AN: This is just a heads up, but I'm going to be a bit busy this month. My writing might be a bit slower as a result.

AO3 – Thank you Super_Big_Mac. There's always next time, though I make no promises.


Cruiser of Pride – Part 1

July 29 – Friday

Urano Motosu's PoV

In Shido's Palace, the Diet Building was a luxury cruiser that drifted through a flooded Japan. After seeing this Palace, I suspected that Shido and Akechi were the mysterious 'ruin' that Igor would sometimes talk about.

(On a side note, the flooding explained why Mona, Oracle, and I almost drowned upon entering the Metaverse yesterday.)

"Even though this country may sink, he alone will survive… That's what this cognition is about, huh?" observed Noir.

"This is bullshit!" shouted Skull. "A country that children can be proud of, my ass! It's completely sunken in his head! If a guy like this stands above everyone, we're seriously done for!"

"This is beyond ridiculous!" yelled Panther.

"The same goes for Akechi," added Fox. "He should've seen this scenery as well… yet he still aided Shido."

"What in the world is he thinking…?" asked Queen.

"Whether it be for glory or for simply a reward… my father died because of someone like this…!" stated Noir sadly.

"We gotta sink Shido instead of this country!" declared Oracle.

"A Palace with not just the center of the distortion, but the entire country sunken…" went Mona. "I can't believe there's someone with this tremendous of a desire… Be careful! This will be completely different from past Palaces!"

"We're definitely gonna take his Treasure!" agreed Skull.

"Let's go!" I declared.

This was it. Shido was the one pulling the strings behind the mental shutdown and psychotic breakdown incidents… the one responsible for the deaths of Shuu, Wakaba, and Okumura. Once we changed his heart, his confession would make everything crumble down.

"But first, we need to find somewhere for Harlequin to change into a maid outfit," said Oracle, ruining the serious mood that had been there a moment ago.

She and Mona had considered it a fitting punishment for how I accidentally almost drowned them yesterday. For some reason, everyone else was on their side, and I couldn't think of a good excuse for not wearing the maid outfit when I'd already used it as a punishment for Oracle and Mona.

"…I was kind of hoping you'd forget about that," I admitted, my cheeks reddening.

Maybe I'd get lucky and there wouldn't be anywhere to change into the maid outfit.

(I wasn't.)

"Mona/Oracle/Skull/Queen/Panther/Fox/Noir Mode Change to… Ship Mode!"

Although, I ended up not being the only one to change my clothes. Befitting the fact that we were plundering a ship, their outfits were all pirate-themed.


AN: I got these ones from F/GO & the Type-Moon wiki (essential all Fate-related works). Mona = Christopher Columbus (Child) (based on TvTropes noting he might be "a conceptualization of the dreams of young boys"); Oracle = Mary Read (1st/2nd Ascension); Skull = Edward Teach (3rd Ascension, minus weapon); Queen = Dahut (Agartha Francis Drake); Panther = Anne Bonny (2nd Ascension); Fox = Bartholomew Roberts (2nd Ascension); Noir = Lagertha (not many Fate-related pirates, the generic Female Pirate design felt weak, & Lagertha had an axe).


The ship's 'passengers' were weird. They all wore masks, and none of them were phased when we fought Shadows in front of them. Heck, nobody batted an eye when one of the male passengers mistook me for an actual maid, tried to get handsy, and was pumped full of lead.

After climbing a few flights of stairs, Mona began to sense the Treasure's presence. It was behind a huge set of doors, in what Queen theorized to be the Palace's version of the main assembly hall.

However, in order to enter the room, we needed some sort of item to trick the door into thinking we were some of Shido's sycophants. Unfortunately, none of us knew what that item (or items) was.

Noir had to idea for us to question the passengers, given how nonchalant and talkative they all were. We decided to split up, gather intel, and meet back up to share what we learned.

I took advantage of my maid getup to eavesdrop on conversations. The passengers didn't even acknowledge my presence, blabbing away about five VIPs and their 'letters of introduction.' I wasn't able to learn anything specific about the VIPs – hopefully the others had better luck – though I did find some pamphlets that contained a partial map of the ship.

Fortunately, the others did have better luck. When we reunited, they revealed that they'd learned the identities and locations of four VIPs. Admittedly, nobody had discovered anything about the fifth VIP beyond the fact that he was a 'cleaner' (a title that brought the yakuza to mind), but we'd probably be able to learn more about him as we hunted down the other four.

Also, as a plus, Mona and Oracle decided that I'd been punished long enough and let me change out of the maid outfit.

"Harlequin Mode Change to… Ship Mode!"


AN: Harlequin = Francis Drake (2nd Ascension), because someone with "Pioneer of the Stars" felt fitting.


Ryuji Sakamoto's PoV

Their first target was the politician guy. According to what the others found out, he visited the ship's restaurant often. When the Phantom Thieves reached the place, however, they were met with an unpleasant surprise.

"What?" went Skull, incredulous. "You gotta be a member just to eat dinner? That's such bull."

'Ristorante Elite' was one of those snobbish 'high-class' dining places. When they tried to enter without a membership card, the waiter stopped them. Luckily, Harlequin was able to use one of her mystery room powers to track down a membership card that one of the passenger Cognitions had lost.

(It was a good thing that dick Shido thought everyone around him was incompetent.)

"Man, things're pretty damn luxurious in here," said Skull when they entered the restaurant. "Even the food looks super good!"

Skull really wanted to eat a meal here. He even volunteered to join Queen in staking out the politician's table just so that he had a chance to order something. Unfortunately, when he looked at the menu, the former athlete discovered something important.

"Uhh… I can't read this…"

All the items on the menu had fancy names that he didn't recognize. Nonetheless, Queen was able to order something, so Skull resolved himself… to wait until the waiter brought her meal over and beg her for some of it if it looked tasty.

"On whose permission are you sitting there, brats?" demanded some rude guy. "It'd be a nuisance if you'd make a racket next to my table. I wish to dine leisurely. Children like you who're simply hungry should leave."

While waiting for Queen's meal to arrive, Skull had noticed that all of the Cognitions in the restaurant were adults. He and Queen were the only teenagers in sight, and it seemed that one of the other customers had taken offense to that.

"What was that…?" demanded Skull, standing up. This guy was totally asking for it!

Before the former athlete could start a fight, Queen intervened.

"Skull!" she whispered. "Be quiet."

"S-sorry," apologized Skull, sitting back down. Queen was right; causing a scene wouldn't help them get some food or the letter of recommendation.

The team strategist took over the conversation from there. Apparently, the blowhard that insulted them was the politician they were waiting for, Ooe. Queen asked him for a letter of recommendation, then started buttering up the man so that he'd cough it up.

Ooe ate it all up and even began to brag about a mental shutdown that Shido had performed for him.

(Although, the fact that Ooe didn't mention Akechi made Skull wonder if the guy was as important to Shido as he thought he was.)

"Do you recall the subway incident early last spring?" asked Ooe. "The one I had targeted was that engineer."

Wait a second… Wasn't that the incident that killed Harlequin's friend!?

"That was you!?" exclaimed Skull, unable to contain his shock. Judging by the look of horror on her face, Queen had realized it too. And a quick glance at Harlequin and the others, the former of whom looked like a computer that needed rebooting, confirmed that they'd heard everything.

"It was to take out the president of some company and a diplomat who sided with the current government," explained the politician smugly.

Skull decked Ooe.

"You bastard!" yelled the former athlete, furious on his friend's behalf. "Forget diplomacy! I'll kick your ass and take that letter of recommendation by force!"

"Gah! How dare you, you brat!" cried Ooe, stumbling backward as he clutched his face. In a burst of black and red, he transformed into a mythological monster that even Skull could recognize; Yamata no Orochi. "I'll–"

"Psycho Force!" roared Harlequin furiously. Her Persona, Chi You, blasted the VIP with the severe Psy attack, knocking him down.

Huh, Psy must be his weakness. Now they could do an All-Out…

"Psycho Force! Psycho Force! Psycho Force!"

…or not. Skull had no problem letting Harlequin crush Ooe by herself.


The fight – if it could be called that – went quickly. It wasn't long before the Phantom Thieves claimed their first letter of recommendation. Their leader wore a peaceful smile, in stark contrast with the rage she'd shown only a minute ago.

"P-please…" stuttered out Ooe, on his knees and quivering. Not a trace of his former arrogance remained. "Keep the truth of that subway accident a secret…"

"Not a chance," refused Queen, crushing what little remained of the Shadow's spirit. "In fact, I'll make sure to relay everything you said to my sister. She's a prosecutor at the Public Prosecutor's Office, and she'll make sure you go away for a long, long time."

Skull smirked. They'd gotten the letter of recommendation, avenged Harlequin's dead friend, and guaranteed that the shitty politician would face justice in reality! He loved being a Phantom Thief!

(Before they left the restaurant, Skull swiped a steak from Ooe's table. It wasn't like the politician would be eating it…)


Futaba Sakura's PoV

After dealing with that politician, everyone decided to call it a day. Since they couldn't go home without being spotted by Shido's forces, the Phantom Thieves holed up in a Safe Room until the evening. Then, they returned to reality for about an hour.

While the Phantom Thieves had stocked up on food (mostly premade convenience store meals), toiletries, and sleeping bags before entering Shido's Palace, there were still some things that could only be done in the real world. Namely, messaging their family members, letting Sae and Urano's journalist friend know about Shido's allies – Ooe in particular – and cleaning themselves off in a local bathhouse.

(Futaba may or may not have taken the opportunity to admire Makoto, Ann, and Haru's bodies. Hehehe…)

Once their messages had been sent and their bodies cleaned, they reentered the Palace and went back to the Safe Room. The Phantom Thieves spent the rest of the night relaxing, which included playing a few rounds of cards.

When it came time to sleep, an imaginary line was drawn down the middle of the room; girls on one side, boys on the other. If the line was cross, then there would be… consequences.

"Of course we won't cross it!" complained Skull when the warning was given. "You guys are way too scary when you get angry!"

Predictably, the other girls glared at the former athlete for calling them scary, though Oracle felt like they were only proving Skull's point. Not that she'd ever do something as stupid as admit that in from of the other girls. She wasn't Skull.

Nonetheless, as Oracle curled up in a sleeping bag on the Safe Room's floor and waited for sleep to take her, her amusement faded to reveal the sadness she'd been trying to avoid thinking about. Oracle wanted to eat curry, not a premade convenience store meal. She wanted to stream games and videos online, not lounge around and play cards. She wanted to sleep in her own bed in her own room, not a sleeping bag on the floor of a Palace.

Futaba wanted to be home with Sojiro, not crashing at Takemi's or hiding out in the Metaverse. She missed her father.

Hopefully, it wouldn't take too long the get the remaining letters of recommendation.


July 30 – Saturday

Sojiro Sakura's PoV

Sojiro missed his kids. He missed the rustling of pages as Urano read a book and having her work alongside him at Leblanc. He missed the clacking of computer keys as Futaba used her computer and how she'd always ask for curry. He missed the cute meows that Morgana would occasionally let out, as well as their actual conversations (as surreal as those were).

Thanks to those three, Sojiro had forgotten how lonely it could be to live by yourself. He hadn't felt this way since his bachelor days, and he couldn't say that he missed the feeling.

Sure, his kids sent him a message – 'We're about one-fifth of the way to the Treasure. Miss you and your curry' – but that was just proof of life. It could never stop him from worrying about them. Nothing could stop him from worrying whenever they were out of sight.

(Or when they were in sight, given the trouble they could all cause.)

Also, the briefness of the message didn't help. He had to ask Sae for more information when she visited Leblanc. And learning secondhand that his kids had fought the Metaverse version of the jackass who was responsible for the death of Urano's best friend… well… it didn't exactly reduce the concern and helplessness he felt.

Questions whirled around in Sojiro's head. Was his oldest child relieved? Upset? Just as angry as before? Did she, Futaba, or Morgana get injured in the fight? Were the injuries the type that they could magically heal? Or were they more seriously harmed?

However, one question stood out among all of the others. 'What can I do to help them?' He couldn't fight alongside them in the Metaverse, and cheering on the Phantom Thieves from the sidelines didn't feel like enough.

"Maybe I could ask some of my old coworkers about Shido? …No, I haven't spoken to them in years. Even if they aren't on his side, I doubt they'll tell me anything."

Sojiro hated being unable to help his children. He hated being powerless! Wasn't there anything he could do!?


Makoto Niijima's PoV

The Phantom Thieves traveled through the Palace, their destination the pool deck.

"Oh," went Oracle, a few steps behind Queen and the others as they entered a room. "Hold on a sec, you guys."

Everyone stopped. But before they could ask the navigator what she wanted to tell them…

"Wait, what the shit!?" squeaked Skull. "W-we're… mice!?"

Queen felt the same. What was going on!? What in Shido's cognition could've possibly cause a transformation like… Wait, maybe he saw certain people as 'vermin'? But then why did they look so cartoonish and cute!?

"Oh, come on!" complained Mona, more frustrated than distressed. "I'm stuck as a cat in the real world, and now a mouse in the Metaverse! Can't I just be allowed to be human!?"

"This is prepawsterous!" exclaimed Fox, surprisingly lighthearted about his sudden transformation. "…Or something like that."

"Ugh, go to hell, Inari," grumbled Oracle. She then addressed everyone. "Can you just come back here?"

When they exited the room and went back into the hallway they'd come from, the Phantom Mice turned back into the Phantom Thieves. It seemed that the effect was range-restricted.

Still, as mice they were unable to fight or open doors. All they could do was hide, which meant they'd need to use a completely defensive strategy until they could find a way to disable the effect or get through this labyrinth of hallways and vents.

"Wait a second… we've literally become mice running through a maze!" cried Harlequin partway through their journey. "What is this, some sort of laboratory experiment where they have cheese at the end!? Although, I'd prefer a book to some cheese… ehehe…"

Queen sincerely doubted that this Palace would have either of those things. Not that the unlikeliness of it stopped the bookworm from getting her hopes up.


Morgana's PoV

When the Phantom Thieves reached the pool deck, Mona was initially just glad that they were out of range of the Shido statutes that turned them into mice. He hoped that there were no more of those mousetraps in the remainder of the Palace.

"How do I look?" asked Noir eagerly.

"You're even cuter than usual in the swimsuit," replied Harlequin, causing the heiress's smile to grow even broader.

They approached the VIP that resided there, but the former noble brushed them off. Then, after talking to other guests by the poolside, Skull got a brilliant idea – and for once that wasn't sarcasm – on how to obtain his letter of recommendation. The girls would dress in swimsuits (the ship had a stock of them) to charm the VIP into giving them the letter.

In other words, Panther would be wearing a swimsuit!

"W-what about me?" asked Queen, fidgeting nervously.

"Like a mature beauty," answered Harlequin. The strategist blushed and became even more fidgety, obviously pleased by the praise.

Now, however, Mona's happiness had been crushed by the sight before him.

"And me?" asked Panther, striking a flirty pose.

"Super sexy," Harlequin told the model.

"I certainly try," replied Panther proudly. Then, more shyly. "You also look really nice."

The fact that Mona's crush liked someone else was bad enough. The fact that she was interested in his older sister felt like an extra kick in the nads. And the fact that everyone other than Harlequin already knew about it made him feel as if someone had filmed the nad-kicking and posted it online, publicizing his pain and humiliation.

"So you finally realized that our sister is a harem protagonist," said Oracle, patting Mona's shoulder comfortingly.

"How is Harlequin even so popular when she spends half her time with her nose buried in a book?" wondered Skull. "Do girls really like smart guys… er… girls that much?"

"You have to admit that our leader has a certain charm to her," observed Fox. "Can you honestly say that you cannot understand their attraction toward her?"

"…Fair enough. She's too weird for me, though."

If Mona was in a better emotional state, he would've fulfilled his brotherly duty and made a token disagreement to Skull's all-too-true comment. Instead, he just sighed and decided to cope with his heartbreak by throwing himself into his job.

"Never mind that," said Mona, using his pain to fire himself up. "We need to hurry and carry out Skull's plan before that VIP goes off somewhere!"

From a certain perspective, it was a stroke of good luck when the plan fell apart and they fought the perverted former noble's Shadow. Like his sister before him, Mona was able to use the VIP as his personal stress release ball (though he didn't fight alone). The creep wasn't weak to Wind attacks, but that just meant that Mona was able to take his time and really work out his frustration.


Haru Okumura's PoV

"Why do our attempts to get the letters of recommendation peacefully keep ending into fights against the VIPs holding them?" wondered Harlequin as the TV station president's Shadow faded away.

After an encounter with the Cleaner, in which he sicced a Shadow on them and left, the Phantom Thieves decided to save him for last. They could get him to come to them by disturbing the peace, but doing so would interfere with their ability to obtain the other letters of recommendation.

"…I really don't want to hear that from you," responded Mona, suddenly sounding tired. "Not when you've been gung ho about all of those fights."

Instead, they decided to target the TV station president. He was in the entertainment hall, which was right next to the pool. They found the president at a slot machine, and Noir approached him as Haru Okumura to get the letter of recommendation.

"Can you really blame me?" defended Harlequin. "That first guy was responsible for Shuu's death, the second one was perving on Panther, and this guy…" she gestured to the empty space where the president's Shadow had been "…totally deserved a bloody carnival for what he said to Noir!"

The president had spoken harshly about Noir's father. The heiress had forced herself endured his words in order to obtain the letter of recommendation. But then, after she succeeded, he joyfully revealed that he'd been the one to broadcast the story of her father's 'suicide.' Including the image of her father's bloodstained corpse that came to mind whenever Noir tried to think of his face.

Suffice to say, Noir couldn't just walk away after hearing that. And it made her heart skip a beat when Harlequin (and her other friends) stepped in, proclaiming that they would give the man a bloody carnival.

"Of course they're all scumbags," commented Oracle. "These guys are Shido's Five Evil Mid-Bosses. Their hands are dirtier than hentai."

Hen… tai? What was that?

"A-anyway, I think we should call it a day," suggested Queen. For some reason, she was blushing slightly. "We need to pass on the information that VIP gave us to Sis and Miss Ohya. It's a big deal that Shido was getting money from Madarame and a mobster named Kaneshiro."

Learning that Shido had been connected to Fox's mentor had been surprising. But what was even more shocking was discovering that Alibaba – Oracle's hacker name – had crushed the mobster through her 'hack-tivism' back when Harlequin and Mona were exploring her Palace.

"Oh yeah, there was a guy like that, wasn't there?" mused Oracle when the others questioned her about it. Apparently, the mobster hadn't left much of an impression on her.

Noir had heard about the state their navigator had been previously been in, hidden away in her bedroom and haunted by accusations that she'd driven her mother to suicide. Yet, despite Oracle's condition and lack of a Persona, she still carried out justice as the hacker Alibaba. She truly was incredible!

"Hold on," said Harlequin, looking troubled. "If Shido's Five Evil Mid-Bosses are all scumbags… Aren't we going to end up fighting all of them no matter what!?"

"…"

Noir and the others went silent. She couldn't speak for the others, but Noir felt with dismal certainty that the bookworm had hit the nail on the head.


Goro Akechi's PoV

Goro spent another day fruitlessly searching Mementos for the Phantom Thieves – on foot, he might add. Though he found Morgana's existence to be headache-inducingly abnormal, Goro would've happily put up with the strangeness if it meant having a functioning vehicle with which to traverse the public's Palace.

As he wandered, Goro's thoughts drifted back to Motosu. When his ruse was exposed, he'd genuinely believed that she intended to kill him. However, after calming down, Goro had noticed some… inconsistencies.

Given how emotional of a person Motosu was, why would she take the time to hold him at gunpoint and monologue instead of simply killing him? With how bad she was at concealing her emotions, how had Motosu hidden her killing intent for so long? Even if she'd suppressed her murderous feelings enough for Goro to misidentify it as rage over the blackmail, wouldn't her true emotions have slipped out during their intense duel in Mementos?

It was clear that, for all her hatred, Motosu hadn't truly desired to kill him. Still, that raised a new question. If the Phantom Thieves hadn't been planning to kill Goro, then what was the purpose of exposing him and then letting him escape?

Sadly, the answer to that question eluded him. But the mere fact that they possessed an ulterior motive meant that the Phantom Thieves weren't just hiding like rats. They were plotting something, and Goro suspected that figuring out their plan would be the key to locating the Phantom Thieves.


AN: You know, I didn't actually remember that the politician VIP was behind the subway incident until I was writing this chapter. I'm not complaining, though, since I'd actually forgotten about that VIP and it gave me something to do with him.

Confidants: Morgana (Magician, Rank 10), Igor (Fool, Rank 5), Sojiro Sakura (Hierophant, Rank 10), Ryuji Sakamoto (Chariot, Rank 10), Tae Takemi (Death, Rank 3), Futaba Sakura (Hermit, Rank 10), Makoto Niijima (High Priestess, Rank 10), Shinya Oda (Tower, Rank 9), Caroline and Justine (Strength, Rank 4), Toranosuke Yoshida (Sun, Rank 3), Ann Takamaki (Lovers, Rank 10), Haru Okumura (Empress, Rank 10), Sadayo Kawakami (Temperance, Rank 2), Hifumi Togo (Star, Rank 2), Chihaya Mifune (Fortune, Rank 1), Yuuki Mishima (Moon, Rank 1), Munehisa Iwai (Hanged Man, Rank 2), Goro Akechi (Justice, Rank 8), Yusuke Kitagawa (Emperor, Rank 10), Ichiko Ohya (Devil, Rank 2), Sae Niijima (Judgement, Rank 10).