Finally, it was time to fight against Marie. Every single Phantom Thief had been itching to get their hands on her since they stepped foot in this Kingdom, and Marie was eager to crush them under her heel a second time. "Here I come, you bottom feeding trash!" Marie giggled while tossing numerous bouquets into the air. They scattered across the room in numerous locations.
"What are those, flowers?" Oracle tilted her head. But then, her eyes widened underneath her goggles. "Wait, get away from those things! They're dangerous!" Everyone did as Oracle instructed, leaping out of their cover. They did so just in the nick of time, because the bouquets exploded violently, much to everyone's surprise.
"Whoa!" Wolf gasped in shock.
"What the hell!? What kinda flowers EXPLODE!?" Skull exclaimed as he landed on the ground.
"What, don't you know the tradition?" Marie said while placing her index finger on her chin. Despite her outbursts, she was somehow trying to appear cute and innocent as she spoke. "Those who catch the bouquet are said to be the next ones to be married! I thought you low lives would enjoy a chance at happiness, before giving you the eternal gift of serving me!"
"I'm so tired of hearing you speak!" Viper emerged from over. She couldn't wait any longer to sink her fangs into Marie. Her mask burned away, and Nuwa appeared, slithering across the room at high speeds. "Nuwa, constrict her!" Nuwa slithered to Marie's right while cupping her hands together, before releasing a potent bolt of lightning right towards Marie. Marie crossed her arms just before impact, and an explosion took place, but as the smoke cleared, Marie seemed relatively fine.
"Is that the best you can do!?" Marie snickered.
"Don't let her fool you, she took damage! She can go down just like everyone else we've fought!" Oracle reported.
"Just what I needed to hear!" Queen dashed towards Marie alongside Skull. The two jumped into the air together. Queen brought her fist down on Marie, while Skull used his pipe in tandem with her. Marie used her arm to block while holding the two of them back, a scowl present on her face.
"Your first mistake was assuming I'm just like the rest!" Marie forced Queen and Skull back, but they didn't have the chance to recover, as she swung her chain at them. It struck them and knocked them into the nearby chairs. "You could've avoided all of this by just handing Toshiro over, but you wanted to do this the hard way. Well, you're going to learn!"
"She's tough, but we can take her." Wolf said while pulling out his twin pistols, opening fire on Marie. His bullets did graze her body, but she swung her chain in his direction to stop him from firing. She could take a few bullets. "Damn...!"
"Bella!" Dragon struck from a distance, making use of a Sub-Persona, to strike with an element she normally couldn't: wind! By casting Garula, she was making an effort to keep Marie in place with this potent force of wind. "Mona!"
"I'm on it! Take this!" Mona darted forward, before riding the wind current. He transformed into the Mona Bus, allowing the wind to carry him forward. With momentum on his side, he crashed right into Marie, causing her to stagger backwards. With this opening, Noir, Erina, Panther, and Crow could all attack with their weapons at the same time. This combined effort was enough to almost make Marie fall over, but she didn't.
"Ooogh!" Marie grunted in pain, before tossing more bouquets into the air. They were landing in various locations, however before they could actually hit the ground, Marie whipped out a golden machine gun and began to fire at them. "Take this!"
"She's got a gun too!?" Violet gasped. There were multiple explosions shaking the top of the castle, blowing the Phantom Thieves in various directions due to the intensity of it all. "Gaaaah!"
"She's crazy!" Joker grit his teeth, keeping Violet's head down as best as he could.
"She intends to blow us to bits one way or another." Fox said while drawing his sword. "Those bombs are going to be an issue..."
"I think we can use them!" Dragon exclaimed. "We just have to get the upperha-!" Before she could finish, Marie's collar wrapped around her neck. "GAAAAH!?" And with a cry, Marie yanked her over to the other side of the room. "Ooof...!"
"You're mouthing off a lot." Marie said with a sinister smile, her eyes bloodshot. She was on the hunt. She lifted her heel and began to stomp on Dragon, but Bella was summoned at the last second to defend against it with Aegis. Even with this, Marie was planning to stomp Dragon into the ground, since she could only defend right now. Even though Dragon was defending, she was still taking damage.
"DRAGON!" Panther and Viper exclaimed at once.
"Get away from her!" Panther immediately called Celestine forth, releasing a gigantic fireball that struck Marie's back. But she was so hyper fixated on Dragon, she didn't even seem to notice. "Seriously?!"
"When Marie gets focused like this, hardly anything can break her focus..." Toshiro mumbled. He felt very bad for Dragon right now. He and Ichinose were standing in the very back of the room, close to the door. It was the only place they could watch the fight without being in the way.
"Unfortunately for her, she chose the worst person to single out." Ichinose spoke with a confident wink.
"Let's blow you away with this!" Marie was about to bring her bouquet down on Dragon for an explosion, but her arm was held back by something. "What?" She turned her head, only to see that it was Sophie using her yo-yos to tug her arm back. "Why you-!?"
"You shouldn't go forgetting about the rest of us!" Violet exclaimed as she and Fox stepped forward with incredible speed. Their blades slashed against Marie's body, causing her to take a step back. Dragon was able to skirt out from under the woman thanks to their aid. Joker then fell down in front of her with Raoul beside him. They fired off a strong blast of Eiagoen, which erupted in an explosion in front of her.
"Thank you." Dragon said with a small exhale. "I'm not sure how much more of that I was willing to endure..."
"We've got your back!" Sophie said with a proud smile.
"Careful!" Noir pointed. "She's still moving!"
"You bet I am!" Marie grinned before tossing more bouquets at the Phantom Thieves, preparing to light them up again.
"She's doing this again..." Crow braced himself.
"Wolf, strike it back!" Dragon finished her sentence from before.
Wolf wasn't going to question it. There was a bomb flying towards him, so he leapt into the air and swung at it with his great sword. This rebounded the bomb right back towards Marie, who didn't see this coming. It exploded in her face, and she let out a small cry in response to this. "Well I'll be damned, nice thinkin' Dragon!"
"That's our Dragon-chan for you!" Viper grinned.
The smoke around Marie cleared. It looked like she was taking some damage, but she looked at the Phantom Thieves with a grin. "Well, look who's doing better than expected. In that case...why don't I just turn you all into mince-meat!" She flicked her wrist forward, and from the open window, her beloved armored tank came flying out. She landed on it as the engine revved loudly. "Now, it's time for a bit of fun!"
"She brought the car into battle!?" Skull's jaw dropped.
"Be careful! I think she's going to try and...!" Before Erina could finish, Marie did exactly what everyone thought she would.
"Don't stray now! You won't feel a thing when you're nothing but a stain on the ground! Ahahahahaha!" And with her mocking laugh, the tank violently drove forward. Everyone panicked and leapt in various locations as Marie crashed into the nearby wall. This caused the castle to shake, and as it did, the entrance got sealed off by falling debris. Toshiro and Ichinose had to shift locations to avoid being crushed. "Welcome to the Bloodstained Aisle! Ahahahaha! C'mon, let me see you run for your lives!?"
"Is she crazy!?" Oracle yelped.
"This bitch is insane!" Viper shouted while trying to keep her head down.
"So this is her plan now!? I'd laugh if it weren't so ridiculous!" Crow scoffed. He did acknowledge the threat, but he didn't want to give Marie that satisfaction. "Noir!"
"I'm with you!" Noir nodded. She summoned Lucy, as Crow summoned Hereward. Lucy let loose a barrage of bullets while Hereward fired off a number of cursed arrows at Marie and her tank. All of these attacks collided, and Marie briefly shielded herself with her arm, but she couldn't help with that annoying laugh of hers again.
"Ahahaha! Here comes the bride!" She shifted her direction a bit, and started to drive once again! She was aiming for another group of Thieves, forcing them to scatter to avoid being run over. That wasn't even the worst part, because Marie had her machine gun out, and started to open fire on them as well. She was a madwoman behind the wheel!
"What the hell are we even supposed to do about this?!" Skull asked the others.
"We have to stop her from moving somehow!" Queen said. Saying that was easy, but they didn't actually have any way of doing that. Even worse, Marie was still driving forward with all her might.
"I'll try...!" Dragon stood before Marie with Bella in front of her. "Aegis!" Bella's shield served as a wall that Marie slammed into violently. Dragon's eyes widened as she felt that impact throughout her entire body. She held fast for a few seconds, before Bella's shield broke and she was thrown to the side, nearly run over in the process. Thankfully, Erina was fast to act and made sure to move her. "Aaaagh..."
"Are you alright!?" Erina questioned. "Did you really think that would work!?"
"I had to try..." Dragon said, mildly exhausted. This was the reminder that everyone's Personas weren't as strong as they normally would. Then again, she wondered if Aegis could take such a blow even at full strength.
"We're quickly running out of cover..." Sophie reported. Pandora and Ella were firing off beams of light at Marie, but she was so enraged at the moment, it didn't even look like the pain was processing.
"Wait!" Mona realized something. "There are still bombs around from her earlier attempt! I think we can use these!"
"Nice thinking, Mona!" Fox nodded. He quickly ran over to one, using his sword to slash it towards Noir. "Noir, she's close to you!"
"I got it!" Noir leapt into the air and spun around, her axe colliding against the bomb. It flew towards Marie, right as she was driving towards Joker, Panther, and Crow. The bomb reached her fist and exploded against her face, causing her and the tank to stop. "Direct hit!"
"Nice work!" Joker said as his mask burned off once again. With Marie right in front of them, there was no escape! "Phantom Judge!" Raoul spun around and slammed an axe kick on Marie's head, an explosion of curse magic blowing everyone back to safety. It was a direct hit. "I got her there!"
There was silence for a moment, but it was broken by that annoying laugh once again. "Ahahaha! Did you really think that would be the end of me!?" As Marie laughed, her injuries and whatever the take suffered were healed in an instant.
"No way, that's cheating!" Viper pointed at Marie. "Take your ass kicking like a woman!"
"Don't think she plans on doing that," Wolf remarked.
"Damn, she's stronger than I thought." Mona grumbled. "If only we could stop that tank!"
Marie realized that their struggle. But this was always the outcome she envisioned happening from the very beginning. "Ha! What stupid children. You honestly thought you stood a chance against me!? I'm going to mow down every last one of you, grind you into past, and plaster you across the halls of my reception!"
"At least then your interior design would have some flavor to it!" Viper hissed.
"Dammit! I'm so sick of hearing about this psycho's wedding!" Skull roared while summoning William. William fired off a powerful bolt of lighting directly at Marie. The lightning struck her directly, but it didn't look like it did any damage, much to his shock. "What the hell!?"
Marie looked over at the far wall, where Toshiro and Ichinose were. "Yoo-hoo, Toshiro! If you don't get your sorry ass over here, you're going to end up on the walls, too! Of course, if you prefer, I can always come to you!"
Toshiro froze at that threat. "...!"
"Don't let her get to you!" Ichinose said, smacking Toshiro on the back of the head to keep him focused.
"Ow...!" Toshiro grunted.
"Don't be scared! We're right here with you!" Noir fired off a rocket at Marie's tank, aiming to destroy it in a single shot. Unfortunately, while the rocket did collide against the tank, it did no damage. This had Noir shocked too. "No...!"
"Haha! Don't bother!" Marie laughed at their attempts to stop her. "Once the chapel's wedding bell tolls, our fates are intertwined forever!"
Toshiro felt like he was against the wall. "Damn it, I have to...!" And then, without a word. he grabbed Ichinose by the wrist and sprinted off to the furthest corner of the room.
"Wh-...!?" Ichinose was shocked at this.
"Wait...!" Erina gasped. Toshiro was running away with Ichinose...!?
To Marie, this wasn't a surprise. "Aw, too bad. What did I tell you? Toshiro's the same spineless dolt as ever." Marie shook her head. "He's simply too weak to do anything on his own! That's what makes ME the perfect partner! All right, Toshiro! I hope you're ready...'cause here comes the BRIDE!!"
"Now we've really got a problem...!" Queen gulped. They were in danger.
"Fall to me once again!" Marie held her hand up, causing that familiar pink orb of petals to appear within her grasp.
"She's about to mind control us again!" Panther shouted. Everyone had to brace for impact, because they knew at this stage, if they failed to dodge it, everything they fought for would go down the drain!
"Erina, on me!" Dragon said as the two of them sprang into action. Just before the orb could explode, Dragon jumped in front of it.
"What!?" Marie gasped, not expecting such a brazen move. Dragon took the full force of the orb, meaning that she immediately fell under Marie's control with no hope of breaking free on her own.
"Dragon!?" Panther covered her mouth with her hands.
"I don't know what that was about, but it works for me!" Dragon spoke Marie's words. However, the control did not last long. Because Erina dropped down with her Flag of Rebellion. She stabbed it right on top of Marie's tank, causing a powerful glow to wash out over Dragon.
"Not on my watch!" Erina shouted with defiant determination. This was their place! Erina's flag had the power to dispel Marie's own in the right places. No better place than Marie's own tank! Dragon fell over as her mask returned to normal, and Panther was quick to catch her.
"You rotten little!" Marie hissed, before back handing Erina right off of her tank. Erina flew backwards a fair distance, her back hitting the rubble.
"Oogh..." Erina groaned, dizzy from the impact.
"I'LL START WITH YOU!" Marie turned her attention towards Erina, preparing to mow her down with everything she had. Luckily for Erina, Joker used his grappling hook to swing by and save her before she got flattened. This was fine with Marie, because she could just keep doing this! Wolf attempted to stop her with Valjean, but even his mighty Persona's mighty strikes couldn't faze the enraged bride as she was now.
"Damn, we're up the creek here..." Wolf admitted. They were running out of options and Marie was going on a nonstop rampage! At this rate...!
Toshiro dragged Ichinose over to the corner of the room, far out of sight. He was panting heavily, a cold sweat running down his face. "Ah..."
"Why did you drag me over here?" Ichinose asked.
"At this rate, they won't be able to do much to Marie." Toshiro said while glancing back at the fight. The Phantom Thieves were doing their damndest, but Marie was able to shrug off their attacks with ease.
"I know...I would've shot a rocket at her to help, but considering Noir's didn't do anything." Ichinose stroked her chin. "There has to be a way to stop that tank. They can't keep this up forever."
"I have an idea." Toshiro said while frantically looking around. His eyes then glanced upward, and that's when he saw it: the large wedding bell on the celling. "There!"
Ichinose tilted her head up to see what Toshiro was pointing at. One look at the bell told her everything she needed to know. "Ah ha! Of course. Something of that size would absolutely stop her in her tracks. But how exactly do you plan to use it?"
"I'm going to drop it on her." Toshiro said bluntly. "The shape and weight of the bell should easily flatten her."
"Wow, not bad thinking." Ichinose nodded. "...But are you sure you're up to it? Your legs are still shaking."
Toshiro wasn't going to deny that. For a second, he glanced away, as Marie's laugh echoed off behind them. "...I'm scared, I admit. But everyone's fighting hard right now, and they really need help. I...even if I'm a puppet, a puppet still has a backbone, damn it! And I don't want to be on her strings anymore! That's why, Ichinose-san, I need your help to get up there!"
Ichinose stared at Toshiro for a moment. Strangely enough, she felt a little envious of him. But she then gave nod. "Okay, hurry up. I'll get Oracle's attention, and she'll know what to do next." Ichinose knelt down, cupping her hands together.
"Thank you." Toshiro nodded and used Ichinose's help to lift him up. This way, he could begin crawling his way up the wall and the ceiling to reach the bell.
As the fighting was going on, Ichinose had to sneak closer to Oracle. With all of Marie's crazy driving, the rubble served as good cover. Oracle was busy keeping an eye on everything to make sure the others didn't get run over. But she could see that Toshiro and Ichinose's readings were moving strangely. She assumed that it was this way so they weren't caught in the crossfire, but Ichinose's was getting closer. "..? What is she doing...!?" Oracle grumbled before turning around, spotting Ichinose a few yards away. Before she could even ask a question, Ichinose held her finger to her lips in a shushing motion, and then used her other hand to point up. "...Huh?" Oracle looked up, and then gasped...!
Marie crashed into a wall with her tank, only for the vehicle to spin around once more. "Here I come! The flies are getting squashed!"
The Phantom Thieves, being stuck on the defensive, were slowly starting to feel winded. They didn't have a choice but to keep dodging, however. Because it only took one unlucky strike from Marie to do some irreversible damage. "Not good..." Fox grunted. "We need to do something about that tank..."
"Guys...!" Oracle whispered to them. "Look up without actually looking up...!"
"Huh? At wh..." Mona slowly tilted his gaze up just a little bit... "Whoa!?"
That's when everyone noticed it: Toshiro scaling the ceiling and getting closer to the bell. Realizing they noticed him, Toshiro gestured to the bell. It was clear what he was aiming for.
"He wants to drop it...!" Dragon whispered, still recoiling from Marie's mind control.
"Of course! With the right timing, we can take Marie out and her tank at once." Sophie nodded. It all made sense.
"We can take her down with this...!" Joker said.
"Yes, this is our chance to turn the tide. We have to lure Marie under that bell!" Queen said.
"Yeah, but how the hell are we gonna do that!?" Skull questioned. "She's never gonna sit still in that thing!"
"And even if we could stop her, we have no way of keeping her in one place long enough for the bell to drop." While Crow did realize this was their only option, it was going to take a lot of coordination.
"You can leave one of those things to me." Viper said with a growing smirk.
"What are you children whispering about over there!?" Marie shouted at them. "You know surrendering's useless now, right? I'm not going to stop until each and every single one of you is flattened on the ground underneath me, like the worms you are!"
Erina faced Marie with a confident smirk. "No talk of surrender over here. We just finished up our plan of how to take you down."
Marie tilted her head to the side a bit. "Oooooh, you smart-mouthed pig. With that kind of lip on you...I'm gonna slaughter you first!"
"Oooh, your true colors are showing, Marie!" Erina challenged her. "Go ahead - I'd like to see you try!"
"Uh-oh!" Viper exclaimed from the other side of the room, adding onto Erina's taunting. "Watch out, Erina. The BRIDZILLAis coming to get you!"
Marie's eyes widened at that term. She turned to Viper, nothing but raw violence in her eyes. "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!?" Without even waiting for an answer, Marie began to drive forward to run Viper over. Viper taunted her with a laugh before leaping off to the side as Marie's rampage nearly left a dent in the wall. "GET BACK HERE!"
"Wow, she really knows how to provoke someone." Violet blinked.
"I think she's been sitting on that one for a while." Panther said, only to help Dragon onto her feet.
"Okay, so she's focused on one person, but what now!?" Skull asked. "She can't keep that up!"
"She won't need to..." Dragon was doing her best to shake off her fatigue. "I'm going to stop Marie in her tracks with my True Aegis!"
"Are you sure you can handle that?" Wolf looked to Dragon with concern. "You look like you're on the verge of passing out."
"I'll be fine. I need to do this!" Dragon declared. "Marie won't throw anymore bombs, she knows we can smack them back! So it's time to put an age old question to the test: what will fall first! The unstoppable force, of the immovable object!?"
"STOP MOVING!" Marie was still focused on Viper, who was starting to huff and puff from all this moving around.
"Just a few more paces behind you!" Oracle told Viper. She had been instructing her on how to move into position. When Viper came to a stop... "That's where the bell will drop! So now you have to move!"
"I'VE GOT YOU NOW!" Marie went full throttle towards Viper to run her down. Viper smirked and leapt back, leaving Marie in the perfect position to be halted by Bella's shield once again. They clashed once more, and Marie almost recoiled from the impact. "You again!? We did this already, and you aren't going to win!"
"This shield is much stronger than the one you previous broke!" Dragon smirked slightly. "Because what you have failed to realize, is that you're already in checkmate!"
"What!?" Marie narrowed her eyes.
Dragon held her position, and Marie's tank was slowing to a halt against her defenses. But she could feel her stamina quickly dropping as well. One of them was going to break first. "I may not be able to hold you off forever, but I also don't need to! Now!"
"Take this!" Violet and Sophie jumped in front of Marie with Ella and Pandora out The two Personas released a blinding flash of light that forced Marie to cover her eyes.
"Aaaaagh!?" Marie groaned as she was temporarily blinded. While her eyes were useless, Fox and Crow circled around Marie's tank. Gorokichi and Hereward, with the power of the Jack Frost Sub-Persona, used ice to keep the tank's wheels in place and prevent them from moving.
Erina glanced up, noticing that Toshiro was on top of the bell. "He's finally in position. Now, let her have it!"
Marie's sight was slowly returning to her. When she finally looked up, she saw Toshiro. "W-What the? Toshiro? What the hell are you doing up there!? Get down here, right this instant! Now! JUMP!"
"Marie-san - no, Marie!" Toshiro looked down at Marie, who glared straight into him. "You may have been right. I was just your pathetic puppet. But...even puppets have backbone!" And then, Toshiro let the bell drop.
"...!" Marie realized what their plan was at that moment. So, she attempted to drive, but then noticed her wheels weren't working. "W-What!?" And left with no time, the bell crashed down on top of her, flattening her tank and crushing her into it in the process. "AAAAAAAAAAGH!"
"Nice work, Toshiro! Now that's what I call a strike!" Skull exclaimed.
"We've got her right where we want her!" Wolf grinned.
"Toshiro...Toshiro...TOSHIROOOOOOOO! How dare you do this to me, you good-for-nothing SHIT STAIN!" She cried out, and she was going to attempt to move, but as she did...Joker and the rest of the Phantom Thieves stood in front of her.
"NOW!" Joker shouted. On that moment, the Thieves jumped Marie at once for an All-Out Attack! This was their revenge for the way she treated them when they first arrived in her Kingdom. And now, the Revolution was going to finish her once and for all. All of the Phantom Thieves attacked Marie with a flurry of blows that she couldn't defend herself from. The final strike came from Joker, as he spun around and slammed his leg right into Marie's haughty face, causing her head to snap backwards as she flew back several feet. Joker landed on the ground and adjusted his glove after. "The show's over."
Everyone landed after that All Out Attack, panting heavily due to the amount of effort they needed to put into that. "Nice work, everyone!" Ichinose clasped her hands together. "A wonderful show! You had me worried for a second there."
"That felt SOOOO damn good!" Skull couldn't even remember the last time he felt that good about something!
"No kidding! I feel so relieved now!" Panther beamed. Giving Marie her dues felt incredible.
Marie was on her back, one eye clenched shut, as she stared at the Phantom Thieves. There was so much rage within her for losing. "How...have I been...brought to my knees!? That's not...how this works!"
And to rub salt in the wound, Viper stood above Marie with a victorious smirk. Oh, how she longed for this moment since ever laying eyes on Marie. "That's called karma, bitch. You reap what you sow. Congratulations!"
"Why!? why am I the one getting attacked here!?" Marie cried in frustration. "The only thing I wanted was to be the wife of the Prime Minister! How can Iof all people get treated this way? All I've done is taken what I'm rightfully owed! Its not fair! WHHHHHHY!?"
"Oh my god, shut up!" Viper couldn't stand to hear Marie's cries. "Don't act like you're a victim in all of this, suddenly! You're just a selfish, spoiled brat who can't handle not getting what they want!"
"If you didn't plan to marry for selfish reasons, maybe I'd feel sorry for you." Zenkichi crossed his arms. Even though he knew he wasn't actually talking to the real Marie here, there was no doubt in his mind this was only a reflection of her true feelings, regardless if she were a Shadow or merely a cognitive being.
"..." Erina gasped softly in response to Marie's surprising outburst.
"Marie, please. Give it up." Toshiro said with a sad expression. "Keep pushing yourself and you'll only get hurt." And despite the hell Marie put him through in reality, he did not truly want anything bad to happen to her. At least, that's how he felt right now.
Marie lifted her gaze to Toshiro, a look of disgust on her face. "Toshiro? Are you seriously going to stand there, posturing like you're on theirside!?"
"Their side...?" Toshiro questioned, the meaning of her words lost on him.
"You heard me! Did you really think you can just bury your own past and start playing the hero!?" Marie scowled.
Toshiro was starting to feel nervous all over again. Did this version of Marie know something about him that he didn't!? "W-What are you talking about...?"
"Oooooooh, that's some awfully convenient amnesia you gave yourself, isn't it?" Marie said tauntingly.
"Can I shoot her and be done with this? I've heard enough of her voice to last me a lifetime." Crow was losing his patience with Marie's sore loser act.
"You should know we're beyond falling for your tricks, Marie." Erina shook her head. "You've lost."
"Hahaha..." Marie gave one final dry laugh. "Talk as tough as you like, regardless of whether or not I'm lying...you'll find out...all too soon..." Marie's form started to fizzle out. But before she vanished, she wanted to make a point. She lifted her hand and pointed past everyone, directly at Toshiro. "Because I know the truth...I know all your crimes! Try as you might to whitewash your memory, you'll never hide it all! There's no escaping what you've done...I hope for your sake, your friends never find out. Hehehehe...hahahaha...AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...!" Marie's laugh echoed one final time, as her body vanished for good...
Toshiro stood in shock from what just happened. Marie's parting words, and the way her body vanished. "...S-She vanished...?"
"I'm not picking up any small fries either. Looks like they went along with her." Oracle reported.
"I guess this means she was a cognitive being after all." Crow crossed his arms.
"But we never finished them off." Fox noted. "So this Kingdom truly does operate differently than the rest of the Metaverse. Even The Streets were a little different, but I wonder if the same rules apply..."
"I guess we don't have to worry about the real world Marie." Queen was hopeful about that, anyway.
"Before any of that, we need to actually celebrate out victory!" Erina exclaimed. "We actually overthrew Marie!"
"Great point!" Violet clasped her hands together.
"Someone has to give them the good news." Wolf gave Erina a little nudge. "So, what are you waiting for? They're waiting for you out there."
"Right!" Erina nodded and rushed outside to the balcony.
Meanwhile, Dragon was silent. "Why...why did I not detect any lies from Marie's parting words...?"
.
Erina was outside on the balcony, looking down at the members of the Rebel Corps. Her flag wavered for everyone to see. "Everyone, listen up! We've deposed the tyrant, Marie! At long last, the revolution has come!" The rebels gasped loudly in response to this declaration of victory. "What I now hold is our banner of victory! Your dark times are now over! Rejoice in the light of freedom!"
"D-Did she just say we won...?"
"S-So our days of suffering are over?"
"We did it! We really did it! Hurrah for the Rebel Corps!"
At first, it was hard to believe. The Rebels had been fighting Marie for as long as they could remember. That conflict was all they ever knew. And now, at long last, the fighting was over. They won. The Rebels erupted into a gigantic cheer. Erina felt a tear in her eye, but she quickly wiped it away. It felt surreal...
"Well, I'm glad we could hold up our end of the deal." Morgana said with a grin. Now that the fighting was over, there was hardly a need for codenames. The enemy was defeated, and their job in this Kingdom was finished.
"Yes, we couldn't have asked for more. We'd have been wiped out if not for you all." Erina knew this for a fact. "I'm not sure I could ever express my gratitude."
"Praise accepted!" Sophia giggled.
"Don't mention it." Ren said with a slight smile. "We were just doing what we do best."
"Hopefully they won't mind me speaking for them, but on behalf of the entire Rebel Corps..." Before Erina could finish, members of the Rebel Corp came flooding into the room.
"Oh, thank goodness, we made it in time!" The veteran red rebel breathed a sigh of relief.
"We came to show our gratitude for liberating us!" A brave yellow rebel said. "Thank you very much!" And then, even more rebels started to flood the room.
"W-Wait a second...! There's too many...!" Sumire waved her hands frantically.
"The room's not going to fit all of you!" Morgana yelped.
"Hahaha!" Yusuke found this amusing. "I must say, this is quite a lively a-AAAGH!?" He was swept away in the sea of thankful rebels.
"S-So many of them, and they're still piling in!?" Haru gasped.
"H-Huh!? Where'd Fox go!?" Ann was frantically looking around for Yusuke.
"He's lost in the sea of rebels..." Hifumi let out a heavy sigh, but there was a tired smile on her face.
"T-Too many!" Akechi was exceedingly uncomfortable with all of this. He could accept a thank you, yes. But from dozens and dozens of people all at once? This was too much for him!
"Hahaha, c'mon. It's not that bad!" Zenkichi was trying to play it cool.
"You say that, but I can see the smile creeping onto your lips." Ichinose pointed out. "Hey, Toshiro! Aren't you happy?"
"Huh?" Toshiro was quiet the whole time. Admittedly, his mind was somewhere else, but Ichinose continued to drag him back into the moment whenever that happened. "Yeah, I am...!"
"You did good." Zenkichi looked at Toshiro with a firm smile. "You really came through for us. This victory is thanks to you, too. Forget about Marie for now, and just remember that this moment is for you, too."
"..." Toshiro could hardly find it in himself to not enjoy the moment after that. Zenkichi and Ichinose kept him on his toes. Was this also because of the Phantom Thieves' influence on them? "Alright, alright..."
"Yes, yes. Thank me. Adore me." Mika was eating up all of this attention. "I was a key part in taking Marie down, and it was deserved!"
"I think she's getting a little carried away..." Makoto said with a sheepish smile.
"We might be in the Metaverse, but this is the first time we've been celebrated by a crowd." Ryuji said. "When we first became the Phantom Thieves, this was exactly what I wanted. I'm more than okay with being a hero in the shadows, but in this moment...it feels real nice, y'know?"
"Mission complete!" Ren declared, enjoying the vibes.
"That's such a fun way to say it! Mission complete!" Haru giggled.
"That doesn't change the fact that there are too many of 'em!" Futaba, on the other hand, was freaking out. She had slowly been working over her social anxiety. She could go to school now! She could NOT deal with a room full of Rebels crowding around them. "We're going to be compressed worse than a ZIP file!"
Erina could only wear a bashful smile at the Rebel's actions. "Please don't hold it against them. They're just swept up in the moment! From the bottom of my heart: Thank you so much for saving our home, Phantom Thieves!"
.
Eventually, the commotion died down. Futaba was sitting on the floor, her social battery utterly depleted. "Ugh...is it over? Are we finally alone now?"
"Mm, I think so." Erina nodded. "Boy, that was a way bigger commotion than I expected."
Toshiro was crawling on the ground, his expression pale. "I told them I'm not a phantom thief...but they kept...tossing me...ooooogh, so sick..."
"I hate to say it, but that was a lot of attention, even for me." Mika fanned herself. "I could use one hell of a nap after this."
"Now that we've gotten all of that out of the way, I think it's time we finally head home." Morgana said.
"Indeed. Farewells are never easy, but we shouldn't pass up the opportunity to escape." Yusuke said.
"Yes, I'm quite tired." Hifumi was also sitting on the floor, taking the chance to catch her breath. "I don't know how long we've been here, but a few of us haven't had a chance to relax in ages..."
"No kidding." Sumire said with a small sigh. First The Streets, and then Marie's Kingdom? No rest at all...
"If this was Marie's Kingdom, I wonder if this affects her in the real world." Ann tapped her chin. "Based on what you guys told us about The Streets, it was linked to Guernica's heart, right? I wonder if the same can be said here."
"I refuse to believe Marie has a heart." Mika snickered.
"The door is over here." Makoto gestured to the door in question. "The more I look at it, the more it strikes me. It looks like the door we saw in Leblanc."
"Hopefully this means we can all go home through it, then." Zenkichi said. "I don't want to keep Akane waiting much longer. I also have to get Kasukabe here home."
"...Yeah, home." Toshiro was wondering what would happen when he got home. Would Marie remember what happened? How would he even react to her now? "Is it really wise for me to go back...?"
"Toshiro?" Erina looked to him worriedly.
"Are Marie's final words bothering you?" Ren asked. "I don't think you need to worry about that."
"Her rant about your crimes was probably her trying to twist the knife one last time. Women like that always have to have the last word." Ann also glanced at Mika as she said that. Mika did not deny this.
"If I'm truly a criminal..." Toshiro trailed off.
"Your record is pretty clean." Zenkichi crossed his arms. "There was nothing that ever hinted you were involved in anything illegal when I was searching for you. This is on PubSec's information, too. So you have nothing to worry about."
"I...I see..." For some reason, Toshiro wasn't entirely convinced.
Morgana could understand where Toshiro was coming from. He knew that hesitation. "Believe it or not, I know exactly where you're coming from. I had amnesia once myself. I didn't know who I was, or why I existed. I couldn't remember anything...I definitely know how much it can weigh down on you."
"...Huh..." Toshiro was pretty surprised.
"But, thanks to Ren and Phantom Thieves, I was able to grow and move past that." Morgana went on with a smile. "And you can do the same thing too, now that you've got us."
"Yeah, you've got nothing to worry about us." Ren added.
"Okay, well, I'M ready to go home." Mika yawned.
"Heeey!" Ann grunted in response to Mika's rudeness.
"It's fine!" Ryuji placed his hands behind his head. "If Toshiro turns out rotten back home, we'll knock some sense into him! No matter how many slugs it takes!"
Makoto giggled in response to this. "And I wouldn't mind giving you a hand."
"I could give him a knock on the head as well!" Ichinose joined in.
"Didn't I already say not to make me arrest you?" Zenkichi gave Ryuji an annoyed stare. He couldn't believe he dragged Makoto and Ichinose into this as well!
"Well, I certainly hope it doesn't come to that. I've seen just what your hands can do..." Toshiro gave a nervous laugh. The one thing he would prefer to avoid, was a Makoto fist of justice. "Thanks, everyone. I suppose I can hold my whining until we're home."
"I'll tag along for now - just to make sure you get home safely." Erina smiled.
"...Why?" Akechi looked at Erina. "I don't think you're..."
"Alright! You do the honors, Ren!" Morgana cut Akechi off before he could finish.
"It's time to head home!" Sophia bounced on her feet.
"Back to the real world!" Haru couldn't wait to be home.
"Okay." Ren nodded and placed his hand on the door's handle. He opened it slowly, where a bright white light waited for them on the other side. The Phantom Thieves all stepped through the door, expecting to go home. But what waited beyond that door, was something they never could have expected...