In a blinding flash of brilliant diamond dust, Hifumi rushed forward. The tip of her sword impaled one of the Shadow's white masks with enough force for it to completely shatter and explode in a hail of shards.

Melting into ichor, the Shadow's true form was forced to take shape, dazing it.

A two headed lion-like creature burst forth, groaning with pain. One of the heads bled with black ichor from a large wound on its forehead. Still, the beast's second head growled and reared back. Snapping jaws lunged forward along with razor sharp claws. Fire circled around the beast's hind legs, propelling it forward. With a quick backstep, Hifumi avoided the first bite from the injured head. The second head was more alert and too quick. Its teeth locked down on Hifumi's armored arm. However, instead of making any sort of purchase, its jaws were repelled by an invisible force.

The beast was knocked back, however, Hifumi had little time to recover. The second Shadow was immediately bearing down on her with two curved swords.

Instead of the humanoid figure in a security outfit, it had transformed into a purple skinned woman.

The fact that the only thing protecting the Shadow's modesty was her long hair gave Hifumi a brief moment of pause. Just enough of a momentary distraction for Hifumi's attempt at blocking to only deflect one of the swords.

The other blade clashed with her armor, creating a brief torrent of sparks.

Unlike the lion beast, this attack struck true, causing a brief spike of pain to shoot through Hifumi's chest. The blade might not have gotten through the armor, but the impact alone was enough to knock the wind from her lungs.

"Ninienne!" She called for her Persona who rushed forward on a wave of spectral water.

Not once changing her serene smile, the Lady of the Lake slashed diagonally with a hand. The motion sent a cutting arc of water across the room.

As sharp as a blade, it slashed at the purple skinned woman, opening a large wound across her torso. A wound that immediately started to close itself up slowly. Following up, Hifumi thrust her blade into the air and channeled thrumming energy into it. The incandescent sword shone and coated the girl in a red veil of invigorating light.

Again, the two headed lion attempted to attack, but again, its bite was deflected by the same invisible force. It left Hifumi unharmed. That aside, the beast did not have the same luxury.

She brought her sword down and cut down the beast's center. Its entire form was bisected from the powerful slash. Each half of the monster dissolved into vapor, leaving the half naked woman alone. The woman scowled and brandished her curved blades. Murderous intent filled her eyes.

Then, that same murderous intent became contagious.

Hifumi was suddenly filled with absolute rage and the urge to kill. She completely forgot that Ninienne and Yusuke were even there as she charged forward. Their blades clashed and sparks danced across the air. She drew her sword back and threw another strike against the Shadow's guard. Again, and again, she smashed and smashed as if her blade was a cudgel. All the while, the Shadow grinned.

"Togo, you must calm yourself!"

Yusuke's voice didn't reach her ears. Hifumi was seeing red.

Her reckless onslaught left her wide open to fall victim to counter attacks. The scimitars snuck through and landed small blows that quickly started to stack up.

[Young Monarch, control thine emotions, or they shall control thou. A leader led by rage is a tyrant.] Ninienne had slightly more success. Her words managed to cut through the red mist just enough for Hifumi to briefly remember what was happening.

Before the anger consumed her again, she called for Ninienne's aid.

Green shimmering sparks showered down on Hifumi, washing away the rage. Her thoughts became her own once again and she dashed backward. "That was… not very pleasant. Fox, can you stand?" Hifumi glanced down toward Yusuke, grimacing. "Ninienne, is there anything we can do about those burns?" The boy's face had many burn marks across it and the blood was still dripping from above his brow. Ninienne nodded and moved one of her silvery ribbons across in an elegant motion.

Ghostly water foamed up and around Yusuke, washing against his body.

The burns faded and the blood was washed away. He still couldn't quite get up, but his burns had been treated.

Still, this brief battle was teaching Hifumi a lot about her own power.

[Tch… you're a troublesome one. I hate troublesome people. They're so… so… troublesome! Ugh!] The Shadow woman growled. She ran one blade across the other and ran forward.

With her senses fully about her this time round, Hifumi was ready for the onslaught. She parried and avoided each blow, surprised at her own dexterity and skill. She had never so much as touched a sword before, but now, she was wielding it as if she had done so for years. Her muscles knew exactly how to move. It was confusing, but right now, Hifumi trusted her instincts to carry her through.

After one such parry, Hifumi spied a key opening. She swung with her blade primed and knocked one of the scimitars out of the Shadow's hand.

Hifumi's blade didn't stop there, she twisted and drew on a backslash, running the blade across the woman's exposed belly. The Shadow screeched.

[Die, you damn worm!]

"Ninienne, finish this." Hifumi glared with an intense gaze. Severe and authoritative. From behind the Shadow, Ninienne's figure rose up from the ground. With another slashing motion of her arm, the Persona sent another arc of water straight into the Shadow's back.

The second scimitar fell to the ground and after a second of silence, the Shadow dissolved into black vapor.

Hifumi was victorious.

Ninienne took a graceful bow and faded back into Hifumi's soul.

A knight's helmet visor formed over her eyes, along with a hairband resembling a crown. Her mask.

A short breath escaped her lips as she stepped back. "This… power is…" she looked down at her gauntlet clad hands and studied the shimmering longsword. She was rendered speechless.

"... Beautiful." Yusuke finished.

That single word sent a flush of heat across Hifumi's cheeks. She shook it off, trying her best to hide the blush. Yusuke had recovered enough to stand up properly, which was quite a relief. That said, the fact remained that he only got hurt because Hifumi was weak. No longer, however. She felt strong. She felt alive. She felt powerful. She felt exhausted. Her knees buckled and she stumbled forward, right into Yusuke's arms.

"You needn't fret, Togo. I fell victim to fatigue when I first awakened. This is normal. Perhaps you have also noticed it is much easier to breathe now?"

True enough, despite the fatigue, she was breathing normally without any kind of resistance. The headache was gone too. Not to mention the fact that her stab wound was completely healed now. "T-thank you… Fox." She straightened herself up and avoided his piercing gaze. "We should regroup with the others, don't you think? You're still hurt and… well… I feel like I'm about to pass out."

Yusuke nodded his agreement. "Yes. Let's."

Sitting in the driver's seat of the ride Panam had purchased not long ago, River chowed down on a Big Bang Burger.

His attention was trained purely on a single storefront. With a decent view of its interior, he could just make out the woman at the store's counter. Hifumi Togo's mother was reading a magazine during a particularly dry spell. Not many customers entered the little clothing store. A humble establishment, not worth attention, normally. However, given what River knew, he still had to keep an eye out.

So far, nothing of note.

He yawned and leaned back into the car seat. What he would give for some of Sojiro's curry right now. The thought made him smirk. Did that guy put 'Dorph in it or something?

Of course, if he was doing that, River would have had to let the local police know.

His moral compass be damned.

With another bite of his burger, he refocused. He really didn't like this mother, despite having to secretly act as her bodyguard. Ever since the Shogi girl was put in the hospital, the mother hadn't once thought to visit her. For the most part, she didn't even look bothered by the fact she hadn't seen Hifumi in a few days either. Sure, he couldn't read the woman's mind, but still, one would at least suspect some amount of fretting.

"So, having fun, Badges?" V's voice came through his holo as clear as if she were sitting next to him. He frowned, displeased with the slight jovial tone.

"Really appreciate the constant stakeouts. Too lazy to do it yourself, huh?"

"I did my time with Hifumi!" V scoffed before letting her tone sharpen. "Hope yours doesn't end like mine. That'd be a fuckin' disaster. Nothin' to report, I'm guessing?"

"Pretty much. Y'know, for someone who's in trouble with a scary gang, she's pretty calm." As if to add emphasis on his point, he could see the woman munching on a bag of snacks, idly watching a small TV hung in the corner of the store. He hoped it was just an act to keep up appearances. Sadly, his experience in the NCPD had jaded his view on things. "The kids still on the clock?"

"Yeah, they've been at it for a couple of hours now. I'm a little worried Hifumi's overdoing it without a Persona, but fuck, it's hard to say no to that girl." There was a joke to be made about V's maternal instincts, but River really liked having a head. He thought better of it. Just as he was about to reply, V made a strange sound. "Looks like they're back and… Jesus, Hifumi looks exhausted and Yusuke looks like he lost a fight with a fucking house fire. I'll call you back. Keep up the good work! Beer and curry are on me."

From her tone, it didn't sound too serious, despite the colorful picture V painted. It was expected for Hifumi to suffer some negative effects given her lack of Persona. She just needed a push to awaken. Perhaps that push had already happened which was why she was exhausted right now. River shrugged. Either way, the line went dead before he had a chance to retort, leaving him alone once again.

Boredom slapped him in the face.

"Things I do for that woman…"

Lynn was quite surprised when she heard Yusuke report about Hifumi's awakening.

Surprised, but also relieved.

Although she didn't like how Yusuke had to be roasted alive for it to happen, the fact it did meant they could continue without any more worries about Hifumi's health. That aside, they still had to head out of the Palace for the day. Awakening to a Persona was incredibly taxing. However, Lynn didn't particularly mind in this instance. After all, they had managed to find another part of the map. This one included an underground vault larger than what should be possible.

The entrance of which was clearly marked, making things much easier. Or at the very least more straight forward.

She hoped there was going to be no more mind bending mazes or other weird traps.

"So, let's go over everything we've accomplished so far." Lynn looked over her team as they sat around in the movie theater attic. "Ann, Shiho, you said you discovered some things?" Her eyes stopped at the two girls who looked a little concerned. Their own eyes briefly shifted toward Makoto who didn't seem to notice.

"We found some old files…" Shiho spoke up first. "About past police involvement and bribery."

That earned a curious, yet tense response from Makoto. "And…?"

"We got a list of names of officers Kaneshiro has on his payroll." Ann followed up, making Makoto tense up even more. It also sparked a glint of anger in the girl. "He has so many in his pocket! Even some captains!" Ann paused, her face tightening at the thought of her next part. "We also found documents relating to an old investigation. It got buried and the officer involved was suspended, but… kept working the case anyway." The next part didn't need to be said to be known. But Ann said it anyway. "That officer was Keiji Niijima…"

"My dad." Makoto's voice was quiet and flat.

"That lines up with what I found." Judy interjected, leaning against the doorframe of her room. "Was diggin' around in old records for any leads. I happened upon a case report that involved a suspended officer with that name. It was ruled as an accident, but… well… the guy was murdered. Done in by a rogue truck on his way home. No arrests. No investigation."

A single tear ran down Makoto's cheek.

"Damn… that's… effin' messed up…" Ryuji muttered, his face grim. Everyone else had the same expression.

Carefully, Lynn placed a hand on Makoto's shoulder. The girl jolted but then turned into a strange half embrace, clinging to Lynn's arm and breathing heavily into her shoulder. "Accident my ass…" she mumbled. "Kaneshiro killed him… it's so obvious it's almost funny…"

Her grip tightened and Lynn fought against letting out a squeak of pain.

"Sorry kid… I was gonna tell you." Judy looked on with apologetic eyes. Makoto merely shook her head.

"I understand, you don't need to be sorry." She parted from Lynn - much to her aching arm's relief - and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I knew there was something fishy about dad's death. Hearing it is… vindicating, kind of. My sister never once believed me. She just said it was a cruel accident and nothing else. Too obsessed with getting ahead at her career." She shook off the last of her tears and clapped her cheeks. "Enough about my family drama. We can deal with that later. How are you feeling, Togo? You didn't reopen that wound, did you?"

"Are you sure you're alright?" Lynn had to ask. She could still feel some of Makoto's tears dampening her shoulder. Still, the girl gave a weak smile.

"I've had time to grieve for my father. Our relationship was… complicated, but finding this out has given me some much needed closure." The smile gained determination and soon, the tears had stopped. "It just makes me want to stop Kaneshiro all the more. Justice will be served by my fists. So, my question still stands, Togo."

Lynn had to admire Makoto's strength. Everyone was quiet for a few moments, before they all silently agreed to support their friend however they could.

Hifumi nodded. "I'm just tired. The wound healed up fully when I pulled off my mask." She definitely looked tired, but otherwise unhurt. Yusuke, however, returned with several injuries that had looked like they had received treatment. Morgana was able to finish the healing process and after a few minutes, he was back to full strength.

"That's nothing a good night's rest can't fix!" Morgana exclaimed, trying to lighten the mood.

Briefly, Hifumi looked shocked at the cat's sudden speech, but otherwise chose not to comment on it. Given how everyone looked unsurprised, Lynn expected that Hifumi just assumed this was normal.

Still, Morgana was correct.

It made Lynn smirk. "Y'know, you can get a little obsessed when it comes to sleeping. Sometimes, I feel like you're holding me hostage at night." Morgana's head whipped to look at her. His jaw hung open and he let out a small yelp of offense.

"I am not!"

Hifumi quietly giggled into the back of her hand. This truly allowed the mood to lighten. Even Makoto couldn't suppress her giggle. Everyone soaked in the jovial banter for a few more moments until they had to get back on track. Specifically, Hifumi's official induction into the thieves. "Anyway, I think we already know what your codename is going to be. Ain't that right, Queen?" Lynn smirked when Hifumi blushed. From what Yusuke described of her thief attire and Persona, it fit perfectly.

"Don't I get a say in this…?" Hifumi whined, but in all honesty, she looked resigned to her fate.

"Nope! Welcome to the team, Queen!" Ryuji jeered with a big smile.

"Glad to have you on board, Queen!" Ann added with a grin of her own.

"Make us proud, Queen." Shiho joined in on the fun.

"Stop! It's so embarrassing!" Hifumi covered her face and shook her head. The act just made everyone laugh. The teasing continued for a little longer until finally, it was time to break up for the day. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day breaking into the giant vault.

Tuesday - June 28th

"Holy crap! That's… one huge vault!" Ryuji glared out of the glass elevator.

The vault was truly gigantic. Set out in numerous rings, giving the whole place a very distinct look. As they descended into the vault, Makoto's eyes narrowed. She studied the birdseye view of the vault as much as she could. For the most part, it looked like a ring maze with shifting passages and side areas. It brought back a shiver on her spine, remembering that yellow maze earlier. This one, however, didn't seem nearly as sinister.

Shadows patrolled the rings in force. Security was tight and many passages were covered in cameras, laser alarms and aggressive looking hound-like Shadows.

Morgana made a comment about the treasure being near and the whole team agreed it was likely in the center of the vault. Dealing with the security systems was routine by now, but adding in the chaos of battle with the patrols, the farther they went, the more this felt like a full on assault. For now, subtlety was more or less out of the question.

As if to further cement that fact, Kaneshiro's voice constantly taunted them over an intercom. [This pointless attempt at snaking out of our deal is insulting! I'll enjoy breaking all of you. I can't get too rough, though. Damaged merchandise always brings in less profit.] Though there was a sneer in the voice, Makoto swore she could hear a sort of fear. It figures how the big evil mafia boss was secretly a coward. It made her sick. This was the man who killed her father?

She was disappointed in herself for being so scared of him.

That said, there was a distinct difference between the real Kaneshiro and his Shadow. For one, the Shadow consisted of both his own self image as well as repressed feelings. Meaning he saw his cowardice as something to be repressed.

Which was probably why he was so hell bent on keeping his name secret. As well as his need to rule through fear.

However, all this could wait until after they had dealt with him.

For now, something caught Makoto's attention. This wasn't a maze at all. After dispatching another group of Shadows and deactivating another set of laser alarms, she stopped and looked at the path they were carving.

"I thought as much…" she said, earning the attention of the others. "We're in a giant lock. The vault isn't in the center… we're standing on it."

"I think you might be right, Rider!" Morgana sniffed the air. "The Treasure is below us. Let's push onward and get this lock cracked!" Each thief nodded in agreement. Their next objective took them into a side area. A smaller lockbox vault with six smaller rooms. Each room easily had over a thousand lockboxes in the walls. Much like the main area, only smaller. "Remember, we can just ignore most of the boxes. We're looking for a way forward."

"That keypad earlier had the word 'Pig' written on it in English, right?" Shiho spoke up. Lynn gave her affirmation.

"Shit! Shadow!" Lynn called out. From one of the lockbox rooms, they were ambushed by a disgusting amalgamation of faces. A ball of flesh and moaning anguish. "It's a Legion! Hunter, blast it!" Following up on the order, Shiho summoned her Persona and launched a searing flash of light. The creature howled in pain before retaliating with a hail of force.

Blows peppered against Shiho who was forced back.

"Allow me!" Hifumi proclaimed, putting herself firmly between herself and Shiho. She too was pummeled by the Legion's invisible attack. However, she looked completely unaffected.

Rallying, Ryuji gave Shiho a boost and the girl launched another radiant attack. A pillar of light consumed the Legion, causing it to disintegrate under the purging energy. Quickly, they had dispatched the Legion and the lockbox vault fell silent again.

"Alright, spread out and see what you can find." Lynn ordered.

Makoto carefully stepped into one of the six rooms and glanced around at all the numerous lockboxes. Most were no doubt empty, so she focused. Her eyes scanned around until one in particular stood out. It looked like it had recently been opened, or rather, it had been left open. The lock was loosely hanging off its handle and with a twist, the hatch swung open.

"Ugh…" Makoto was hit with a weird pressure in the back of her mind. Then a voice spoke aloud as if it was resonating from all around her.

[Growing up, I had to make do. Mother was a useless drunk. Father was a useless crook. In and out of prison. Both were failures. It disgusted me. Living like vermin disgusted me. I had to get out. But I couldn't. I was weak, small and barely able to take care of myself. I was scared. Funny. Me, scared. It's odd to admit it. If I were to meet my child self, I would crush him under my shoe. Pathetic.]

Makoto shuddered as the voice faded. She felt dirty having that man so close to her own mind.

She pushed past the dirty sensation and peered inside the lockbox. It only contained a single scrap of paper. On it, the letter 'P' was written followed by a '=2' in smaller writing.

"I guess this is part of our Pig code…" She muttered.

"Are you ok, Rider? I thought I heard you muttering to yourself." Hifumi poked her head into the room and approached. Makoto nodded and showed the scrap of paper, quickly explaining her experience. "Ah, I see. We must be in his memory bank, so to speak. Honestly, this is all overwhelming. I still can't quite believe this is real."

"I know what you mean." Makoto nodded in solidarity. "I knew something strange was happening with Joker and the others… but I never could have imagined this!" It truly was a startling discovery. Not only did a metaphysical reality exist, but also alternate timelines. Still, all one could do was take it as it came. "How are you doing, Queen? I never had the chance to ask."

Hifumi's brow tightened below her visor. "It's quite an adjustment, but all I want to do is help. Kaneshiro has ruined countless lives, so if there's even the slightest chance I can help his victims, I want to take that chance."

Makoto allowed herself to grin.

"Noble! Like a real Queen."

Below Hifumi's mask, her cheeks flushed bright red. "Not you too!"

Despite the embarrassment, Hifumi joined Makoto's little laugh. They then joined the others. Apparently, no one had found anything else. Makoto apparently just got lucky with her search. One piece of the code was discovered. Now, they had to find the next. They returned to the main area and scoured the path they had already cleared.

Eventually, they happened upon another side area. Descending the stairs, they found themselves in a luxurious lounge area. Sleek black sofas, minimalist white tables, tropical planted pots. Even a minibar. It all led to a huge window spanning the entire opposite wall. Looking out, they saw what was beneath the lock. A gargantuan space with piles upon piles of solid gold blocks, jewels and money.

Ryuji pressed his face against the glass.

"Holy crap! Look at all that gold! There's gotta be billions of yen's worth, right?" He was practically drooling. "Think of all the beef bowls…"

"Skull, don't get any ideas!" Ann scolded, but even she couldn't resist the gleam of the riches below. "I could buy… like… ten cake factories with that…" For a very brief moment, every single thief fell victim to their delusions and fantasies.

Makoto was first to break free with a frown. "Remember, this is all stolen from innocent people."

"Yeah… I know…" Ryuji hung his head. Tearing himself away from the window he gave a huff. "Can't blame me for dreamin'." No, none of them could. Even Makoto found herself thinking of the good she could do for herself and her sister. Even a fraction of the riches below would set both girls up for life. Sae wouldn't have to stress herself to the bone to support them and they could finally start to patch things up between each other.

Of course, that was only a fantasy.

In reality, the rift forming between them couldn't be fixed by something as superficial as money.

"Alright, enough chit chat. We're looking for pieces of the code, so let's get to it." Lynn interjected and snapped everyone to attention. "Rider found the first piece alongside a memory, so… look for anything… memory-ish."

The group set about scouring the lounge.

Despite it being relatively minimalistic, one would be surprised at the secrets places like this could hold. Both Makoto and Hifumi naturally found themselves drifting toward the bar area. Bottles of non-descript liquor lined mirrored shelves. A small sink and glass cupboards lined the inside of the bar itself. At first, it was just a bar with nothing special about it.

That was until Hifumi pointed up at one bottle in particular.

It was - judging by the label - a brandy of some kind. The image of a fattened pig was followed by 'Inoshishi Reserves' in English writing.

It was worth a look, at least.

Taking the bottle down, Makoto turned it in her hands. The liquid inside sloshed with the movement. The bottle itself was well made and decorative, but otherwise quite unremarkable. "I don't know why," Hifumi began, "but I could feel resentment or… something like that when looking at that one bottle." She took the bottle from Makoto and held it out at arm's length. She studied it for around thirty seconds. "You said the first memory described Kaneshiro's mother as an alcoholic? Maybe that's why…"

Morgana hopped up onto the bar's countertop. "Objects can have lasting imprints when inside the Metaverse, so I'm not surprised you sensed something. Why not try opening it?" He gestured to the bottle and within a few moments, the other thieves had come to see what was up.

After a few moments, Hifumi opened the bottle. The moment the scent of brandy hit Makoto's nose, the same pressure washed over her head.

[My first job was collecting glasses at some shit-hole bar in Shinjuku. The owner was a real piece of work. Barely functional without a drink in their hand. Reminded me too much of home, but a job was a job. First time I made any money that was mine. I don't remember the bar's name. Still, even when things were turning up for me, life has a way of kicking you in the teeth then shitting in your cereal, expecting you to be thankful. Working that bar led me to fall in with a shitty crowd. Dog eat dog. Survival of the fittest and I was not the fittest.]

The memory ended and each thief shivered. "That felt so gross…" Lynn mumbled. Everyone looked to agree.

Aside from the nauseating experience of hearing Kaneshiro talk, something caught Makoto's eye. Something was written on the inside of the bottle's label. She couldn't quite make it out so she gently took it from Hifumi and poured the contents down the drain of the bar's sink. "I =9. G = I - P." She read the clearer letters and numbers.

"So our code is… 297?" Yusuke pondered.

"We have to assume so, yes. We should go try it out." Nodding, Lynn took the bottle and allowed Morgana to store it in his little yellow knapsack. "Keep your eyes open, everyone. We've got a lot of heat on us as is."

After stashing the bottle, Morgana sniggered. "You know… if I had a Yen for every time bottles of alcohol led to a clue, I'd have two Yen. Which isn't a lot, but it's strange it's happened twice."

Yusuke's assumption was correct. The code was 297.

The moment Lynn tapped in the last number, the walls shifted and moved, sliding along rails under the floor. With a sudden stillness, there was a click and the way forward was revealed. The next section was more of the same. Only the Shadow presence was much thicker. They were also much more aggressive. None of them even thought to talk.

Working as a team, however, the thieves pushed through.

[I have to admit, you little shits have impressed me. I could use people like you watching my back. Ruthless. Strong. Reminds me of myself! Why not join me? I'll even half your debts.]

"Wow… real effin' generous. That's still five mill…" Ryuji muttered.

"Ignore him, Skull," Lynn loaded a fresh magazine and firmly nodded at him, "the fact he's saying stuff like that is because he's scared."

"Yeah, yeah."

They quickly came to another key pad and another dead end. This time, the word underneath was different. 'RICH' was engraved in a gold plaque.

"Looks like we have to find more code pieces."

"And more memories…"

Not a welcoming thought, but it was the only way forward. They had one number already, assuming the letters remained the same through the whole lock. After facing off against another wave of Shadows, the group discovered a small office with a bunch of screens. Numbers and words scrolled up each screen too fast to be read properly. If Lynn had to guess, they had entered some sort of compiling server. Or a number crunching station.

Toward the back of the room, a large glass cylinder was set into the computer. Green gas swirled inside with particulates following the flow.

It was the same green smog Kaneshiro had hanging around the whole facility. Only much more condensed.

A few of the thieves threw out some theories about what it was. The most plausible was it was a representation of Kaneshiro's influence hanging over Shibuya. That aside, the computer the cylinder was attached to was a little different. Instead of scrolling data, the screen was blank except a single blinking rectangle in the top left of the screen.

"Doesn't this look a little… Matrix-y?" Ann suggested. Sure enough, the machines did look particularly retro. "Do we need to hack or something?"

Judy wasn't here so that was out of the question.

Idly, Ryuji prodded at the computer's keyboard. The word 'Hello' appeared in response to his prodding. His brow perked up and he tapped the enter key. A small hourglass icon appeared before words wrote themselves on the line directly under Ryuji's greeting. '/ Inquiry not recognised. System Administration Access limited. /'

"The hell does that mean?" Ryuji grumbled.

"It means this must be some kind of information terminal. At least… I think." Shiho tried answering, but her uncertainty was obvious. Still, it gave Lynn an idea. Quickly, she typed in the word 'RICH' and hit enter. Garbled symbols and words scrolled up the screen for a few seconds before everyone winced. The pressure from before.

[I was chewed up and spat out with no one to help me. No one but myself. Most people would probably curl up and die. I refused. That was probably a mistake, but who cares at this point? The scared kid who just wanted something for himself was dead and buried. After that, I took no shit. Some called me a brute or a boar. I called myself strong. People feared me. I was in charge now. But I wasn't going to be like my useless father. He lacked foresight and thus, it led him to his countless stints in prison. Me? I would become the boogeyman. The monster you hoped wasn't real. Like a gas, I would crawl over Shibuya and take what's mine.]

"So this guy got screwed over a few too many times and he decided 'eff it, I'm gonna become a real piece of trash!'?" Ryuji's frown was shared by each of his friends. It definitely sounded like that was the case. "My pops was a violent drunk asshole, but I ain't goin' around beatin' people to death for the kicks!" He clenched his fists and let a low growl rumble his throat.

"It's definitely an extreme…" Lynn granted him that. Was there more to it? "Anyway, look." She pointed at the computer screen.

The screen cleared its mess of symbols and random words and more lines of text typed itself across the black void. '/ Inquiry Accepted… Processing… System Administrator Access limited… supplying partial solution. R is the sum of C and H when subtracted by I. /'

"Well… that helped…" Lynn's shoulders slumped. Without the other two letters, this code fragment was useless. However, there wasn't anywhere else to go.

They had missed something.

"It says System Admin access is limited. Do you think if we somehow got higher clearance, we could get more of the code?" Shiho pondered. It was a logical thought. How to actually achieve that was a mystery, however. After a few moments of contemplation, Shiho decided to try typing a word into the computer.

'ACCESS'

'/ Inquiry Accepted… Processing… System Administrator Access limited… please contact System Administrator for higher clearance… Please stand by… Contacting… Contact established… System Administrator will be with you shortly. /'

That sounded ominous.

Before they even had a chance to react, the door to the room slammed shut and each computer screen flashed red. [You're the little punks making trouble for our benevolent leader? You've stepped into my domain, now! I'll break you down and deliver you on a silver platter.] The voice caused everyone to snap their heads toward the cylinder above the computer they were using. Inside, a small humanoid figure formed from black ichor. It was a Shadow and wore the mask of a Greater Shadow. [Men, capture these punks!]

The tiny figure clapped its arm tendrils together and groaning rumbled from around the room. Suddenly, the thieves were surrounded by Shadows of all sizes.

Followed by the hissing of something above them.

Gas.

They were trapped.