The Phantom Thieves returned to You in Wonderland; with Minako and Sub Personas at their side, they had a larger repertoire so they could fight the Shadows with a bit more ease this time around. They were back on the second floor of You in Wonderland, standing in front of a new door. "Okay, guys. I sense Shadows right behind that door!" Oracle warned everyone.
"Getting into another fight already…" Fox had his hand on his sword.
"Can I take the charge on this one?" Minako asked while resting her hand on the gun at her hip. "It'll be a great chance to test out these Sub Personas that Elizabeth and those two twins were talking about."
"I don't see why not." Joker nodded. It was then that he realized an important question he had yet to ask. "By the way…how do you summon your Persona?" He barely got a look at it before.
"Oh! With this." Minako showed the gun in her hand. "This is my Evoker. It allows me to summon my Persona. My friends and I all use Evokers. Without it, I'd be pretty powerless…"
"You summon your Persona with a gun? That's pretty hardcore!" Skull grinned. "Made me wish our guns worked…"
"You have guns?" Minako blinked.
"They don't work here, unfortunately." Queen said with a sigh. It would make their lives easier if it did, but they'd just have to adjust.
"That's also why I was surprised to see you guys use Personas without one. The people I know that can do that were my enemies." Minako admitted, but she knew that wasn't the case here. "Anyway! I'm ready to go!" Without wasting anymore time, Minako was the first one to step through the door. There were a few Jupiter Eagles flying around, and they took note of her presence immediately.
"Go for it!" Oracle exclaimed.
"Right!" Minako pressed her Evoker to her temple and clicked the trigger. A blue pillar appeared behind her and she summoned Pixie to her side. "Pixie!" The fairy flew around before launching a bolt of lighting towards a Jupiter Eagle. The Zio was a direct hit and the Jupiter Eagle fell from the sky and to the ground, paralyzed. Minako took a small breath after.
"How did that feel?" Crow asked.
"I still feel weighed down, but with Pixie it was less of a problem!" Minako confirmed. Sub-Personas did lessen the strain of fighting after all! She then rushed forward with her new naginata, focusing on the Jupiter Eagle that was easy pickings. She slashed at it and slid to a halt after taking it out. "One down!"
"Guess I should try it for myself. Sandman!" Joker decided to strike next. Sandman appeared next to him and sprinted forward. The Jupiter Eagle he intended to attack tried to fly away from Sandman, but Sandman was too fast. It struck the Jupiter Eagle with its bag, knocking it into slumber with a single hit. "Nice!"
"I got it." Zen took aim with his crossbow, firing off a bolt that struck the sleeping Jupiter Eagle as it fell, taking it out instantly.
"One more left!" Oracle reported.
"Orpheus!" Minako summoned Orpheus to the field this time. Just like when they first saw her, Orpheus flicked a fierce stream of fire towards the final Jupiter Eagle. The bird attempted to flee, but it was unable to do so in time and was burnt to a crisp in the ensuing blast. "All done!"
"Not bad, Minako!" Skull gave Minako a thumbs up. She gave a grin in response. "Those Sub-Personas really do help out."
"If we can gather more of them, combat will be less taxing for all of us." Fox said. "I, for one, am looking forward to summoning a secondary Persona. I have always been envious of Joker's ability to do so."
"..." Crow said nothing on the matter. Instead, he directed attention elsewhere. "We should continue moving, don't you think? We still have plenty of fights ahead of us."
"Crow's right. We're only just getting started." Queen said. "We don't how how deep this place goes."
"Are you sure we can't take a little break first?" Panther did find herself groaning a little bit. "We've been walking for a while now…"
"Don't tell me you're worn out already?" Skull looked to Panther. "What happened to all that working out!"
"I'm not good at it…!" Panther whined. "Right, Rei-chan? This is hard work!"
"Oh, yes. I'm starving!" Rei nodded. Not exactly the backup Panther hoped for, but she made a good point.
"Actually, I'm hungry too." Violet said, as if she didn't just put away a few bowls of ramen.
"How many stomachs do you girls have…?" Minako whispered.
"Why don't we take a break in this area?" Fox glanced around at all the 'treats' scattered about along the walls. "There are a number of delicacies nearby…could it be…pulp?"
"They do look good, but I don't know if we can eat these…" Noir said with a smile. However, Rei was already biting into something without a second thought. "Rei-chan?!" And then she looked at Violet and Panther, who were doing the same thing.
"Panther?! Violet!?" Mona's eyes went wide.
"Why are you two-!?" Dragon already knew it was too late to ask.
"Mhmhm…." Rei held the 'pulp' in her hands. "This pulp is sweet, with a mysterious texture to it." And then she found herself spitting it out, eyes closing in disgust. That wasn't tasty at all!. "Bleh!"
"Bleh!" Panther and Violet groaned.
"I…I think that's just paper." Dragon said with a sweat drop. Unfortunately, the hungry trio realized this the hard way. She patted Panther on the shoulder.
"Despite how realistic things look around here, this is still the world of a child's story." Crow double checked everything around them. "I am hardly surprised that everything in this area is inorganic."
"That's probably for the best." Joker said. "I don't think we'd be able to leave if these sweets were real…"
"Do you not like sweets, R…Joker." Rei quickly corrected herself. She was still getting used to the codename aspect.
"Oh, I'm alright with them. Panther's a big fan of sweets, though." Joker said.
"I loooooove sweets!" Panther grinned just thinking about them. What she wouldn't do for a good crepe right about now… "I admit, I might eat them a little too much. It makes someone I know jealous since she said I can eat whatever I want and not get fat!"
"I'm kinda surprised Rei can do that, too…she eats a lot." Skull said, tactlessly.
"Skull! You have to be more mindful of the things you say about girls!" Panther groaned.
"What'd I say!?" Skull gasped.
"Fat…." Rei thought about it for a moment, after munching on a corndog. She immediately turned to Zen. "Zen, have I gotten fat?"
"You haven't changed." Zen said calmly.
"Aw…" Rei frowned.
"...I don't understand girls." Skull had no idea.
"Rei-chan, is there anything you don't like eating?" Minako decided to ask. She hadn't known Rei for very long, but she was always eating something!
"I don't like pulp." Rei said. Probably because of what just happened merely a moment ago.
"That isn't food." Mona said with a small sigh.
"As long as it has a flavor, I like every kind of food!" Rei said excitedly. Clearly, she wasn't exactly picky about what she ate, as long as it was edible.
"Ah, I see you and I are similar in that regard." Fox nodded in agreement with Rei's words.
"That's only because you struggle to get food in the first place." Joker commented.
.
.
Continuing on, the group pressed deeper into the labyrinth. Fights were a little easier with Minako and Joker utilizing Sub-Personas to ease the burden of this strange place. They continued to walk until they rounded another corner. When they did, there was a bright pink rabbit just a few yards ahead of them. Everyone stopped at the sight of it. "Whoa! That's a really pink bunny!" Minako exclaimed.
"Are you sure that's a bunny? It looks more like a gummi…" Panther licked her lips.
"If you're thinking about eating it, please don't." Queen felt like she would have to hold Panther back.
"But it's so cute…" Rei said. She didn't want to eat it!
"A rabbit…?" Zen stared at the pink rabbit. "Where have I…?"
"Did you remember something, Zen?" Crow asked. Zen couldn't give him an answer, but it was curious that this rabbit of all things was enough to garner a reaction.
"I…don't really know what this thing is." Oracle reported while fiddling with her goggles. "But it's not an FOE. I don't even think it's hostile! It looks like it's just waiting for you."
"Waiting for us? Oh!" Noir understood. "Because this is Alice in Wonderland, correct? Alice chases after a rabbit, falls down a hole, and ends up in Wonderland. Could this Rabbit be trying to do the same thing?"
"Then we should follow it! All rabbits are friends!" Rei exclaimed, munching on a corndog.
"Will it really be that easy, though?" Violet did have her doubts. The rabbit did look harmless enough.
"If it's truly harmless, it may benefit us to chase it down." Fox said.
"I wish to chase it as well." Zen said. "I have…memories of seeing it somewhere." It was hardly anything to go off of, but this was the first lead to his memories he'd gotten in a while. As such, he wanted to see where it led.
"Let's chase it." Joker told everyone. "If nothing else, we might be able to corner it. We've got the numbers."
"We should observe its movements first and foremost!" Dragon said.
"A catch like this should be easy for us!" Mona was more than confident in this! Everyone attempted to slowly creep forward to catch the rabbit by surprise. Just when Mona thought he was close enough, he dove forward. The rabbit was seemingly aware of his presence the whole time, and easily hopped right over him. "Gah!"
"My turn!" Minako lunged at the rabbit after Mona. She tried to catch it right as it landed, but she also missed. Her dive was a complete whiff and she slid across the ground on her stomach. "Oof!"
"Damn, this thing is quick!" Skull watched the rabbit move around. He wasn't exactly reading its movements, but he thought he could outwit it. Fox made a grab for it, but missed. Skull used this chance to follow up, aiming to pounce on the rabbit from above. "Gotcha!" But he missed as well. Not only that, but the rabbit ended up using him as a footstool to leap to the side. "Damn it!"
"Cornering this thing is proving to be more difficult than expected." Crow wasn't going to debase himself with a silly dive; he felt above that. So he instead positioned himself in such a way that the rabbit would be forced down a certain path. "But I think we can manage. There is a dead-end down that way!"
"Oh, nice job, Crow! You're right. It just turned a corner that leads nowhere! Now's your chance!" Oracle nodded.
Those that tried quickly stood back up and rushed around the corner. It was true, the rabbit had nowhere to go. The wall ahead just had a picture in front of it. "It's slipped away from us before, but it's got nowhere to go now." Queen said.
"This is our chance to catch it!" Violet balled her fists together.
"Come along, little rabbit. We mean you no harm!" Dragon said with a gentle tone. However, before anyone could take a step forward, the rabbit just jumped through the picture, the wall, and onto the other side. "W-Wha…!?"
"Holy shit!" Skull was not expecting that!
"It…jumped through the wall…?" Even Crow was taken aback by that course of action.
"That's one strong bunny." Minako dusted her skirt off. "Should we keep chasing it?"
"I ain't gonna lose to a rabbit!" Skull was fired up for this.
"I feel the same way! We can totally outrun that thing!" Panther didn't like the feeling of losing either.
"Do you think we can fit through that hole?" Noir peered into the hole the rabbit made. She ended up tumbling right through it. "Eeep!"
"Noir!" The others followed suit. Noir was on the ground on her knees, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.
"Are you alright?" Zen asked.
"I'm okay. That was a bigger hole than I was expecting." Noir giggled while standing back up. There was another door on front of them.
"I bet the rabbit went through here!" Rei motioned.
"Picking up two Shadows behind the door! Get ready for a fight!" Oracle warned everyone.
Joker opened the door, prepared to strike something down the moment it did. Instead, two golden hands skittered past him, throwing him off for a second. "Huh!?"
"What the hell-!?" Skull staggered around a little bit as the Golden Hands ran past him. "What are these things!?"
"OH!" Minako's eyes lit up. She started stabbing down at the ground with her Naginata, attempting to skewer the rare Shadows. "These are Rare Shadows! They're tricky to defeat, but it's always worth it! They give so much!"
"I see…" Zen realized it would be beneficial to take these things down. Because of this, he pulled his crossbow out and started firing. The Rare Shadows were slippery, because nothing anyone did actually managed to land on them!
"Robin Hood!" Crow decided to play along in this case. Robin Hood appeared by his side, and he fired a few arrows of light to test the waters. Crow trusted his accuracy, but he immediately realized that these Rare Shadows were more elusive than he gave them credit for. Not a single arrow hit! It actually irritated him a little bit, but he didn't let it show. "They are fast…"
"Milady!" Noir decided to attack next. As much as she missed being able to shoot things with a rocket, she had the next best thing! Milady's dress opened up, and all of the heavy artillery within was revealed.
This was the first time Minako witnessed this particular event, because her face paled at the heat Noir was packing. "W-WHOA!?" And then, Milady began to open fire with a flurry of bullets. Minako and the others made sure to steer clear of Noir's range. Even with her impressive rate of fire, she wasn't able to land a direct hit on one of the Golden Hands.
"They're so fast…!" Noir eventually had to stop much earlier than she was used to. While she wasn't able to land a direct hit against a Golden Hand, she did manage to nick one of them, which slowed it down. "I got one…!"
The other Golden hand managed to escape. The one that Noir shot was limping a bit, but it was still far away. "I got this!" Minako pressed her Evoker to her temple and pulled the trigger, summoning Orpheus. Orpheus threw her hand forward to release a streak of flame towards the Golden Hand. Much to her dismay, she missed. "Agh!"
Dragon was keeping an eye on the Golden Hand's movements. She twirled her staff around and held it forward. The staff extended forward, smashing into the back of Golden Hand. She caught it and slammed it straight into a wall, killing it instantly. "I got it!" Dragon's green eyes lit up in excitement. She wasn't sure that would work admittedly.
"Whoa! Nice one, Dragon!" Skull gave Dragon a thumbs up.
"You really nailed it there! Those guys are so hard to pin down!" Minako smiled at Dragon. "
"You did it!" Panther practically leapt at Dragon for a hug. It was a little embarrassing for Dragon, but she was happy about her victory.
"That rush…it was much more exciting than a Treasure Shadow…" Dragon beamed.
"To the victor go the spoils." Joker walked over to the golden clump the Rare Shadow left behind. "We can have Theodore make something nice for you when we get back."
"Heh…" Dragon wasn't going to object to that notion. The thrill is pumping through her veins strongly.
"Whoa, wait. Hold on! I just noticed. Your staff extends!?" Minako was a little late with that reaction, but it was a worthwhile observation. "That's so cool…."
"Indeed! It's useful." Dragon said with a grin.
"What about that sword on your back? Do you use that too?" Minako gestured to the greatsword on Dragon's back. She had yet to see her use it for anything.
"Oh, this?" Dragon glanced over her shoulder. "This is a special weapon. I use it with Panther for our Showtime attack! It is a symbol of our bond!"
"Showtime…?" Minako was intrigued.
"It's an awesome attack!" Panther grinned. "When the moment is right, we'll show you what we can do! Assuming we can still use it in this place…" That was one worry. There wasn't a need to use a Showtime just yet…
"You guys really know how to take on Shadows." Minako turned to the Phantom Thieves. "I'm seriously impressed!"
"It seems like these Shadows don't communicate…" Queen did take note of this. Most Shadows they encountered were capable of communication of some kind. But thus far, the Shadows said nothing.
"It's kind of a shame. I miss hearing them beg for their lives…" Noir said absentmindedly. Everyone's blood ran cold at Noir's words. Minako's face paled in horror.
"..." Minako's voice caught in her throat. She thought Noir was nice and sweet! But that display of sadism made her think differently.
"...You're one of us now if Noir scares you." Joker patted Minako on the shoulder.
"I think I need to sit down for a moment." Minako needed a second to process that. She looked at the wall, and it even had a sign that read 'Rest Area'. "That's convenient!"
"We could use a break. We have been chasing that rabbit for quite a while." Fox agreed to the notion. "We do need to keep our strength up going forward as well."
"Yeah, let's take a moment to rest here. " Mona said while sitting down.
"This actually feels pretty nice…" Panther took a seat next to Dragon.
Zen was the only one who didn't sit down. He watched everyone take a seat to rest for a moment. "I worry you people have no sense of danger."
"Oh, come on, Zen. You should take a break, too." Joker said. No sooner did the words leave his lips did he find himself facing the other end of Zen's crossbow, and he ended up reaching for his knife on instinct.
"You don't care if Rei faces danger. Is that what you're saying?" Zen said while glaring towards Joker. What was supposed to be a peaceful moment of reprieve turned tense as the two stared each other down.
"Whoa! Dude, chill out!" Skull shouted.
"What do you think you're doing with that thing!?" Mona was prepared to jump in for Joker.
"Z-Zen-san, please put that down!" Violet waved her hands worriedly. There was no way he'd actually shoot, right!?
"We're all allies here. There is no need to be pointing weapons at each other." Crow attempted to be a voice of reason here. The others were ready to strike if Zen actually went through with it.
"Zen! No! Stop! That's dangerous!" Rei exclaimed. "These people are with us now and they're our friends. Let's take a break, please?"
"..." Zen remained silent for a long time. Ultimately, he relented and put his crossbow away. "If that's what you wish, Rei." And so, he finally sat down. There was no apology that followed his actions, so the air was still a little bit tense. The break wasn't as relaxing as it could've been…
"Wow…" Oracle was glad she wasn't physically there. The tension of the moment would've made her freak out….
.
.
A short rest later and everyone was back on their feet. They continued on the path and soon encountered the bunny once again. "There it is!" Violet pointed at the bunny. The moment she took a step forward, the rabbit leapt down the stairs, leading deeper into the Labyrinth. "...And there it goes."
"Damn, that thing is quick…" Skull had no idea how they were actually going to catch the damned thing!
"Oh well. Let's pursue it." Zen's solution was simple. Just catch it. Left with no options, the group dove into the third floor of You in Wonderland. The atmosphere changed once again, with darker colors such as red and black along the floor and ceiling. "Are you feeling alright, Rei?" And once again, Rei was more or less the only thing Zen was concerned about.
"I-I'm okay!" Rei affirmed.
"Are you frightened?" Violet asked while looking towards Rei.
"I'm not scared!" Rei shook her head, denying that claim.
"But your hands are shaking…" Violet pointed out.
"Shaking with EXCITEMENT!" Rei placed her hands on her hips to hide the way they trembled. She even puffed her chest out as a show of false bravado. "So my body temperature rises and my digestion improves and I can eat even more!"
"That's…not how a stomach works." Violet said with a sweat drop. "Or shaking with excitement…"
"I'll do my best!" Rei said with a sweet smile. "I want to go back with you all. Let's keep working together, Ka-chan! Er, I mean. Violet-chan!" She corrected herself before munching on some takoyaki.
"Ka-chan?" Violet thought that one over. It did sound cute…
"..." Zen said nothing, but his expression didn't appear to be a happy one.
"Is it just me, or does Zen look a little jelly here…?" Skull whispered to the others. That said, he wasn't so quiet that he couldn't be heard.
"Jelly?" Rei gasped, looking towards Zen. Jelly? Food!? "Zen, are you all jelly!?" She sounded far too excited about this.
"Jelly? What do you mean…?" Zen looked to Rei, confused.
"Aww…so you're not all jelly….?" Rei pouted.
"As I said, what do you mean? Does it look like I am made of this 'jelly' you speak of?" Zen asked once again.
"No…." Rei sighed.
"What…is happening?" Minako scratched her cheek. "I didn't think Zen would be this dense…"
"No kidding…" Panther nodded to Minako's words.
To Zen, it felt like these people were just saying words without any meaning. "Dense? What is this all about?"
Despite the fact Zen pointed his weapon at him not too long ago, Joker decided to try and do something about this. "They're just talking about how cute Rei-chan is. You agree she is, don't you?"
"And Joker strikes with a bold move!" Oracle snickered.
Rei, not expecting to be dragged into it in this fashion, proceeded to blush. "Huh!? Um, um, um, um…! Thank you very much!" She even bowed her head a little from the compliment.
"..." Again, Zen said nothing. But his expression said it all. Joker was not in his good graces at all right now.
"Yikes…" Mona proceeded to sweat a little bit. "That's one heck of a glare."
"It appears his protectiveness of Rei is stronger than we anticipated." Fox commented.
"We should probably leave it at that before he actually decides to shoot at Joker." Crow said. It felt like Joker was on two strikes and the third one wasn't going to be pretty.
"I think we should start actually moving forward." Queen was going to be the voice of reason and get back on track. She had a bit of an authoritative tone as well. That meant the time for messing around was over.
Joker kept marking their path on the notebook as they traversed through this new floor. They opened a door, went through a passage in the wall, and then…
"HOLD!" Fox raising his voice caused everyone to stop. Perhaps it was just in the nick of time, because they entered a room full of FOEs. The card soldiers were carrying buckets of red paint, walking around the room while on duty. "We've entered a workspace."
"Are those soldiers painting?" Minako peered around the corner.
"The roses on those bushes are being painted a wonderful shade of red." Fox said while observing the FOEs carefully. "They are dutifully coloring the roses before moving on as well. Clearly, this job in particular is of great importance. Perhaps so it can match the aesthetics of the surrounding area…"
"But they don't seem to be moving very far, though." Violet observed. "Isn't that going to be a problem if we can't get past it?"
"This reminds me of another scene from Alice in Wonderland." Noir rocked her head back and forth as she recalled the story. "The card soldiers were painting the roses red. They worked hard out of fear, because the Queen would punish them if they failed."
"Does that mean there's a Queen of Hearts waiting for us at the depths?" Dragon thought aloud. It was something the others had yet to consider until this very moment. "If we are following the story of Alice in Wonderland, it stands to reason…"
"Something to watch out for, then." Crow agreed to Dragon's thoughts. But it was something they'd have to worry about when they got there. "For now, we need to focus on getting past these soldiers.
"Hey, check this out!" Panther's voice caught everyone's attention. She was standing in front of a small pond, holding a bucket which she filled with water. "I bet we can wash the roses with this! If they turn white again, the FOEs will have to come back and do their job!"
"Brilliant idea!" Mona was the first one to speak up about it. "You're so smart, Panther. I would expect nothing less from you!"
Being called smart did make Panther giggle. "Hehe! I have good ideas sometimes!"
"...Is it just me, or is the cat-monster fawning over the human girl?" Minako whispered to Skull. This was weird and she knew it.
"No. It's not just you." Skull shook his head.
"Interrupting someone's creative process does leave a sour taste in my mouth. Especially when they are so devoted to their cause. I'm almost envious of them. But I suppose it cannot be helped in this instance." Fox was a little beside himself. These soldiers were dedicating themselves wholeheartedly to their tasks! To wash away their hard work did upset his artistic side, but ultimately he knew this was for the best.
"Dude. They're just Shadows. I don't really think they care." Skull let out a sigh. Fox was putting too much thought into this!
"Anyway…are you guys ready?" Panther held the bucket of water while the others got into position. "1…2…3!" She splashed painted roses with the bucket, washing away their color to turn it white. Panther quickly scooped up some more water with the bucket, and dashed out of sight. The nearby FOE noticed this chance scurried to the roses, hurriedly dipping their paintbrush into the can, to paint the roses red once again. Because of this, it was completely distracted and unaware of the Phantom Thieves slipping past it.
"Excellent maneuver, Panther!" Dragon gave her a warm smile. "And we might need the bucket for the future. Bringing it along was good thinking."
Now, Panther had a slight blush and she laughed a little quietly. "Hehe…I was just thinking about what you would do in that situation." Feeling a major confidence boost, Panther led the way with the bucket.
"There's another FOE coming up!" Oracle warned.
"I see more roses over there." Queen pointed Panther off to the left. There were some roses nearly tucked away in the corner of the room. Panther got into position, waiting for the FOE to turn around before splashing the next bundle of roses. They were turned white as the color washed away from them, and much like the one before, the FOE hurried to repaint them once it noticed they weren't colored. This allowed the group to slip past it with ease once again.
"I hope we don't need more water." Panther said with a nervous smile. At this point, going back would be dangerous and right in the path of the FOEs.
"Let's focus on going forward for now." The only path was forward. Joker was keeping track of the map as they walked. But he came to a halt when he spotted a familiar creature on the road forward. "Look!"
"It's that rabbit again!" Rei gasped. "Do you think we can catch it this time!?"
"I see a few different paths." Queen staked the area ahead. "We'll never corner it if we try to catch it head on. We have to split up and force it into a corner."
"Excellent idea, Queen." Dragon took the left with Panther, Noir, and Violet joining her. Joker, Minako, Zen, and Rei took the center path, leaving Skull, Fox, and Mona on the right. On Joker's signal, everyone advanced forward. The rabbit took notice of them and started to hop away again, seemingly just out of reach of them once more.
"We've got you this time!" Skull had a menacing grin on his lips. This time, the rabbit wasn't going to escape them! They were able to force it into another dead end, but just like before….it completely leapt through the picture with such an odd shape, blasting another hole in the wall. "Oh come on!"
"It got away again!?" Mona felt this wound his pride. He couldn't lose to this stupid rabbit! He was way cooler than that!
"Are we ever going to catch that thing?" Violet was starting to lose hope. Even though all of them found a way to corner it, it still managed to slip away from them at the very last moment!
"I'm not giving up on that thing!" Mona was determined to catch it. His pride was on the line! "It opened up another hole in the wall, so it's not getting away from us that easily!"
"That's the spirit! We ain't done with the chase yet!" This was one of those rare times Skull and Mona agreed on something. They were the most fired up as they went through the path the rabbit created.
"They really don't want to lose to that thing, do they?" Minako asked.
"...To be honest, I understand exactly how they feel." Dragon clenched her hand into a fist. "I utterly despise losing!" A fire was in her eyes and a metaphorical blaze was around her. She then followed suit after Mona and Skull.
"W-What the…? Her too!?" Minako was realizing she had no idea what to expect from these people.
"I didn't think a rabbit of all things would ignite her competitive spirit." Crow shook his head. The others were getting a little too into this hunt. A mere rabbit as a hunt wasn't enough to excite him, far from it. Besides, he had to actively keep that thrill seeking part of him hidden. The others followed through the hole, and the rabbit was across a small pond, just standing there.
"There it is! Was it waiting for us?" Noir asked.
"It's mocking us. Little bastard…" Skull narrowed his eyes. He could feel the smug aura coming off of the faceless rabbit.
"This time we shall catch it without fail!" Dragon exclaimed. Mona and Skull quickly nodded. All three of them were on the same page.
"Should we just let them take care of it?" Minako asked the others.
"We should give them a helping hand, just in case. I too find myself wanting to catch this rabbit. I wonder what sort of prize awaits us for doing so." Fox said.
"I honestly think they can manage if they put their heads together." Joker grinned a bit. Even though he was certain Dragon would do most of the heavy lifting in terms of a plan.
"You aren't escaping this time!" Dragon exclaimed. The rabbit did look at her as she shouted at it, but it didn't really move either. It was impossible to tell if she managed to intimidate it at all. "The first part of the plan is to scout the area."
"So we see where we lead it to, and then we corner it once again!" Minako gently smacked her fist against her palm. "If it isn't broken, don't fix it!"
"So we're just going with the same plan again?" Zen felt it was a little redundant, but Minako was also correct. He was just confused why Dragon, Skull, and Mona were so motivated.
"Sssh!" Panther shushed Zen, and he just blinked. "She's in the zone. Watch her work."
"I wanna watch her work!" Rei told Zen. It's not like he had any objections, but Rei just wanted to see how this turned out.
"Okay…" Zen simply nodded.
Dragon, Skull, and Mona all circled around the rabbit from different paths once they had the lay of the land. They pursued it with the others following behind. Just before they could truly corner it, it once again blasted through another picture in the wall. "Ack-!" Dragon gasped. "How dare you-!?"
"This slippery little…!" Skull growled a little. They would get their hands on that damned bunny one way or another!
"It punched through the wall again. How does it keep doing that!?" Mona wasn't finished with that thing yet!
"I don't have anything to actually add here…but do rabbits always jump like that? I've seen rabbits jump in videos before, but never like that." Oracle, the shut in, asked. "It looks like some kinda weird star…"
"That's how bunnies jump!" Rei said confidently. "My friend's bunny spreads its arms and legs like this when it sleeps and jumps too!"
"Really? That's…one heck of a bunny…" Oracle really just had no words for it.
"The hunt is still on!" Mona said. Skull and Dragon weren't done either! So they hopped through the hole in the wall, with the others following. Unfortunately, this time, there was no sign of the bunny.
"Where did it go…?" Dragon was looking around frantically. "Don't tell me it actually slipped away!"
"The elusive rabbit…" Even Joker was starting to feel like catching that thing was impossible. He turned his head, noticing another door, but this one had a lock on it. "Eh? Hold on…" Joker approached the door and dug into his coat pockets, pulling out a lockpick.
"What is that?" Minako asked.
"One of my Thieves' Tools. I had a few of these on hand when we entered here. I wonder if I can…" Joker attempted to pick the lock open, but of course it wasn't going to be that easy. He grunted and pulled back.
"No dice?" Skull asked, and Joker nodded.
"There's a path up ahead. I'm picking something up." Oracle said. They only had one path to go to, so they decided to check things out. Only they were met with a dead end and not even a little rabbit. "Huh…that's weird. There's a reading of a door right in front of us…"
"Um…." Noir tried to find something. A faint blue caught her gaze and she looked down, only to see an extremely tiny door. "Is…Is that it?"
"What the hell!?" Skull noticed it when Noir pointed it out. "That door is way too effin' tiny! How in the world is anyone supposed'a fit in there!?"
"But there's something beyond that door!" Oracle said.
"Yeah, but how are we going to get in there? I don't even think Mona-senpai could make it inside…" Violet tapped her chin.
"I'm not that small…!" Mona objected. Still, they did need to find a way to open the door if there was something behind it.
"Hey, guys! I think I found something." Minako's voice caught everyone's attention. She was standing next to a table, which had a few bottled drinks on the top. "I'm not exactly sure what this is…"
"It says, 'drink me'." Crow took a look at the label, which wasn't really helpful. "It looks to be a drink of some kind, but that doesn't exactly explain what's inside of it."
"If it's a drink from Alice in Wonderland…it could be the one that makes you small." Noir surmised.
"Is it really safe to drink something like that?" Queen had her rightful doubts.
"Huh!?" Meanwhile, Rei heard something completely different. "A drink from Licorice and Walnutland that makes you smell like delicious food!? I want some!"
"How did you hear any of that?!" Skull was shocked at how Rei completely misheard that! "That ain't even possible either!"
"I agree with Skull. I don't think you should drink it." Fox said.
"I don't mind giving it a try." Joker would take one for the team. "If there's a potion to make us smaller, there's one to make us big again, yeah?"
"But we don't know if it's safe." That was Queen's worry. And when she looked over, Fox was already drinking from one of the other bottles. "FOX!?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was feeling rather thirsty and couldn't help myself. They all say 'drink me' after all!" Fox responded, drinking about half of the bottle.
"Drink first, ask questions later…" Oracle rolled her eyes.
"How was it?" Panther asked.
"There was a faint twinge of fruit in its flavor." Fox admitted. "I thought it was quite delicious. I don't feel any different, however."
"...Oh. Wait." Minako realized something. "I'm wearing a skirt, and Dragon is in a kimono. Should we have let him drink that first?"
"I'm not that uncouth!" Fox scoffed at the accusation. To be fair, Minako's concern was valid. It just wasn't something that crossed his mind. Especially when it didn't concern any artistic purpose.
"I…didn't think about that." Dragon stared at the drink. "Perhaps I should shrink down as well…"
"I'm kinda curious to see how it tastes. And I'm thirsty…" Panther took the other half of the bottle from Fox and proceeded to drink the rest of it. Minako and Dragon took two bottles and drank some. "Wow, that is good!"
"Refreshing." Minako grinned.
"There's one bottle left." Noir said.
"I want some!" Rei said excitedly.
"It's too dangerous." Zen shook his head.
"I want to-!"
"No."
"I-!"
"No."
"GEEZ!" Rei huffed. Zen was no fun!
"I should probably go with them." Joker wasn't going to let them go alone! So he took the final bottle and drank some for himself. It took a few seconds, but the five of them did slowly begin to shrink down. "Whoa…!"
"We're actually shrinking!" Panther didn't think they'd get so tiny! Her voice was high and squeaky as a result.
"I hope we're not stuck like this." Dragon felt so small. She was, but everyone else was gigantic!
"I'm having second thoughts about this." Minako started to regret this decision. Maybe being normal size would've been worth the risk of perversion. That said, such thoughts didn't persist for long…because the sound of a soft mewl caught everyone's attention. "Eh?"
"What was that?" Fox looked around.
Something within Mona stirred at the sight of such tiny people. As much as he claimed he wasn't a cat, those cat instincts were screaming at him to pounce! And he did. "Meow…!"
"M-Mona!?" Dragon yelped and ran to the side as Mona almost pounced on the group.
"W-What's his problem!? I thought he said he wasn't a cat!" Minako squeaked as Mona kept trying to use his paws to catch everyone.
"Morgana! Knock it off!" Panther yelped.
"His animalistic urges have finally overcome him! The hunt of that rabbit has turned into the hunt of US!" Fox said with a bit of a panicked voice.
"I…I can't help it! I see small things running in front of me and I just have the urge to chase them…!" Mona tried to explain himself, but it wasn't doing him any favors.
"If this ain't the most convincing thing I've ever seen…" Skull knew Mona had to be a cat after this!
"It's kind of cute…" Noir admitted. Someone would've tried to stop this, but Mona was just moving around too much to get a good grab on him.
The tiny Persona users were fleeing for their lives from the feral Mona. "This way!" Joker opened the tiny door. Fox, Dragon, Minako, and Panther hurried through the door. Joker was the last one to go inside and he closed it behind him. Mona ended up hitting his head against the wall as a result. "Whew….."
"That. Was awful….." Panther pressed her hand against the wall, panting heavily.
"Ugh….I haven't…had to run that much…in a while…" Dragon took a moment to sit down. She just needed the time off her feet.
"That was an experience I will not forget…" Fox exhaled softly.
"No kidding…" Joker was hoping they wouldn't have to experience that again…
"Look…there's the key." Minako pointed ahead. In the back of the small room was the key they needed. She slowly walked over to it and attempted to lift it. "Hooooooogh. Nope. Need some help here."
"Right, right…" Dragon brought herself back to her feet. No rest for them yet…
.
It took a few minutes, but the five tiny people managed to bring the key out from the small door. When they exited the room, they slowly began to return to normal size. "There they are!" Rei pointed. "And they have the key!"
"Nice work." Crow said.
"Thanks…." Joker let out a small, relieved sigh.
Noticing the somewhat negative disposition, Rei held a small container of takoyaki forward. "Are you okay? Do you want some yakitori?"
"...I'd love some. I'm famished as well." Fox wasn't going to say no to that.
"You're not using Rei-chan for free food, are you, Inari?!" Oracle had to ask.
"I mean, she has so much at all times…is it really a bad thing?" Violet didn't see much of a problem with it. In fact, she currently had some takoyaki in hand that Rei gave her while they were waiting for the others. "And it is really good…"
Meanwhile, Mona had his head tilted down towards the ground in shame. "I'm. so sorry. That was not my proudest or coolest moment. I don't know what happened!"
"You're a cat. I think we should've expected this." Minako was going to try and be nice about it, despite the fact it was probably the most harrowing thing she'd experienced in a while.
"We're not mad at you! But that was…a lot." Panther scratched her cheek. "But did you have to focus on me so much!?" She could be a little upset about that one.
"You stood out the most…!" Mona defended himself.
"I don't think that's helping your case." Dragon exhaled through her nose. "But it is fine. We have the key…we can progress now." She was willing to move on from the incident as long as everyone else was….
.
.
Meanwhile, in the Velvet Room, Elizabeth was staring at the four doors. Caroline and Justine were as well. "Hmmmm…."
"Is something the matter?" Theodore was concerned, so he decided to check in on the four of them.
"Four doors, and the power of the wild card affecting even its surroundings…" Elizabeth mused to herself. "And there are three Wild Cards in play thus far…"
"The Inmate, that girl, your guest…but that only leaves one left." Justine made a list. While Elizabeth's guest had yet to be found, she was practically confirming his presence. As for the final one, they had yet to be seen or mentioned…
"That girl is an abnormality as well." That puzzled Elizabeth the most. "She knows who I am, and feels fundamentally similar to my own guest. But we have not met before this moment…"
"Are you sure you just didn't forget her or anything?" Caroline asked while tapping her baton against her shoulder. "It's pretty hard to forget people like us!" And she did raise a valid point. She then turned to Theodore. "Hey, you. What do you think about it?"
"What do I think?" Theodore took a moment to reflect on the situation. "Honestly, I'm unsure. I would feel much more confident in my answers if our Master was present. He is very rarely absent from the Velvet Room…"
"..." Elizabeth fell silent. She was still in deep thought…
.
.
The Phantom Thieves and company encountered the rabbit once again. They chased it down to another floor, where it completely stopped for once. "This time we've got it!" Skull grinned. "It stopped runnin' so it's not going anywhere this time!"
"Victory is ours!" Dragon wore such a big grin. This was it, the chase was finally over!
"GOTCHA!" Mona leapt at the rabbit, and just before he could actually make contact with it, it vanished in a flash of light. "Huh-!?" And Mona comically tumbled along the ground, but managed to save the landing.
"W-Where did it go!?" Dragon gasped. This was different from it blasting a hole through a wall! It just vanished!
"I'm not picking anything up…I think it's just gone for real." Oracle said. She wasn't getting a single trace.
"I suppose that marks the end of the hunt. Or, perhaps, the end of our guide." Crow had the sneaking suspicion the rabbit was trying to lead them somewhere.
"Where have I…" Zen was still trying to recall where he'd seen a rabbit before. It was something tugging at the corner of his memory, but he just couldn't remember. It was unfortunate and it kind of irritated him a little bit… "It's no use. I don't think I can remember."
"It'll come back to you, I'm sure." Queen tried to reassure Zen, but his expression didn't really shift. She couldn't tell if her words reached him or not.
"Is it just me, or is this area starting to get a little creepy?" Minako looked around. Sure, the area itself was still the same, but something about the atmosphere made her skin crawl.
"Rei, are you alright?" Zen turned his attention to Rei.
Rei was shaking just a little bit. The deeper they pushed into You in Wonderland, the more a strange feeling of anxiety began to clutch her heart. She was a little afraid, but she didn't want to admit that. "M-Mhm! I made my choice, after all…to leave here…"
"Yes, you're right. Let's continue." Zen wouldn't let any harm come to Rei either.
"There's a gate up ahead." Violet walked forward. This door looked far more imposing than any they'd encountered so far.
"Whoa! Whoa! Hold up!" Oracle suddenly exclaimed. "This is crazy. There's a strong reading beyond that door! Not an FOE but something still strong!"
"Perhaps the Queen is waiting for us." Dragon said confidently. "We've gone through this entire story and haven't seen her yet."
"I was thinking the same thing." Noir said firmly. "I wouldn't be surprised if that's what we encounter."
"No point in speculation. We can see for ourselves." Joker looked to the group. Everyone was ready to fight, so he was the one who led the way through the door. They entered a large room, where a gigantic female shadow in red royal garb was caressing a locked treasure chest. She sensed her space being invaded and turned around, revealing a fan as she towered over the Phantom Thieves.
"It is the Queen of Hearts!" Dragon pointed at the Shadow.
"That's the strongest thing I've seen in this place so far! Be careful!" Oracle's warning was loud and clear.
"Looks like we found our prime target!" Mona had his sword at the ready.
"Danger…! I sense danger! Oh no you don't! I won't let you have this!" The Queen of Hearts exclaimed.
"This Shadow talks…!?" Minako gasped.
"How strange…the others didn't…" Queen took note of this. What made the Queen of Hearts different from all the enemies here so far? This was normal for her and the Phantom Thieves, but this abnormality stuck out.
"You're going to stay here forever! I'll never let you out of this world!" The Queen of Hearts fanned herself.
"You should know it's hard to contain the Phantom Thieves. We'll find a way out of here one way or another!" Joker said confidently.
"That's right. We will leave this place." Zen and Joker were on the same page for a change. "That's what we've decided."
"We will leave this place and topple your Kingdom!" Dragon pointed towards the Queen of Hearts.
There was a moment of silence from the Queen of Hearts…. "Hehe…hahahaha…hahahahahahahahahaha!" And then she broke out into a mocking laugh. "Ahhh, how hilarious, how very interesting! You're going to let us out, is it? Oh, how kind of you!"
"What the hell is this thing talkin' about?" Skull didn't exactly understand the royal talk going on. "This asshole is responsible for keepin' us in this world, right?"
"It also appears to be guarding that treasure chest." Fox gestured to the locked box behind the Queen of Hearts. "It seems intent on not allowing us near it."
"Big mistake on your part!" Mona chuckled. "Don't you know it's impossible to keep a treasure away from a Phantom Thief? We'll get our hands on it one way or another!"
"We are here to steal your Treasure!" Noir pointed dramatically at the Queen of Hearts.
"Whatever the case, I don't think we'll be getting around this without a fight!" And Violet was prepared to fight. "Joker-senpai, are you ready!?"
"Of course I am!" Joker nodded.
"I won't let you have it!" The Queen of Hearts scoffed. "Attend to me, my minions!" She waved her hand into the air, a gigantic pink heart appearing beside her. "Deploy the royal straight flush!" And then, with a literal wave of her hand, an army of card soldiers appeared in front of her, staring down the Phantom Thieves.
"She's going all out..!" Minako held a tight grip on her naginata.
"Then we shall as well!" Dragon pointed forward with her hand. When faced against the might of a ruler, Dragon's shogi mode activated on a dime, and she was ready to match the Queen of Hearts forces with her friends and allies. "Phantom Thieves! It's time for all out war against the Queen of Hearts! We shall topple Wonderland and escape to freedom!"
"What the…" Minako blinked, staring at the usually soft spoken Dragon with her jaw hanging open. Where did this come from….!?
"She does this." Panther nodded. Minako had been hearing that phrase a lot lately!
"You heard the lady!" Joker smirked while staring down the Queen of Hearts and her army. "It's showtime!"