Chapter 67: Palace Sickness

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Akira•

The number of Shadows and traps increased as they got deeper within the Pyramid. The puzzles also increased in complexity, but they were still easily solvable by himself and Queen. But, eventually, they reached an end to the tight corridors.

In a room with a massive pit, so deep that the bottom couldn't be seen through the dark abyss, and so wide that they couldn't safely grapple across, he slowly led his thieves through small crawlspaces and around guards. At least, any guards who would be more trouble to fight than they would be to avoid. As they went, his Third Eye highlighted a sarcophagus that looked slightly different from the others, and once he opened it a button was hiding inside.

That led to a sequence of finding newly opened sarcophagi, each holding more buttons before the final one revealed a hidden room holding a Sanctuary Gem. Ryuji hefted his hammer. "So, where're we supposed to use this one?"

Finding a path up, they reached a dead-end that held a single pedestal that he could place the gem in. The room rumbled, and a path of green light floated up from the abyss, covered in technological symbols. "My, that is quite an impressive sight. It seems we will be able to pass over it!"

Panther grimaced and hugged her arms to herself. "It's not gonna disappear while we're crossing it, right? That's a little scary…"

"We aren't going to fall," he mumbled, leading them across.

…

He ignored Arsène's silence. Across the pit, and after sneaking through a room to avoid a Savage Enemy, another Safe Room was almost ignored before his Thieves asked him for a quick breather. Aqueising, he anxiously tapped his heel against the ground as he sat on one of the Safe Room's stone chairs.

And, following right after that, was a narrow room where Shadow Futaba stood atop a sarcophagus to look down on them. "You're late. I thought all of you had died."

"We almost did, thanks to you!" Skull shouted. "I mean, do you really wanna help us?! Make up your goddamn mind!"

"...I'm not sure," Shadow Futaba spoke, gazing down at them with her empty, golden eyes. "There's not much left at this point though."

She vanished, and Panther groaned. "Not again! Skull, this is all because you picked on her!"

There was an explosion of ooze, and a Shadow appeared before them. It took the form of a sarcophagus, at least two meters tall and made of a greenish-gray stone. "It seems your short temper has created more work for us," Fox idly noted.

"This is my fault?!"

"...WHO DARES INTRUDE UPON THE PEACE OF THIS HOLY GROUND? THIS IS THE PHAROH'S TOMB. NONE MAY DISTURB HER SLUMBER.

"Nice going, Skull," Mona grumbled. As if that was a signal, the giant coffin floated into the air and opened ever so slightly, a gnarled hand creeped out and pointed a finger down at them.

"Scatter!" A white orb descended, and when it crashed into the center of where they had stood, exploded in a way that was scarily reminiscent of the Reaper's final attack. The shockwave was powerful, but no one was hurt.

"We should retreat to the Safe Room," Queen called. "We're too drained to fight this thing!"

"Can't! We got Shadows behind us!" The sound of Skull's shotgun thundered through the room, and Joker turned to see Naga and Lamia slithering into the room.

"Shit! Queen, Fox, hold them off! Everyone else, we focus on the coffin!" He pulled his gun out and began firing, the bullets pinging off its stone shell. The hand pointed a finger towards him, and another white ball of light descended towards him.

"Captain Kidd!" The Captain fired a bolt of lightning from his hand cannon, hitting the magic orb and detonating it before it could hit the ground. Joker grit his teeth and endured the waves of force that came off the attack, before running forward and collapsing his cane into knife form. He tried to slice off the Shadow's hand, but it quickly retreated inside its sarcophagus and closed it tightly.

His blade bounced off, and he growled as he jumped back, running around its sides to try and find an opening, while Zios, Agis, and Garus were thrown by Skull, Panther, and Mona. The lightning and flames washed over the coffin-borne god, but it actively avoided the magical wind.

"It's weak to wind!" He pulled out an air cannon from his pockets and used the consumable item. It was much weaker than a Garu attack, but it still held the magical properties within the Metaverse and struck the Shadow's weakness. The Shadow rumbled and fell to the ground, crashing with a loud thud.

"Zorro, show your might!" Mona used a powerful wind spell on the downed Shadow, sending it flying into the air. Panther's whip snapped out and wrapped around it, pulling it down to the ground where he, Mona, and Skull intercepted it.

"All-Out Attack!" While Queen and Fox held back the Lamia and Naga, he led the rest of his Thieves in a coordinated attack to take down the powerful Shadow.

The coffin cracked, and a screech echoed from inside it. The arm snaked out again and pointed a finger at him, so Joker prepared to dodge another explosive blast. However, instead of a white orb descending towards him, there was a cloud of white smoke and—

"S-Squeak?!"

"Joker?! What the eff?!"

"He's been turned into a mouse!"

He squeaked in confusion and alarm, looking at his hands— paws? He'd been turned into a rat, wearing nothing but his mask. Even his weapons had vanished. "Squeak! Squeak!" He tried to remove his mask and summon a Persona, but it was very difficult without opposable thumbs.

The Shadow unleashed another orb of destruction and Mona let out a yowl as the not-cat grabbed his mouse body by the scruff of the neck with his mouth, jumping away to safety. "Thorry, Ooker!"

"Squeak! Squeaaaaak!" He didn't know if it was the discomfort from being carried by his neck, or if it was because he was a mouse now and Mona looked very much like a cat, but he was not enjoying this. "SQUEAK!"

"Thop whining tho much!" When they got to a safe distance Mona let him go and spat out fur from his mouth. "Achk! Ugh! You taste disgusting!" He glared at Mona, who summoned Zorro to throw more blades of wind at the coffin while ignoring his look.

"Hit him with a Patra, Mona!" The not-cat nodded at Panther's words, and Zorro whipped his sword around to hit him with the healing spell. Unfortunately, it didn't affect him. "What do we do now?!"

"Squeak, squeak squeak!"

"Got it, Joker!"

"You understood him?!" Mona asked Skull, shocked.

"No, but I thought it'd make him feel better!"

"SQUEAK!" Panther and Skull lit the Shadow up with their guns, unloading into it. He was about to squeak again, before there was a loud poof and some white smoke, and he was in human form once more. With all of his clothes and weapons, thankfully. "H-Huh?"

"The status doesn't last that long!" Mona cheered and then was hit by the same rat attack. "Squeak?!"

"Aw, goddamnit!"

Seeing the Shadow prepare another magical explosion, he ripped his mask off to summon his newest Persona. "Guardian General!" The massive purple and orange golem roared as it appeared, then charged forward like a freight train, tackling the Coffin-Borne God.

"Whoa! That's the Shadow we fought earlier!"

His golem grappled with the Shadow, before winding up and landing a massive punch in its midsection, sending dozens of cracks through the surface of its coffin body. Joker coughed, feeling as his stamina was heavily drained from only a single attack. Crushing a lifestone, he directed his Persona to attack again, then again, all while Captain Kidd and Carmen were continuously unleashing their own spells.

The coffin suddenly swung open with enough force that it forced Guardian General back one step. Even with the lid opened further, all Joker could see of the body within was two glowing eyes and a pair of wicked sharp horns before it once again pointed its finger and unleashed a magic blast.

He let out a gasp of pain as Guardian General was sent skidding back from the blast. He felt something leak down his chin, and grimaced as he wiped a hand across it and came away with some blood. Watching as the Shadow prepared another attack, he looked down at Mona's squeaking rat form, and narrowed his eyes. It didn't last long, and Mona had been a rat for about as long as he had… "Get ready, Mona!"

"S-Squeak?!"

"What the hell're you doin', Joker?!" He ignored the question and grabbed Mona like a squeaky toy, wound up, and threw him as hard as he could. The not-rat flew over the Shadow, and at the apex of his flight transformed back into not-cat mascot form. He let out a cry of confusion, before summoning Zorro and launching blades of wind downwards.

They sliced into the Shadow from above and sent it careening downwards, into the path of Guardian General's massive dropkick. "Yeah, eff him up!" The coffin flew back from the force of the blow, bounced off a wall, and began spinning, all while he returned the General and summoned Anzu.

"Garula!" Whipping winds tore up the Shadow, and he ignored his headache getting worse. "ALL-OUT ATTACK!" Everyone leaped forward and attacked with everything they had, and finally, finally, the coffin cracked and shattered, the entity within melting into black goop before its true form could be seen. Joker immediately turned and faced the horde of Lamia and Naga, pulling out his air cannons and freeze sprays and throwing them all into the huge group.

"Let's light them up!" At Panther's cheer, they opened fire, their bullets and pellets piercing the highly pressurized cans, unleashing explosions of ice and wind. Fox and Queen took the opportunity to use powerful, wide-range physical attacks and wipe them all out.

Once the area was quiet, Skull grabbed his hair and rubbed it in frustration. "Dammit, the hell's up with her?!"

"Can you just try to calm down?" Queen asked. "Nothing good will come of letting your temper flare up like that."

"She did say 'there's not much left' though. The end of this Palace may be drawing close."

He nodded at Fox's words. "Then let's keep forging forward."

"Joker, after that last battle, we're exhausted," Panther spoke up. "And you are, too! I know it!"

"And what are we supposed to do? Just turn back? To backtrack to the staircase, we'll have to fight through more Shadows anyway. If we keep going then we'll at least make progress."

Panther was about to argue back, while Skull, Mona, and Fox awkwardly stepped back to not get involved, but Queen interrupted her. "As much as I'd love to be done for the day, Joker is right in this instance. We'll be fighting Shadows whether we backtrack or continue forward, so we might as well continue forward."

"Great, then let's—"

"But we're retreating to the Safe Room that's only five feet back and resting before anything else."

…

He ignored the silence of Arsène and sighed through his nose. "Fine."

Ω • Ω • Ω

Even with his exhaustion, he felt jittery as he waited in the Safe Room for everyone to be ready to move again. It took longer than he was comfortable with, but eventually, they were moving.

The path forward led to the massive chasm room, though they were higher up this time, and placing another Sanctuary Gem into the correct pedestal led to more hardlight platforms forming that they had to parkour across, Panther and Skull becoming nervous at the prospect of falling.

Further in, and they were back in the room with the massive statues, but much further up and carefully making their way across the scaffolding along the top. "I smell a Will Seed," Mona absently noted, sniffing the air.

"It's the third one, so it'll be guarded by a powerful Shadow. We'll leave it behind."

"Huh. Didn't expect Joker to leave behind some treasure," Skull muttered somewhere behind him, but he wasn't paying attention to what he said.

Fox responded just as quietly. "With how he has been acting, it is no surprise. He's already passed up some chests that were guarded by Shadows. I believe at this point, he cares more about reaching the end of this Palace than he does any treasures."

"…I'm kinda worried about him."

He snapped his grappling hook out, unable to jump directly to the next statue, and instead used the floating platforms that littered the air around them. In the distance, he saw the guard that stood before the final Will Seed and turned away. They would waste more energy fighting it than would be restored when they retrieved the Seed.

When they made it across all the floating surfaces, the next mirror and mural were waiting for them, so he immediately got to work. The third puzzle was the most complicated so far, but that wasn't saying much. With a few swipes and rotations, the image was unveiled.

"A child pulling on her mother's clothes?" Fox asked, observing it. Or, that's what he thought he asked. It was hard to hear with the throbbing in his head and stuffy ears.

"Mom…"

At the sad child's words, Panther sighed. "More voices…"

"I… I'm tired of eating dinner alone all the time. It's always just convenience store bentos… I wanna go somewhere. Take me on a trip!"

"The one clinging to her mother would be Futaba-chan, right?"

"Nn," he absently nodded.

"Don't be so selfish!" The mother's voice snapped back at Futaba, her irritation clear. "You know I'm working hard to support you, right?! Ugh!"

The mirror turned and reflected the light, erasing the mural and opening the next doorway. "She seemed pretty angry," Queen murmured. "Is that the maternity neurosis the voice from earlier mentioned?"

"I thought it was pretty normal for a child to want to spend time with her parents, though…"

Skull scoffed at Panther. "Yeah. Looks like Futaba was a pretty lonely kid growin' up…"

"So these incidents compounded, forcing her mother to commit suicide?" As soon as Fox finished his sentence Futaba's Shadow appeared before them, causing Joker to jerk to alertness from where he was leaning against the mirror, trying to hide his exhaustion.

"...I must die."

"Huh?"

Futaba turned her gaze to Panther. "I killed her… That's why I'm here in this tomb…"

"Don't say that!" Panther snapped and stepped forward, angry. "You—!"

"I will die…" Futaba didn't wait for Panther to finish her sentence and vanished.

"Futaba-chan!"

Skull grabbed her shoulder so she wouldn't dash off, his eyes wide. "Why'd she get all quiet all of a sudden? What happened to that snarky personality?"

"Could her heart perhaps be growing weaker?" Fox theorized.

"We have to hurry and save her!" Shaking off Skull's hand, she hopped down from the ledge and ran up to the next door. Joker shook off his drowsiness and followed, along with the rest of the thieves. Upon reaching the door it opened to reveal they had reached the top of the staircase, with a glass door covered in caution tape waiting behind it. "What is this?!"

Stepping closer, Joker frowned. It wasn't opening automatically, and there weren't any handles or levers they could use. Skull began feeling along it for something he could grab and use as leverage to force it open, but from the frustration on his face, he couldn't find anything. "Yeah, this ain't openin'... Think there's a way to open it somewhere else?"

"Wait… Doesn't this door look familiar?"

"Now that you mention it…" Mona stepped closer, tilting his head. "You're right, Queen!"

"Futaba's room!"

"That's it!"

Skull looked back and forth between them. "Okay, uh, so why ain't it openin'?"

"It must be her cognition that no one can enter it."

"I'm surprised that you made it this far… And so quickly, at that." He spun and saw that Shadow Futaba was standing behind them, staring blankly. "Beyond lies the Pharoh's Chamber."

Everyone glanced at each other before Skull stepped forward. "So the Treasure's through here?"

"Indeed. However, you need my permission to open this door."

"Then open it for us."

She shook her head at the faux-blond. "I cannot. You must have her invite you in."

"What the eff? Ain't this your Palace?"

"What's she mean, Mona?"

"The Shadow is Futaba, but not Futaba herself, Lady Ann. In other words, we need the real Futaba's permission."

"So we need to have Futaba-chan open her room and let us in?"

The Shadow nodded at her and began to float away as her body became translucent. "Considering that you made it all the way here, you may be able to do it…"

The group was silent until Panther nodded. "I guess we gotta return to reality now."

"But I remember Boss saying that she won't let anybody in." Queen crossed her arms, one hand on her chin."

"Right, she's a serious shut-in, an' all that."

"Then how are we meant to convince her to grant us entry?"

"Standing around here won't help. We'll just have to give it a try. That's what she wants, after all."

"Then let's move," he spoke up. He began to lead everyone down the stairs, fighting the urge to clear his scratchy throat.

"I think we should do it too," Panther responded to Queen as they descended. "Even if it means we have to force ourselves in."

"Someone sure is stoked about this…"

"We have no choice but to sneak in again. I suppose we should be thankful that this crisis is happening when we do not have to worry about school keeping us from our heists," Fox noted.

"Let's all make sure to rest before we send the calling card. We don't want to get burnt out, and we have a lot of time after we managed to open the full path in just one day." He ignored the tingling on the back of his neck that told him Panther was staring at him as she spoke.

"Can't wait too long," he croaked. "We have less than a week after all."

"And you're feeling under the weather after pushing yourself so hard today," she shot back immediately. "Not to mention how drained the rest of us are. We need to relax before we even think about doing anything else."

He fought the urge to look back at her. "I'm not sick."

Panther snorted in response.

"Uh…" Skull cleared his throat. "So, speaking of the calling card… Gimmie it. The one Alibaba sent us."

"What are you going to do with it?" Fox asked, not sensing the tension at all and instead just curious.

"We're the Phantom Thieves, you know? We gotta announce this. If the Treasure's there when we get the room open, givin' this to her will let us take it right away. Queen, help me think of what to write?"

"I suppose…"

Skull cracked his fists together, excitement in his voice. "We got this covered! Once we're all good to go, then you decide the best time to barge into her room! That's all you, Joker!" Once they exited the air-conditioned pyramid, they prepared to finally leave for the day, the sun that had once been high above them now below the horizon. The scorching desert air was now beginning to turn cold, beginning to chill them to the bone. Caroline grabbed his attention for a moment, and he thought he saw concern as she dragged him to the Velvet Room, and Igor explained something about the Gallows…

"Joker! Hey!" He snapped to attention and looked at Skull. "Can't believe you can space out when it's gettin' so chilly… Come on, let's get outta here."

"Y… Yeah…"

Ω • Ω • Ω

•The Black Mask•

"The plan is moving along smoothly," he spoke into the phone. "I've located the Shadow and I'm ready to induce a shutdown at a moment's notice."

"Excellent." The slimy voice on the other end of the phone put a sneer on his face. "And of course, our 'Medjed' is ready to take the dive."

"And with the heights that the Phantom Thieves soar to after 'saving' Japan, their fall will hit all the harder."

"Speaking of… What are the Phantom Thieves doing now? How are they responding to the situation?"

"They seem to be in quite the panic. They have no way of stopping Medjed's cleanse after all." He kept quiet about the fact that they seemed to be disappearing somewhere, perhaps Mementos. He could not keep an eye on them while they were in the underground, though. It was easy enough in a more open area like that Artist's Palace and its long straight halls, but that cat of theirs would likely sniff him out before he got close enough to watch them in the twisting, winding corridors of Mementos.

"Hm. Shadows don't move from where they stay?"

"Not usually, and certainly not within the week we have."

"Then keep an eye on them. If Andonuts' Shadow won't be moving, keep focused on the Phantom Thieves until it's time to induce a Shutdown."

"Yes sir."

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Akira•

He trudged up the stairs of Leblanc, his head pounding, and his mouth dry. He'd used up so much energy, and even though their medicine didn't have any downsides when taking so many doses, at least in the metaverse, he still felt off from swallowing so many pills, sodas, and other such items.

"Akira, I really think you should get some rest," Mona spoke up. Morgana. They weren't in the Palace anymore.

"Can't… We used up a… Lot of items. I have to make more for when we take the Treasure. Just in case…"

"Oh for—! How are we going to do anything if you collapse?!"

"I'm not going to collapse."

"Say that when you aren't wobbling back and forth like you're Ohya after her… however many glasses of booze!"

He grimaced and sat down at his desk, pulling out his tools.

"Dammit, listen to me, Akira!"

"Get some rest. I'll go to bed soon."

Ω • Ω • Ω

7/27, Wednesday

DEADLINE: July 31st

DAYS UNTIL THE PURGE: 5

Steal Futaba's heart.

•Morgana•

He glared at Akira's sleeping body. He was pushing himself way too far, after the grueling Palace run the day before he just kept working on tools for an ungodly number of hours.

Well, at the very least, Akira had dragged himself into his bed and hadn't passed out at his desk… But Akira set an alarm for himself, and Morgana was going to change that. It was difficult with the cat paws he was stuck with while trapped in this body, but he managed to unlock Akira's phone and turn off his alarm.

With Akira now guaranteed to get more rest, he went back to sleep himself. He was pretty exhausted himself after the day they'd had, and he wasn't going to be a hypocrite that told Akira to rest when he wasn't himself. After a few hours, he woke up a second time, yawned, and then dragged Akira's phone to the other end of the attic, as far from the bed as he could go before carefully selecting a name in his contacts and calling them.

"Haaah… Hello? Akira?"

Oh… Lady Ann must taken advantage of their summer vacation to sleep in. She sounded adorable when she was just waking up! Ah! Focus!

"Lady Ann," he whispered, "it's me, Morgana."

"Morgana? Where's Akira?"

"He's still asleep. I turned off his alarm so he could get some rest. I think he's caught a cold… or maybe a fever? I can't tell through my fur. Either way, he's sick, and he needs someone to take care of him right now."

"What?! Uh, what should we do?!"

"He still has a lot of medicine left, and I'm pretty sure some of it can be used for colds. Or fevers. Or both? Either way, he just needs to make sure he stays in bed all day and rests. I just hope I can keep him down… I would let everyone know myself but…" He winced, embarrassed. "It's kind of hard to navigate his phone with paws… A-And I don't want him to wake up if I whisper too loud! Yeah!"

He heard her hold back a giggle. "Alright, I'll let everyone know he's under the weather. Actually… Yeah! I'm coming over now!"

"H-Huh?"

"You need help taking care of him, right? And Boss is working in the café! So I'll grab some stuff and come to make sure he keeps resting! I'll tie him to his bed if I have to!"

"I-I guess that works? But—"

"Alright, I'll see you soon! Bye!"

…Was this the best idea?

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Ann•

Check… check… yep! She had everything she needed to take care of a sick Joker! With her final, last-minute check done she opened the door to Leblanc, waving at Boss as she passed. "Hiya! Don't mind me, I'll be heading straight up!"

"Oh?" Boss smiled as he washed some dishes. "Welcome back, Ann-chan. I don't know if he's actually awake yet, which is a first. I can—"

"No need! Mor— He called me earlier and told me he was sick, so I'm here to help!"

"He's sick?" Boss' eyes widened. "He should have told me. The noise down here can't be helping him relax."

"I'm sure he just didn't want to worry you! He wouldn't want Leblanc closed just because he's sick!" She gave him a thumbs up. "Just leave him to me!"

Boss hesitated for a moment, before chuckling. "Alright, I'm sure he's in good hands."

She giggled and walked up the stairs, poking her head into Akira's room. Everything looked the same as last time, though a Morgana had managed to pull the curtains on the windows closed to block out the light, and Akira was fast-asleep, coughs coming from him, some sounding disturbingly rough.

"Oh, Lady Ann!" Morgana whisper-yelled, hopping off the windowsill and over the bed, padding towards her. "I'm glad you're here. I wanted to finally wake him to force some medicine down his throat, but I was afraid he'd try to get out of bed."

"He definitely sounds bad… But don't worry! We'll have him fighting fit in no time!" Morgana looked unsure, but she ignored that and walked over to the bed. She gently nudged Akira to wake him up. "Hey, Akira?"

"Ugh… Huh?" Akira slowly woke up, clearly groggy. He coughed and held his head. "A-Ann? What time is it? I have to… Get ready…"

"Nope! You're sick, so you're staying in bed today!"

"I'm not sick… I don't get sick…"

"Everyone gets sick, Akira, it's a part of life," she soothed.

"Nah… whenever I start feeling under the weather, Dad makes me a homemade remedy and I feel better…"

"Well, we don't have that here, so you'll have to make do with medicine! Let's see…" Since Morgana hasn't been sure if any of their Metaverse medicine was good for sickness, she bought some on the way over. She put the back of her hand on Akira's head and winced at the heat, before digging out some fever medication. "Alright, now sit up…"

"Hah…" After helping him up she made sure he swallowed the medication. She lifted a cold bottle of water to his lips and gently tilted it, trickling it into his mouth. After a few seconds he waved her down and she lowered the bottle. "T-Thanks…"

"Of course. Now, I'm gonna go ask Boss if I can use his kitchen to make you some rice porridge. Lie back down and rest!"

"But—"

"If I come back up here and you're not resting, I'll tie you to that bed!"

"Y-Yes, Ann…" She glared down at him to make sure, before huffing and nodding.

"Morgana, call me if he gets up!"

"Yes, Lady Ann!" She walked downstairs with the cooking supplies in her bag, and nervously twirled her hair. She wasn't sure if Boss would let her during working hours, but she had to ask.

"Um, Boss? Would you mind if I cooked Akira some rice porridge?"

"You want to cook for him? Well… I suppose we don't have many customers right now. I can supervise you. Have you cooked before?"

She stayed silent.

"…Hoo boy."

Ω • Ω • Ω

It was hot, fresh, ready, and delicious!

Well… it was hot, fresh, and ready.

At the very least it was hot, and it was ready!

"Akira, here we are!"

"Hm?" He cracked his eyes open, and groaned as he sat up. Morgana quickly helped him, nudging his head against Akira's back. "Thanks, Ann."

"Yup! So eat up! A-And no matter what it tastes like, you've got to eat it all!"

"I will…" He made to grab the bowl, but she pulled it away.

"Nope! You aren't wasting any energy! I'll be the one feeding you!" Akira looked at her quietly, before nodding. She beamed, before scooping up a steaming spoonful and blowing on it lightly. "Open wide!"

"Ahm." He swallowed the rice, and smiled tiredly. "Oh. That's good, Ann. Thank you…"

"R-Really?!" That was great! Or maybe he was so sick that he was delusional… Either way, it meant he'd eat all of it! "Alright, second bite!"

That continued until the bowl was empty, and she put it on the windowsill. Akira still felt warm, so she laid him down and cracked an instant cold-pack, putting it on his forehead. "Ugh… This is what being sick is like…? It sucks… I feel pathetic…"

"That's what everyone feels like when they're sick," she laughed lightly. "It totally sucks, and as soon as you're better you feel great and think you'll never get sick again, then you eventually do and the whole cycle repeats."

"Man…" At Akira's huff, and then coughing spree, Morgana hopped onto the bed.

"You know, I bet you won't get sick like this again if you don't ever push yourself as hard as you did yesterday."

"Don't lecture me right now, Monamona…"

"Hey! Don't you dare start using the Numbskull's nickname for me, too!" Morgana lightly swatted Akira's shoulder, not wanting to accidentally hurt him. "And of course I'm going to lecture you right now! Every other time you just brushed me off! 'I'm fine, Morgana!' 'I'll be okay, Morgana!' Hmph! Just look at you now! You need Lady Ann to take care of you!"

"It's not like I wanted to bother her with this," he mumbled. "It's… embarrassing…"

Oh my god, he was so cute! Ann held back a squee as a redness that wasn't from his sickness spread across his cheeks, and he turned his head to face the wall. "I don't mind, Akira. You need someone to help you when you're sick. Morgana can't do everything while he's like that, and Boss can't just close down the store." She unconsciously ran her hand through his hair (it was so fluffy!) and smiled. "Just rest, now. You've taken your medicine, had some food, and now all you have to do is sleep. That's the best medicine for a cold. And fevers."

"If you say so…" He coughed again and closed his eyes. She continued to brush his hair as his breathing began to soften, even with a cough or two here and there. Eventually, Ann was sure that he'd drifted off, so she set a timer on her phone.

"Alright, when he wakes up, if enough time's passed we give him the next dose, and I'll make him more porridge."

Morgana let out a soft laugh. "He's pretty lucky, to be getting your cooking, Lady Ann. Though, I suppose having to be sick balances that out, huh?"

"Oh stop it, my cooking was terrible… He must really be unwell to have actually liked it!"

"Hey, Ann, are you—?!"

Ryuji thundered up the stairs, and she immediately spun to shush him. "Shh! Shut up, Ryuji! Akira just fell asleep!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" He crept over to them, and peeked at Akira's sleeping form. "Oh man, I didn't think it was possible for him to get sick."

"He's as human as any of us, you know. Well, minus the psychic stuff…" She turned to look back at him. "He can get tired, annoyed, angry… Worried. He can be so irrational, keeping things to himself, even though it's obviously better to just let everyone know what's bothering him!"

"Lady Ann!"

"Eep!" She quickly quieted down, then glared at Ryuji as he tried to hide his laughter.

"I guess you get heated when it comes to Aki, huh?" She glared harder. "Well, if he's sleepin', then let's wait downstairs. If anyone else comes by we can stop 'em from comin' up and wakin' him. Plus, I'm starving!"

"I'll stay here and watch him, then. Boss doesn't want me around while he has customers. You'd better pay for Boss' curry," Morgana warned. "Don't be a freeloader!"

"Chill, I've saved up so much money from our Metaverse crap that I don't know what to do with it all!" They walked downstairs, ordering food from Boss and beginning to talk. They made sure to keep away from Metaverse topics, but eventually it always came back to Akira and if he was doing okay. As the day passed the rest of the Phantom Thieves began to arrive, trickling into the store to check on Akira. Seeing her and Ryuji sitting in a booth they joined them, staying downstairs so as to not disturb Akira's rest.

Ann smiled at her friends, happy with the knowledge that they all cared so much for each other, and for Akira. Hopefully, this knowledge would keep him from over-working himself in the future, knowing that he would be worrying them if he ever got that sick again. But first, she had to make sure he got better.

The clock was ticking, with their deadline being less than a week, but to Ann, and the rest of the Thieves, what was more important than their deadline was the wellbeing of their Confidant, and friend.

Alright, chapter ends here. I wanted to get this out at least a day or two before Christmas, but hey, on the day-of isn't too bad. The title is both a reference to Akira being sick, and me being sick of writing Metaverse exploration after several chapters in a row of it. Ugh.

The one-day run has been completed, and all that's left is to send the calling card and steal the Treasure. We also get Guardian General as Akira's newest Persona, after his trip to the Velvet Room last chapter. I'll post his stats like Tangoo's at the end. Oh, and RAT ATTACK!

Also a little snippet of the Black Mask, and his plans. Looks like they're targeting Anthony Andonuts' Shadow. Ruh-roh. And so, with Akira pushing himself too hard he eventually falls ill, and because he tried to rush things, ends up wasting a day to recover. At least he's got his Thieves. I did base a little bit of that section of the chapter on the Persona 5 manga chapter where Akira gets sick and Ann nurses him because I always thought that one was adorable lol.

Anyway, let me know what you think of the chapter, or just leave a 'nice,' both are always great to read. See y'all next time!

Persona stats and background:

Guardian General

"I am the Guardian General. If you are my new Pharaoh, then I shall lay down my life for you."

Arcana— Strength

Level— 31

Trait— Striking Weight (Physical damage dealt x1.2)

Strength— 26
Magic— 14
Endurance— 29
Agility— 16
Luck— 15

Inherit— Physical
Resist— Fire, Ice, Bless
Weak— Psy

Skills:

Innate— Skull Cracker, Medium Physical damage to one foe
32— Spirit Drain, Drain and recover 10 SP
35— Assault Dive, Heavy physical damage to one foe
38— War Cry, Attack and Defense x0.7 for three turns to all foes

Electric Chair execution:
Normal— General's Club (Weapon for Ryuji, 134 power, 90 accuracy)
Fusion Alarm— Reinforced General's Club (Weapon for Ryuji, 137 power, 93 accuracy, 10% chance to inflict confusion)

Background: "An ancient general who served the Pharaohs of Scaraba. It is said that after his death, his mind and soul were transfered into the body of a golem, to protect the tombs of his Pharaohs even from the beyond, until the end of days."

Phoenix's Notes: For the Guardian General, I kept his Persona abilities similar to his moves in Earthbound. Skull Cracker for Bash and Come Out Swinging, Assault Dive for Charge Forward, Spirit Drain for Make Something Spin Around, and for Shriek a War Cry, I stole War Cry from Shin Megami Tensei. After all, they have a few moves that let you lower multiple stats at once.

Resistances and weaknesses were once again similar to its Earthbound stats, and I gave it very low magic since it can't use any PSI at all. It's a purely physical beast. He also can be fused into a weapon for Ryuji! I enjoyed making this Persona.