After the defeat of Yoshiki and the liberation of the Feudal Kingdom, the Phantom Thieves once more stepped through a door that led to an unknown destination. They found themselves standing in front of your everyday school, the sky above painted a beautiful orange from the setting sun. Morgana looked around, trying to determine where they ended up. "So where are we now?" He asked.
"Looking at the building, it reminds me of a school." Ann said, placing a hand on her chin. "It sure isn't Shujin, though."
"Hey, do you finally think we made it back home?" Ryuji asked. In his defense, this was the most normal place they'd been. A wedding venue, a fuedal kingdom...and now, just a regular school.
"Don't be stupid." Mika waved her hand dismissively. "I wish we were home, but we wouldn't be in uniform if we were, right?"
"Not to mention..." Zenkichi glanced around at the most off putting thing around. "Look at all those speakers. Far too many for it to be back home.
"So, based on previous events, this school houses some traumatic or difficult event that Toshiro had endured." Ichinose was pretty blunt about it. "But he probably doesn't remember yet, isn't that right?"
"Yeah..." Toshiro admitted. "I should know this place, but I'm unable to recall it, exactly."
"So we're likely to figure out more about it the deeper we go." Hifumi stated. "It would be par for the course at this juncture."
"It stands to reason there is yet another tyrannical ruler in this place as well." Yusuke added onto that. They were unfortunately experts at Metaverse dealings by now.
"We can't rule that out." Makoto said. "Granted, we also shouldn't assume it'll be the same as with Marie and Yoshiki." They never knew what they were up against, after all.
"So the only thing we can do at this point is move forward and observe." Akechi had his arms crossed. "Since we are still in our Metaverse attire, it isn't safe out here."
"I wonder if there's a Leblanc somewhere we can hide in." Sophia wondered. "I bet it will probably be in the school."
"..." Erina was staring at the building, with a strange feeling building in her chest.
"Erina, is something wrong?" Sumire asked. All eyes were on Erina now as she was uncharacteristically quiet.
"Nothing's wrong..." Erina was still pensive as she said this. "It's just...isn't the air here a little...suffocating...?"
"I know what you mean." Ren said with a slight nod. Something about this Kingdom was different than all the others, but it was in a way that he couldn't quite describe either. It was a little unsettling. "It's tense. More tense than the other two have been..."
"Wanna know why? I can hazard a guess." Mika crossed her arms, flicking her head in the direction of the building standing in front of them. "It's because nothing good ever happens at a school."
"I can't argue with her there..." Ann shrugged her shoulders.
"Exactly...I'm glad you feel it, too." Erina was worried she felt alone in this regard. It was then she had a realization as well. "Oh, wait...Oracle, are we in danger? Are there any enemies nearby...?"
"That's the strange part..." Oracle shook her head. "Despite the fact we're out here, I haven't detected anything yet."
"That doesn't mean we should keep our guard down, though." Zenkichi told everyone, and that was a sentiment they could agree with.
"With that in mind, why don't we head inside?" Haru suggested. "Standing out here won't be any help."
"I agree." Hifumi stared at the building ahead. They stepped inside, and the moment they did, they returned to their regular clothes. The school's interior was about as regular as one could imagine. This was just...a school. "Huh, it actually appears normal in here..."
"Hey, Fumi! Look!" Ann pointed at Hifumi's clothes. She looked down, blinking in surprise at the sudden revelation.
"My clothes...? Our clothes...?" Hifumi said with surprise.
"We've finally made it to...!" Ryuji was about to celebrate, but one look at Morgana said they weren't back home. Not even close. "Never mind. Look at Mona."
"This place is weird." Ichinose was trying to wager a guess. "I would like to say that based on everything we've encountered so far, this place is safe."
"I would like to think that as well. If our clothes changed, we should be safe." Makoto didn't want to blindly assume, however.
"Stay on guard, everyone." Ren said. They started to walk around the school, looking for any signs of activity. But it was nothing. It was eerily quiet...
"Is...is there even anyone here...?" Mika asked. This sort of atmosphere was starting to creep her out. Because of this, she made sure to stick close to Hifumi.
"The entire building seems vacant. It' take forever to check every single classroom, though. Even with our numbers." Makoto was...doing fine. If the lights were a bit dimmer, she might've stared feeling the same as Mika.
"Our attire hasn't changed again - I pray that means we aren't running into trouble..." Yusuke mumbled.
"Please don't put that out there." Sumire spoke with a sweat drop. When Yusuke brought it up, it made her feel vulnerable.
"Uh. Hey." Ichinose pointed ahead. There was a door ahead, but it looked...different. It was larger, thicker, and had a strange red marking on the middle of it. "I think I found something."
"Is that supposed to be a door?" Ann tilted her head. It gave off such creepy vibes!
"A rather out of place one." Toshiro stared at the door curiously. "I wouldn't assume it's mere decoration either, but I also can't imagine what may lie beyond it." He approached the door, and it started to open on its own.
"It's opening..." Sophia noted.
"But I can't see a damn thing on the other side." Zenkichi narrowed his eyes, trying to peer inside the door, but he couldn't see anything. "Any one else having better luck?"
"I'm willing to bet it connects to a different world." Morgana looked to Ren. "What's the plan?"
"We don't have any other leads." Ren said while staring into the door.
"I's a little risky, but I've already made up my mind. I will keep moving forward." Toshiro decided he wasn't going to stop for anything.
"Wandering these halls forever won't do us any favors, either." Erina nodded.
"Alright...let's go...!" Ren told the others, leaping forward into the door.
.
.
They stepped through the door into a strange area. There were speakers all around the area, filled with the murmurs of various voices that made it impossible to hear any one of them. "Where are we...?" Violet asked.
"Whoa, look! We're in fightin' form, guys!" Skull pointed out. Their outfits were back on which meant they were finally in danger now.
"So we're finally in enemy territory! Be careful, everyone!" Queen said while looking around. The environment in this school was far different than the previous two Kingdoms. Panther couldn't help but wince at the smell, on top of the fact that it was just so hot. "Ugh...it's so muggy in here. And it smells awful, too."
"Yeah..." Viper hated agreeing with Panther, but it was hard not to. This area was just...awful.
"It's like something's rotting. Wish I had something to dull my nose." Mona frowned.
"The oppressively atmosphere, the smoldering landscape, the stench of death in the air...it's as if we've walked into some sort of hell." Fox stated.
"The faster we clean this up, the faster we can get out of here." Ichinose wiped the sweat from her brow. "By the way, do any of you hear those voices...?" They did. The voices were all jumped together and speaking over one another. Making out what they were saying was borderline impossible. One thing was vaguely clear...
"...always creeping around his students..."
"Students? A teacher?" Toshiro took note of that. He felt a slight twinge in the back of his head. Something he almost remembered...
"I wish I knew what they were talking about..." Erina mumbled.
"No time! I'm picking up readings, the enemies are here!" Oracle reported.
"Guess it's showtime." Joker said while adjusting his glove. "Let's do what we do best. We'll figure it out along the way!"
"Works for me." Crow could see the Legionnaires coming to attack them. He was itching to get some fighting in. However, just before anyone could make a move...
"NEW SCHOOL RULES! NO SKILLS ALLOWED!" A voice blared from a megaphone up above. The sound caused everyone to cover their ears.
"What the hell was that?" Wolf asked. "No skills?"
"It came from up there..." Sophie pointed to the elevated speaker.
"No skills? But we're all skill!" Skull grinned as he rounded a corner, sliding behind some cover as Legionnaires began taking aim at him. "William, take 'em down!" William appeared in front of Skull, firing off a strong bolt of lightning to zap the Legionnaires and leave them shocked from the aftermath!
"Skull, no, wait!" Oracle tried to warn him, but it was already far too late.
"RULES BROKEN!" The speaker blared once again. A rock appeared above Skull and landed right on top of him. It was the penalty for breaking the rules in place.
"OOOOW!?" Skull held the top of his head. It happened so quickly that there was no way to see it coming or even stop it! "What the hell was that!?"
"The price for breaking the rules, I'd imagine." Crow stated.
"Does that mean we can't use our Personas?" Violet slipped under some cover as the Legionnaires began to fire at them.
"Only if you're not willing to take a bump to the head." Crow wasn't going to be intimidated that easily! Despite knowing the risks, he summoned Hereward and took aim at a group of Legionnaires. Not wishing to deal with their presence for very long, he took a page out of Dragon's book and dropped a Megioloan on them. The large explosion destroyed a number of Legionnaires in the process. But at the same time. "...?" Crow felt...strange about that. And not just because a rock landed on his head afterward. it was irritating and would wear on him eventually.
Dragon was rushing ahead, using Bella's shield to protect herself from the bullets aimed at her. "I can get up there and destroy it! I just need some cover!" Right as she said that, three Legionnaires appeared in front of her - the Slammers, everyone's favorite heavy hitters. They prepared to leap at her, but were quickly shut down by Sophie, Viper and Joker striking them with diving kicks.
"Path's open!" Joker said with a smirk.
"Go, Dragon!" Sophie exclaimed.
Viper summoned Nuwa, using her Persona to wrap around her prey while using Zionga. A strong current of electricity flowed through the snake lady's body to give her foe an extra strong jolt.
"Thank you three!" Dragon pressed her staff onto the ground, allowing it to extend to propel her into the sky. She spotted the speaker. She pointed her hand forward, commanding Bella to fly. "Strike it down!" On her order, Bella flew forward with her sword, slashing through the speaker to destroy it in a single shot. "There!"
"You should all be clear now!" Oracle reported.
"Good!" Wolf wasn't eager to get a rock to the head. But with the absolute freedom to attack the way he chose, he would take it. "Valjean!" The large man appeared in front of Wolf, a large, spinning bullet appearing in front of him. "Riot Gun!" The bullet flew into the sky, and then rained down onto the Legionnaires with destructive force. "Huh..."
"What's wrong, Wolf?" Erina noticed this. She batted away a foot soldier with ease and glanced towards Wolf.
"...Nothing worth discussing right now. Battle first." Wolf said. He and Erina then spun around with their weapons, striking down the enemies that came towards them.
Noir dragged her axe along the ground, sharpening it as she raced towards the helpless Drummers. They could take shots at her, but she was more than fast enough to evade them. She leapt into the air, swinging her axe down at the group in front of her. She hit one, and the impact of hitting that one created a shockwave that exploded outward. "Take that!"
"Diego!" Mona spun around as his Persona appeared above him. This prompted a green cyclone of wind to appear around him, which sucked in and repelled the enemies that attempted to attack him.
"Ella!" Violet sprinted ahead, leaping elegantly with Ella by her side. The two of them slashed through a row of enemies with no effort. A ninja then appeared in front of her, swinging a shuriken at her face. Violet brought her rapier to shield herself from the hit, but she still slid back slightly. "Agh...!"
The Ninja was going to move in for another attack, but it was promptly run over by Queen and Agnes. "I don't think so!" She revved the engine, driving ahead to mow down the enemies in her path. All while Panther and Fox used fire and ice to burn and freeze everything around them. The Phantom Thieves were able to clear the room after this.
"Is that all of them?" Dragon asked Oracle.
"Yeah!" Oracle replied with a nod.
"They were pretty aggressive." Ichinose noted.
"Yeesh...they're not gonna cut us a single break, huh?" Mona said with a heavy exhale.
"I don't know why they're attacking us, but whatever the reason, we should prepare for more hostility." Fox said. Everyone could agree to that notion.
"That's a good point. They didn't ask questions, they just started shooting." Joker rubbed the back of his neck. At least with Marie and Yoshiki's Kingdoms, the Legionnaires did some sort of grandstanding for their ruler before attacking.
"It's still so hot in here, too." Dragon said while fanning herself.
"I scanned this area during the fight. It doesn't lead to anyone else. This is just some kind of sealed off zone!" Oracle reported.
"So coming in here was just a waste." Crow scoffed. "At least we know how this area works. If we were in danger outside of the door, we would've been fighting much sooner."
"That begs the question, why is this place different than the previous two..." Ichinose stroked her chin. "How curious...!"
"..." With the fighting over, Erina let out a sigh. She looked a bit...exhausted.
"Everything alright, Erina?" Violet asked. "You look a little winded..."
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Erina said with a sweat drop. "I probably just overdid it a little."
Toshiro wasn't doing any better. He was sweating up a storm. "Whoa, Pops! You're drenched in sweat! Are you gonna throw up?!" Oracle asked worriedly.
"O-Oh, it's fine..." Toshiro said with a bit of strain. "I'm just feeling a bit warm in this suit. It's heavier weight, for winter, that's all..."
"Why don't we start with getting out of here. It's a little too hot for comfort in here." Wolf said with a heavy exhale.
"Ugh. I need a shower after this. I'm sweating so much..." Viper groaned. Even with an outfit as revealing as hers, it did not do her any favors in this heat either.
.
.
With their battle finished, the group exited the door, relishing in the cool air that hit their skin. "Oooh, that's so much better." Hifumi sighed while leaning against Ann. Any longer in such a sweltering environment and she feared she would pass out.
"What do we do now?" Sophia looked to the others. "We didn't discover anything of value in that area."
"Yeah..." Ren stroked his chin in thought.
"Perhaps we should search for another door?" Yusuke suggested.
They weren't going to be able to discuss their options for very long, because they were quickly surrounded by a group of Rebels. Their uniforms were school attire, but their overall appearance matched with those in Marie and Yoshiki's kingdoms. "Don't move a muscle! We've come to stop me!"
"What the...?!" Zenkichi's eyes were wide. Where the hell did these little guys come from!
"They've got us surrounded." Sophia pointed out.
"Oh, what now...!?" Ann said with a slight bit of irritation.
"We'll decide what now!" The confrontation Rebel exclaimed, glaring at the group.
It was then that a female rebel stepped forward. "We already know what you are! You're Legionnaires, aren't you? If you are, you already know what we'll do with you! And don't bother lying!"
"W-Wait, now! We swear we are not your enemies!" Makoto quickly jumped into the verbal fray, to try and dispel any doubts they had. "What happened was, we wound up in this world by accident, and we're trying to find our way out."
"Not the strongest defense..." Zenkichi wasn't sure if they were going to buy it or not.
"She's too truthful." Ichinose said with a silent nod. Embellishing the truth just a little bit wasn't going to hurt them. Or maybe it was, considering these hat people were so...
"Oh, really?" The confrontational Rebel sounded like he bought it. "I hadn't hurt that one before. But if you try anything, we're still tying you up!"
There was a bit of awkward tension in the air. "So...has anyone noticed how they're..." Haru wasn't trying to sound rude, but...
"These guys are stressed to hell and back." Mika rolled her eyes.
"Yeah! They're the most tightly wound hat people we've met so far!" Futaba spoke through gritted teeth, trying to keep her voice quiet.
"I-Indeed! I believe it'd be in our best interest to avoid provoking them further." Yusuke said with a hint of nervousness.
"I feel like everything we say might be a provocation, though." Sumire was sweating a little. They just met these Rebels and it felt like they were on thin ice on them already.
"Listen." A brave Rebel began. "I know you're just trying to get home. We are too. But unfortunately, that's not going to happen."
"And why's that?" Ren asked.
"Because this entire place has been caught up in the clutches of a heartless tyrant!" The female Rebel shouted angrily. "Until he's been toppled, not a single one of us is going to be free - and that includes you guys now."
"Another world that needs a revolution." Hifumi pressed a finger to her cheek.
"That's right!" The brave rebel spoke with determination. "And WE'RE the ones who shall kick it off and liberate this place, permanently! And that's why we members of the Rebel Club are too preoccupied to help you escape!
"Well, I'm glad to hear that things are going to be working similarly." Akechi was happy for the consistency. "It seems like they've already done half the work for us. They're already riled up to fight." That saved them time, unlike in Yoshiki's Kingdom. "I wonder who their leader is..." Marie's world had Erina, Yoshiki's world had Yuki, and this world must have some ruler to keep these Rebels so fired up.
"We don't have a lot of leads to go on..." Ichinose rocked back and forth. "Except the ones right in front of us."
"Hmmm..." The brave rebel looked the group over. They did just walk through that door... "I suppose we could help you on the intel front - if you're willing to join our rebellion."
"I see...a quid pro quo scenario." Toshiro saw what was going on here. "Thoughts, Joker?"
"Let's hear them out first." Ren replied. "I trust that's good with everyone." The group nodded in agreement. This way, they could learn the situation they found themselves in this time.
"Very well!" The brave Rebel nodded. "Follow us to our hideout. We'll explain the situation there."
Wonderful. The Phantom Thieves found themselves in yet another world. The rebels of this world were even more willing and ready to fight than the Rebel Corps in Erina's world. Just who was leading them...who was the one ruling over this school? The answers to this and many more questions lie in wait for them...