The final battle against Marie was on the horizon. The Rebel Corps and Phantom Thieves were taking this chance to mentally prepare themselves in any way they could. There was still a bit of time before they launched into battle. As they did, Ann struggled a bit bringing a box over. "Hey, guys! While we were rescuing the other Rebels, I found this in a side room!"
"What is it?" Sumire asked.
Akechi approached, taking a quick glance over at the box. He could see some papers within them. "These look like documents of some kind..."
"It says...Confidential, Super Important, on the cover." Erina tilted her head. "Could this be...secrets about Marie's army?"
"That would definitely help us during these final hours." Ren was going to gather around as well. "Let's crack them open!"
Erina was the one to take the document and open it up and began to read. "Ummm...never ever get on her nerves! The ultimate guide to appeasing Lady Marie."
"WHAT!?" Ann gasped.
Erina wasn't sure where this was going, but she was going to try see where it took them. "Magic tricks are forbidden. She'll lose it if she can't figure out how something works." Mika let out a cackle in the background from this news.
"Who doesn't like magic...?!" Futaba practically slumped over at this news.
Morgana could not believe that was all there was to it. So he hopped onto the counter and read over Erina's shoulder. "Let's see...curve your back a little when you're being Lady Marie's chair. It's important to create a snug fit."
"...That's just sad." Ren shook his head.
"Y-Yeah..." Ann couldn't help but feel a little bad for the Legionnaires after diving into this classified information. "Even if they are our enemies, no one should have to be a chair."
"Some people are into it." Mika responded, which gave her a few looks. "Hey, don't look at me like that! Some fans are weird."
"...She's not wrong there." Ann added.
"...Maybe this wasn't something we should've taken. It feels a little mean to steal it now." Erina had some sympathy as well. She would never forgive the Legionnaires for what they've done to her comrades, but it was hard to not feel bad about this in particular.
"That means this information was totally useless!" Morgana groaned. So much for top secret information. More like information that could have remained a secret...
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"Hey, so I was thinkin'..." Ryuji started, getting everyone's attention. "If we lose this war, does that mean Toshiro will end up marrying Marie?"
"...Yeah, I guess that would be the outcome." Ren stroked his chin. Not that he planned on letting that happen, but they did have to consider the worst case.
"And so they lived happily ever after..." Futaba said with a wicked grin, looking right at Toshiro. The instant she made the joke, he began to sweat.
And it was at this point, that a few of the others were going to playfully entertain the idea, just to mess with him. "Toshiro does like to brag about his housekeeping skills. The marriage might go better than we think." Erina remarked with a sly grin.
"He'll make an excellent househusband." Ichinose snickered in response.
"T-There's no way I'm accepting that!" Toshiro frantically shook his head. "Who knows what she'll do to me!"
"And marriage is supposed to be a wonderful thing..." Haru spoke with a frown. The way Marie was framing her marriage with Toshiro did sully that notion quite heavily.
"Yeah, brides and grooms always look so radiant at wedding ceremonies." Makoto spoke with a soft smile at the thought.
"I agree! Those white dresses look so pretty..." Sumire said with a dream sigh.
"Totally!" Ann beamed. "It's a dream to wear a gorgeous white wedding dress! Right, Fumi?"
"Eheh..." Hifumi blushed slightly, but she did nod. "I would like to wear one of those myself in the future..."
"I've worn one for a shoot. I have to say, I outdid myself. That magazine sold like hot cakes because of me." Mika replied with a hairflip. "But I'd love to see Hifumi-chan in a wedding dress, too..."
"You'll see it when we get married." Ann said with a wide grin. When she was so direct about it, Hifumi couldn't help but blush a little bit more. Mika's expression remained neutral, but she rolled her eyes at that. Sophia opened her mouth to say something about it, but Sumire silently worded for her not to.
"I've looked up wedding dresses. I wonder what I would look like in one..." Sophia pondered with a curious tilt of her head.
Erina was a little curious about this topic. All she knew about weddings was the hell that Marie put the Kingdom through, but the way the girls worded it...it sounded nice. "Is that really what it's like?"
"Indeed." Yusuke nodded. "There is a special sort of elegance in a bride and groom's formal attire."
"I can totally see Inari looking effortlessly dapper in a a suit." Futaba said this, but it was not exactly a compliment.
"Well, none of that's gonna happen for a long time. I can't even imagine gettin' married now." Ryuji shrugged.
"I do not see any future where I can marry someone." Akechi remarked from the side. He could barely love himself, he did not have it in him to love another.
"I'm sure you could, if you tried..." Haru mumbled very, very quietly.
Ryuji then glanced at Ren, who had yet to say anything about this topic. "You know, I kinda asked this before, but I wonder...who'd you marry if you could, Ren?"
"Me?" Ren pointed at himself, He glanced at the girls for a moment, as they chatted about future wedding plans. Haru, Futaba, Makoto, Sumire...and if Ann and Hifumi weren't already together, the thought would cross his mind, too. And, since he was already entering that mindset, the curiosity took over as he glanced at Mika and Sophia as well.
Sumire was kind and sweet. Her motivation to do her best would likely spread out to him as well. Even her confession to him from before, though a bit of a clumsy effort, was still full of heart. That was the kind of person she was.
Hifumi? Well, based on her interactions with Ann, he had an idea of what that might be like. Hifumi was a pretty grounded and sweet person...but when her shogi switch was flipped under any circumstance, she would be a lot to deal with. Last summer was a perfect example of that.
Sophia? Could you even marry an AI? Well, this was the most he could even interact with Sophia physically. She was always learning, always doing her best. Honestly, he could see Sophia as a sweet and caring partner, as odd as that may have sounded.
Mika...? Just the mere thought made him dizzy and exhausted. Beautiful? Absolutely, he couldn't deny that. However...the niceness she rarely displayed, was only for Hifumi. She merely tolerated the others or simply just blew them off. Ren had no idea what she would be like as a bride. In fact, he could feel her glaring at him because his eyes were on her a little too long.
Okay, so the girls were a no go. What about...? Actually, no. The mere thought was beginning to exhaust him even more.
"Don't even think about it. I don't want to be a part of it." Akechi spoke out. Ren had an active imagination and Akechi knew it. Whatever he was thinking, he wanted nothing to do with it.
"I, uh...I have no idea..." Ren ultimately replied with a sweat drop.
"Anyone gonna ask me?" Morgana said, suddenly making this all about him.
"Get serious." Mika replied without even batting an eye. Morgana's eyes widened and he was in shock.
"...These kids." Zenkichi was off to the side, as they were talking about marriage.
"Hearing them talk about marriage so excitedly reminds me of how young they are." Toshiro said with a slight smile. As much as he didn't like these young adults endangering themselves, seeing them relax like this was nice. It helped him ease up a bit as well.
"Such an old person thing to say." When Ichinose said that, Toshiro froze in shock. Again with the jabs! "There's no marriage for me in the future." Ichinose didn't mind admitting it either. "I'm still learning about my own heart."
"What about you, Hasegawa-san?" Toshiro was curious. "I couldn't help but notice that the talk of the wedding made you look a bit...pensive? If that's the right word."
"Not entirely." Zenkichi crossed his arms, looking off to the side. "I've been married once again, and we had a beautiful kid, too. But she lost her life in an accident...and I haven't been interested in looking for anyone else."
Toshiro's expression fell slightly at such a story. "O-Oh, I'm sorry, I had no idea..."
"It's alright." Zenkichi shook his head. "Thanks to those damn kids over there, they helped me through it. They also let me catch the bastard that killed her, too. Owada."
"T-That Owada!?" Toshiro's eyes were wide, but he did recall that news report from a few months ago. It also explained why Zenkichi was so trusting of the Phantom Thieves. "I had no idea the two were related..."
"Yeah, but again, it's fine. This is part of the reason Marie rubs me the wrong way." Zenkichi said, looking right at Toshiro. "Whatever the case for your marriage is, I can tell it wouldn't be a happy one. Everyone deserves to share their life with someone they love. Not someone that treats them like Marie treats you."
"Is there even someone you'd like to marry aside from Marie?" Ichinose did have to ask. Toshiro didn't seem like that kind of guy, but it never hurt. Never judge a book by it's cover.
"I, uh..." Toshiro felt a little embarrassed. But at the same time, when he thought about it... "I can't say I remember..."
"Using amnesia to avoid an embarrassing question? For shame." Ichinose shook her head.
"W-What? No! It's not like that...!" Toshiro groaned. But Ichinose's laugh made it clear she was just messing with him. This made Toshiro sigh in response. He had no idea how to get a read on this woman at all...
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"It's almost time." Akechi crossed his arms.
Erina quickly came back inside the hideout, following Ren, Morgana, and Toshiro. "Sorry, we're back now!"
"...What were you doing?" Akechi asked. "We are just about to begin, and you were off somewhere."
"I, uh...wasn't trying to summon a Persona or anything." Erina rubbed the back of her neck. As such, Akechi just rolled her eyes. That wasn't a topic worth discussing and he wasn't going to bother with it.
"The Rebel Corps really started filling out the ranks!" Ann said with a smile. "Are you feeling excited for the big showdown yet?"
To that, Erina nodded. "Mm-hm, we're finally nearing the numbers we need. Marie had better be ready."
"The big showdown, eh?" Toshiro pondered that wording. Everything was shaping up to look that way. "It certainly seems that way."
"Although, it's somewhat concerning that she hasn't shown herself since we saw her last." Yusuke pointed out.
"And no matter what, she likely has an idea how we'll be approaching her castle." Makoto added. "She's likely waiting for us."
"She must be pretty confident, then." Morgana said.
"We also have a problem." Akechi said. "We don't have yet to discuss our plans for dealing with Marie. I believe we can take her in a fight, but her ability to put everyone under her control will be an issue."
"Oh, right, you guys did get brainwashed..." Zenkichi started to think. "You can't just block that?"
"No..." Haru frowned. "I tried to cleave through it with my axe, but it went right through and got me anyway. The only way to not get brainwashed is to avoid it."
"But it moves so damn fast..." Ryuji grunted.
"I was only able to avoid it because of Ann." Hifumi rubbed her arm.
"My power can fight against it, but even doing it on myself left me exhausted. I can't repeat that more than once at a time." Akechi was annoyed at this.
"If she grabs everyone with that, then everything would be for nothing." Ren sighed. "I also suspect she's going to fight us with that crazy car of hers."
"...I do have an idea." Hifumi tapped her chin. She then whispered something to Erina, who nodded a few times. "Leave Marie's brainwashing attack to me and Erina."
"I trust you." Mika shrugged. No complaints there. "But how are we getting into her castle?" That's the real question.
"She has a good reason to be confident - that castle is basically impregnable." Erina told the others, placing a map on the table in front of them. "Believe me, we're not getting anywhere with a frontal assault. But not to worry - I've got a strategy worked out! I call it, "Operation Sneaky, Sneaky, Bang Bang"!
"Clever name." Hifumi nodded. Considering she gave her plans weird names at times, she saw nothing wrong with it.
"Sneaky, Sneaky, Bang, Bang! I've got it!" Sophia seemed to like how this sounded.
"I hope this plan is better than the name." Futaba said with an exasperated expression.
Erina gestured to the statue plaza, the area where the Phantom Thieves first arrived. "If we can occupy this area, we'll have a secure starting point. It'd be best if you Phantom Thieves joined us on that. Afterwards. the Rebel Corps will begin a full assault on the castle."
"And then we sneak in during the ruckus." Zenkichi saw where this was going. Not a bad plan at all.
"Exactly." Erina replied. "We've already narrowed down the routes where security will be the lightest."
"Sounds decent enough for us, but won't it up the Rebels in a bad spot?" Ryuji asked, concerned for the wellbeing of the Rebels. "I mean, do you really want 'em facin' down Marie's army like that?"
"Sir Ryuji!" The veteran Rebel from before spoke up. "Do not be so quick to misjudge our strength!"
Startled by their sudden appearance, Ryuji practically gasped. "W-When did you!?"
"We fight in the name of freedom, just as you do!" A brave Rebel spoke up. "To not give this our all would make us a disgrace in the Rebel Corp!"
"We are the ones who requested that the Captain accompany your infiltration squad." The veteran spoke. "On the behalf of the entire Rebel Corps, we need you to defeat Marie with your own hands!"
Ryuji was genuinely impressed with the Rebels' tenacity. Clearly, he had nothing to be worried about. "Damn, guys!"
"Hehe...they're really determined. That just means we have to do our best, too!" Sumire exclaimed.
"How could we possibly deny such a passionate speech?" Yusuke chuckled.
"Huh, now that I think about it...is this the first time we've offically teamed up with another group in a fight?" Ann said. They usually worked alone, so...
"Not really." Hifumi and Ren both said at the same time. Again, they looked at each other. They had yet to bring up the New Cinema Labyrinth, as they were the only two who remembered it.
"Eh?" Ann blinked.
"...I'll tell you about it when we're home." Hifumi smiled.
Erina looked to the Phantom Thieves, ever so glad she found strong allies in her time of need. "I want you to know, before we leave, that we now share fates as comrades. The Rebel Corps will always help the Phantom Thieves, just as the Phantom Thieves have always helped the Rebel Corp. Never forget that we're a united force who can rely on each other."
"We've got your back." Ren said firmly. "Let's take care of Marie."
"That's the spirit!" Erina grinned.
"Looks like we're ready to do this." Ichinose stood up and stretched.
"Now it's time to show Marie what's up!" Ryuji pumped a fist into the air.
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The forces of the Rebel Corps and Phantom Thieves all gathered outside of the hideout. This was the first time the Phantom Thieves could see the full force of the Rebel Corps, and Skull couldn't help but whistle. "Daaaaamn. Check out that crowd! The Rebel Corps really beefed up their numbers!"
"No kidding..." Violet was in awe. "They're really prepared to give it their all."
"..." Toshiro said nothing, but he was simply looking over the joint forces.
Noticing this, Erina approached him. "Toshiro? You've been surprisingly quiet for a while now. Starting to feel the nerves?"
"Nerves? Hahah! Have you forgotten who you're talking to? Spare me the jokes, haha!" Toshiro replied, nervously. "Well, actually, yeah. I have been rather anxious. Sorry to mislead you." He then admitted with a small sigh.
"Not inspiring a lot of confidence right now." Viper rolled her eyes.
"She's right, you're a leader now. You gotta shape up." Wolf said. Toshiro was the link between the Phantom Thieves and Rebel Corps, and with that roll of a leader, he needed to present himself more confidently.
"Don't tell me you're still thinking we shouldn't fight?" Crow raised a brow, but Toshiro shook his head.
"Don't worry, those concerns are long gone." Toshiro replied. "At this point, I fully agree that we need to fight back."
"Then if we're all on the same page, good!" You've got nothing to worry about!" Skull said with a reassuring smile.
"Skull's right." Mona chimed in. "Look! You've got all these guys behind you - AND the Phantom Thieves!"
"And we're pretty good at what we do, you know?" Panther added with a smile.
"All you need to do is trust us." Joker said with his hands in his pockets.
"And we'll take care of the rest!" Violet added.
Toshiro realized that they were right. The Phantom Thieves proved to be nothing but reliable, even if he couldn't entirely wrap his head around their methods. "You're right. Thank you."
The Veteran Rebel approached Erina. "Captain, preparations are complete! Now we only await your order!"
Erina nodded firmly. "Good to hear." She then stood in front of the Rebel Corp. "Everyone! We now march to our final battle. On this day, each of us will stand up to oppression and exploitation! We fight so we can regain our freedom! We fight for our very lives! You are with me just as I am with you. Please, lend me your strength, and we will all be free!" As Erina said this, the Rebels loudly shouted their determination.
Queen couldn't help but grin. "Quite the rousing speech. Are you going to let her outdo us, Joker?"
"Yeah, really give it to us, Joker!" Oracle goaded Joker on.
"I'm not a wordsmith, and you guys know it." Joker said while looking at the Phantom Thieves. But he did have two words that always did the trick. "It's showtime!"
"Right!" Panther grinned. "We owe Marie payback, times one hundred!"
"I can't wait to wipe that ugly smirk off her face!" Viper was excited, for the right reasons.
"I'm ready for combat!" Sophie lifted her hand into the air.
"This is our time to strike back." Fox was prepared to fight as well. Everyone was.
"This time, we will claim victory!" Dragon lifted her staff into the air.
Erina took a deep sign, mentally preparing herself. After all this time, all this fighting, they were finally taking the fight to Marie. Words couldn't describe she was feeling. Erina turned to the direction of the plaza. This was the fight to decide their freedom!
"It's time. Everyone...move out!"