeds them! You lowlives should be falling over yourselves, thanking me for the opportunity to serve someone like myself!"
"Geez, is this really what rich folks think of people..." Oracle said with an exaggerated expression.
"W-Where did THAT come from?" Violet began to sweat.
"Erm, well, I don't think all of them are like that." Noir said sheepishly.
"Toshiro, what are you doing with this filth?" Marie glared at Toshiro, beckoning him to move to her side. "Hurry the hell up and get over here, idiot!"
"..." Toshiro didn't say a word, but he didn't move either.
Marie's head tilted slightly, and she smiled. Was he defying her? Surely not. "What are you doing? You're not thinking of saying no to me, are you? Are you?"
Toshiro held his stance... "I'm...I'm done with you!"
Marie's eyes didn't even widen. Her pupils actually shrank from such blatant defiance. "What. WHAT!? ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!? Where did you get the idea that you have the RIGHT to defy me!"
"I told you! I'm done with you!" Toshiro doubled down on his stance.
Marie could see now, that Toshiro wasn't budging. She gasped from shock, unable to believe what she just heard. "What the hell? How are you able to do this? You're just a puppet! How'd you get it so wrong!? You got it wrong, SHIT FOR BRAINS!" And at that moment, Crow, Sophie, and Violet all used their guns to shoot at her. Marie was prepared for these tactics, as she used a large wedding ring, tied by a chain, to deflect the bullets.
"Toshiro is not your puppet!" Sophie exclaimed.
"Damn, she wised up." Viper grunted.
"I was aiming for her head." Crow said bluntly.
"You're the one who's got it wrong!" Mona declared.
Marie understood now. This was just some awful joke! "Ahahahahaha! Spare me your pathetic attempts at humor. Nobody can change who they are that quickly, let alone that pathetic, spineless, stuffed shirt next to you! All you've done is drag him by his hair and talk him into spouting nonsense. Toshiro, did you ever stop to consider, the only thing you've done is let these brats take over your leash?!"
"..." Toshiro paused for a moment. When Marie said it like that...
"Don't let her get to you." Wolf stepped forward. "You made your own decision to come here. You made your own decision to fight. These are the words of a control freak realizing they've lost the only thing they had. It's bull."
"Wolf is right!" Dragon pointed her staff forward. "Every decision you have made has been your own. You could have fled if you wished, and even refused to fight. But you stand here with us! Even if your legs tremble at this very moment, to stand is your own willpower!"
"What she said." Ichinose nodded.
"Tsk. The the hell up, all of you." Marie sucked her teeth in annoyance. "Come now, Toshiro. Don't you remember? Without a spine of your own, who are you going to follow?"
"I-I'm..." Toshiro stammered. Even though he wanted to change, when faced with his abuser, his resolve did shake a little. It wasn't as easy as everyone made it sound, but he didn't want to run away from this...
"Don't listen to her." Joker said calmly. "She's just trying to get in your head."
"That's right!" Erina chimed in. "What she says doesn't matter!"
"Grrrrr...!" Marie's temper finally boiled over. She had enough. "Shut up, shut up, SHUT UUUUUP! YOU BABBLING VERMIN! Fine, Toshiro, have it your way. I'll just have to teach you a lesson, and it's going to be a painful one!" Marie walked forward as wedding bells chimed, and the spotlight shone on her."
"This is it, guys!" Joker told everyone. They were finally going to get their revenge on Marie, and end her reign on this Kingdom once and for all!
"Now, time for the wedding of my dreams!" Marie exclaimed jovially. Toshiro's resistance didn't matter, because there was only one outcome. "I'll make every last one of you submit to me!