"N-No! Stop this!" Futaba cried. "Stop!"
"I'll stop when you're dead!" Wakaba roared.
Wakaba attempted to strike Futaba, but her attack missed its mark, a gust of wind throwing it off target.
Wakaba turned to glare at Morgana.
"Futaba-chan, you have to get out of here!" Morgana yelled. "It's too dangerous!"
Wakaba swiftly snatched Morgana with her claw, lifting him into the air.
"Ahhhhh!" Morgana yelled, unable to break free as Wakaba tried to crush him.
Ren fired several shots at Wakaba's face, causing her to throw Morgana on the ground.
"Fox, freeze her!" Ren ordered, taking command.
Yusuke nodded, firing off several Bufula spells at Wakaba.
He was only able to freeze one arm, however, before Wakaba flapped her wings, cutting into him and blowing him into a pillar.
"P-Panther!" Ren stammered, trying not to panic. "Set her aflame!"
Ann set Wakaba's frozen arm on fire right before she was swatted away by Wakaba's other claw.
Ren took a deep breath before reaching into his pack for their last resort.
Megido Bomb!" Ren shouted, throwing the small explosive at the enraged beast.
A definingly blast of incredible energy exploded onto Wakaba.
An incredible energy that they had only encountered a few times in the Metaverse.
An incredible energy that no shadow that they knew of could resist.
It could only be described as… Almighty.
Ren let out a few deep breaths, hoping that they're last resort had been successful.
"I… Is everyone ok-GAH!"
Ren cried out as a claw reached out and grabbed him.
While the blast had been powerful, it had not been enough to finish off Wakaba.
Even with an entire arm blown off, and with parts of her body cracking and falling apart, Wakaba still had not been beaten.
Wakaba let out another deafening yell before slamming Ren into the ground again and again.
It eventually let the barely conscious Ren go, raising its claw above him.
"I'll crush you!" Wakaba roared.
Wakaba moved to deliver the final blow, when…
"I told you to stop!"
Wakaba's claw stopped, her eyes narrowing on Futaba, who was standing in front of Ren.
"Futaba!" Wakaba growled. "I'll-"
"You won't do anything!" Futaba snapped. "Because you don't even exist!"
"W-What?" Wakaba gasped.
"I told myself that I wouldn't run away from the truth." Futaba said. "So now I know that you aren't real!"
"I-I am your mother!" Wakaba exclaimed. "You killed me!"
"That's wrong!" Futaba snapped. "You're not my mother and I didn't kill you! You're just an illusion that I made up!"
"Enough! How dare you speak to me that way!" Wakaba cried.
"This is my world, and you don't belong here!" Futaba shouted. "SO GET OUT!"
"N-No… I… I…
Wakaba's body slowly began to crumble and fall apart.
"Y-You can't… you can't get rid of me…" Wakaba pleaded. "W-Wait-"
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Futaba cried.
The entire palace began to shift, Wakaba falling apart before crumbling to dust and blowing away in the wind.
"It's… really over…" Futaba muttered.
Futaba slowly made her way over to the others, waking them up one by one.
Morgana immediately started healing everyone as she explained what happened to everyone.
"Damn, you're freakin' amazing!" Ryuji praised.
"Thanks, but… uhhhh…"
"What's up?" Ren asked.
"Do any of you guys know why my clothes changed?" Futaba asked.
Futaba started looking herself over in her new clothes.
"Ooooh! It's totally skin-tight!" Futaba grinned.
"... At least someone likes that aspect about them." Makoto sighed.
"Well, it looks like everything worked out!" Ann beamed.
Ren nodded. "Still, I'm sorry that you had to get dragged into such a dangerous situation."
"It's ok." Futaba shrugged. "At least… I finally realized what my mom really was like."
As she said that, a bright light shined in front of them, the transparent figure of her mother forming in front of them.
"Futaba…" Wakaba whispered, her voice much gentler.
"God damn it, not again!" Ryuji cried. "I-"
"Wait hold on!" Yusuke insisted.
"M-Mom…?" Futaba stammered. "Is it really you? The real you?"
"It is. Thank you for choosing to remember the real me." Wakaba smiled.
"Mom… I'm sorry for being so selfish!" Futaba cried.
Futaba tried to walk over to her, but Wakaba stopped her.
"You don't belong here, Futaba." Wakaba told her.
"B-But, I finally get to see you again!" Futaba cried.
"I'm sorry, Futaba. But you belong in the real world, not here." Wakaba told her.
"Um… I, um… I love you Mom!" Futaba cried.
"I love you too, Futaba. And I always will." Wakaba expressed. "Now then, you should get going."
Wakaba gave Futaba one last smile before fading away into particles of light.
Futaba wiped her eyes a bit before turning to face the group.
"Right, time to deal with Medjed." Futaba acknowledged.
"Huh?" Ann questioned.
"Don't you guys remember?" Futaba asked. "I promised I'd deal with them. I know how to use the MetaNav now so I'm gonna go now."
"Oh, um, ok…" Makoto trailed off.
"What an odd girl." Yusuke commented. "She truly marches to the beat of her own drum."
"Yeah, like you're one to talk." Ryuji deadpanned.
"Still, having her on our side should be very helpful." Makoto noted.
"So, what about the treasure?" Ren asked.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" Ryuji grinned, running to the coffin.
They opened it up, only to find it completely empty.
"Hey, where's the treasure?" Ann wondered.
The pyramid suddenly began to rumble, bits and pieces falling off.
"What the hell's going on?!" Ann cried.
"S-Since Futaba found her resolve and awakened her Persona, it looks like her heart might have already changed!" Morgana exclaimed.
Yusuke frowned. "Then that means…"
"The palace is collapsing!" Ren finished.
"Mona! Car! Now!" Makoto shouted, picking him up and throwing him into the air.
Morgana immediately transformed into a car, all of them hopping in as Makoto slammed her foot on the gas.
They narrowly escaped the collapsing palace, making their way back to the real world.
All of them lay on the ground near Leblanc, exhausted from the infiltration.
"H-Hey, are you guys still alive?" Ryuji groaned
"Well, unless Leblanc is the afterlife, then yeah, I think so." Ren answered.
"I-I thought that I was going to die!" Ann gasped.
"What's that noise?"
Sojiro stepped outside, a strange look on his face.
"What are you guys doing here?" Sojiro wondered.
"Oh, umm, you see…" Ann trailed off, about to put her acting 'skills' to use.
"Hey, guys…" Ryuji muttered. "What happened to Futab-"
"Curry!" Makoto exclaimed. "We wanted some curry! We were all really hungry, so we decided to stop by for curry! Right, everyone?"
"Oh, don't worry, Makoto." Yusuke smiled. "It just so happened that I ate a large breakfast today, so I don't feel hungry at a-oof!"
Makoto lightly elbowed Yusuke. "Very, very, hungry, right everyone?"
"Y-Yes, very hungry." Yusuke groaned.
"Although, I just remembered that I have something to take care of right now." Makoto stated.
She quickly shot Ren a look.
"Oh, yeah, so do I." Ren admitted. "See you guys later."
She was glad that Ren was so reliable as to understand her intentions from just a glance.
As the others went inside, she pulled Ren aside.
"Let's go check up on Futaba." she whispered.
Ren nodded, leading the way to Sojiro's home.
When they arrived, Makoto gasped at what she saw.
Futaba sat outside of her home, not moving.
"F-Futaba!" Makoto cried.
The two of them immediately ran to her side.
"F-Futaba, can you hear me?" Makoto asked. "Please say something! Please…"
"She's still breathing, at least." Ren observed.
Makoto took a moment to try and calm down, but still couldn't help but worry. "Did we… do this? By going through her palace?"
"Can't be. Futaba changed her own heart, remember?" Morgana explained. "The whole thing must have put a lot of strain on her, though."
"I can imagine…" Makoto trailed off.
The poor girl wasn't exactly in good physical and mental health beforehand, and with all of this strain…
"Maybe we should call a doctor." Makoto suggested. "She could just be exhausted, but I don't want to take any chances."
Ren nodded. "Yeah. Good idea."
Ren called a doctor while she carefully carried Futaba inside and placed her on the living room couch.
She couldn't take her eyes off of Futaba as they waited for the doctor to arrive.
"Relax, Makoto." Ren insisted. "I'm sure that it's going to be fine. She's probably just exhausted."
"I hope so…" Makoto whispered. "I just can't help but worry about her. She's just… been through a lot."
"Yeah… she has." Ren agreed.
They waited a bit longer until Tae arrived.
Makoto nervously paced back and forth as Tae looked over Futaba, wanting to say something, but also knowing that she shouldn't disturb her while she was working.
Ren tried to seem calm, but she could tell he was worried for Futaba as well.
Finally, Tae stood up and faced them.
"A house call is going to cost you." Tae told them.
"O-Oh!" Makoto stammered, not expecting her words. "Alright. I'll pay for it, no matter how much it is. Just… please tell me that she's going to be ok."
Tae gave an amused look. "That was a joke. I'm happy to do this free of charge for my little guinea pig."
"H-Hey, come on, can't you just tell us how she's doing?!" Ren stuttered.
"Well… everything seems normal with her breathing, blood pressure, and pulse." Tae noted. "Although, she seems to be a little malnourished, and it doesn't look like she gets a lot of exercise."
Tae narrowed her eyes, her expression turning serious.
"What sort of living situation is this girl in?" Tae asked.
Makoto supposed it would make sense that she would be concerned.
"Well…" Makoto trailed off. "From what we know, she went through some… traumatic events, and a lot of abuse from her family. Her current guardian has been trying to get her help, but it hasn't been very successful so far. She doesn't even let anyone inside her room, or leave the house."
Tae nodded. "Alright, but where is her guardian right now?"
"At work." Makoto answered. "I can call him now."
"Let me know if anything else comes up, ok?" Tae requested.
As Tae left, Makoto turned to Ren, a concerned look on her face.
"We should let Boss know about Futaba." Makoto said.
"Yeah, I guess so." Ren agreed. "He should know for sure."
"But what about our identities!" Morgana pointed out. "What if Boss finds out that we're the Phantom Thieves?!"
"We'll just have to make something up." Makoto stated. "Maybe say we heard something while passing by his house?"
"Guess we have to." Ren replied. "I'll call him."
They waited patiently for Sojiro to arrive, the rest of the Phantom Thieves coming with him.
All of them were silent as Sojiro looked over Futaba.
"Oh dear…" Sojiro sighed.
"Boss…" Makoto began. "About Futaba…"
"Oh, it's alright." Sojiro told her. "This happens to her from time to time."
"Huh?!" Ryuji gasped.
"This is normal?!" Makoto exclaimed, shocked.
"She must've used up all of her energy." Sojiro explained. "I think it happens because she doesn't get enough exercise. Been trying to get her too, but, well, with her not leaving her room…"
"How long is she gonna be out?" Ann wondered, starting to panic. "She's not going to be in like, a month long coma or something, is she?"
"No, no, no, relax." Sojiro insisted. "She just needs to rest up for a day or two, that's all. I'll make sure that she does."
"That's a relief." Ren smiled.
"I'm going to close up shop right now. Can you keep an eye on Futaba for me while I'm gone?" Sojiro asked.
"Of course." Makoto promised.
After Sojiro left, Makoto couldn't help but let out a sigh.
"I don't even know what to say…"
"Well, I'm feelin' pretty frustrated." Ryuji grumbled.
"It's good that she's ok, but there's still Medjed to worry about." Ann brought up.
"And I'm not sure if we would be able to find another hacker to explain the situation to…" Makoto trailed off.
"Don't worry, guys." Ren grinned. "I'm sure Futaba will pull through for us. We just gotta wait for her to wake up."
"I hope that you're right." Makoto sighed. "I guess for now, there's nothing that we can do but wait. Still, you all did a good job today, everyone."
After Sojiro got back from closing up his shop, the rest of them went home for the day.
Ren arrived back at Leblanc with a lot on his mind.
He wasn't too concerned about Futaba, though. He believed that she would help them soon. Seeing the courage that she had displayed in standing up to her cognition of her mother had convinced him of that.
She had been so courageous, in fact, that it had inspired him to attempt to reconcile with his own mother.
After all, if Futaba could face a cognitive version of her mother in the form of a murderous sphinx, then we could work up the courage to call his mother.
Probably…
Maybe…
Ren attempted to call her before he lost his nerve…
Only for it to go to voicemail.
He was tempted to put down his phone, only to remember that his mother would probably still be working at the moment.
Ren took a deep breath before leaving a message.
"H-Hey, Mom." Ren began. "It's, uh… It's me, Ren. I'm sorry that I haven't called you yet. Things have just been really… hectic. You, um, might have heard the news…"
Ren couldn't help but feel awkward as he spoke, but shook it off and kept speaking.
"But things have been going pretty good for me!" Ren said. "Sojiro's been good to me, my grades are really great, and I've actually made a lot of friends. There's Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Kasumi… and Makoto too. They're all really great. I hope you can meet them one day. And, well…"
Ren took another deep breath.
"Since it's summer break for me right now… I thought maybe I could come and visit. I-If that's ok, I mean. I, um, I love you Mom. Goodbye."
Ren groaned as he set his phone down.
Why did that seem harder than infiltrating palaces?
Ren closed his eyes, trying to sleep as thoughts of what the response would be, or if it would even come…
As Makoto made her way home, she could feel exhaustion begin to take hold of her.
To say that today have been completely exhausting would be an understatement.
She was able to get in a bit of studying, but before she went to bed for the day, she felt her cellphone beginning to ring.
"Hello?" Makoto said as she answered the phone.
"Heeeey, Prez, sorry for calling you so late, but uh, I kinda needed to talk to you about something." Eiko said.
Makoto noticed that Eiko seemed somewhat distressed over the phone.
"Is everything ok, Eiko?" Makoto asked.
"Y-Yeah, yeah, totally, everything's fine!" Eiko insisted. "I just… I was just wondering if maybe… you had some money that I could borrow?"
"Money?" Makoto repeated.
She did have plenty of extra money from their palace infiltrations, but for Eiko to ask for money all of a sudden.
"What did you need the money for?" Makoto asked.
"I… I just need it." Eiko muttered. "Please, don't ask any questions, Miss Prez."
As concerned as she was, however, if Eiko was in some sort of danger, she wanted to help her as best as she could.
"Fine, I'll give you the money… but you need to tell me what's going on." Makoto said.
"Um… ok. I'll tell you." Eiko relented. "But, um… could we meet in private? I'd be more comfortable if we could talk alone."
"Of course, Eiko." Makoto promised. "If that makes you more comfortable, we can do that. I'll let you know when I can meet with you, ok?"
"Thanks, Prez. I appreciate it." Eiko said. "I'll, like, um… see you then."
They said their goodbyes, Makoto wondering what Eiko could possibly need money for. Logically, she knew that worrying about that and whether Futaba would wake up on time was pointless, but it was hard not to do it anyway.
Her exhaustion eventually won out as she drifted off to sleep.
"So… Alibaba managed to change their own heart." Sae noted. "Interesting."
"It's not that strange when you think about it." Makoto replied. "Anyone who makes a significant change in their life would have changed their own heart. The difference between Alibaba and our previous targets was that Alibaba wanted to have their heart changed."
"So, was that it?" Sae asked.
"No. Alibaba… had gone through a lot of trauma." Makoto told her. "Even after they resolved to change, it was still a struggle. They had suffered so much abuse from their family."
Sae simply nodded.
"So then what?" Sae asked.
"Well, after that, we all spent some time with them, helping them adjust and ease them back into society." Makoto explained.
"Why did you bother doing that?" Sae asked. "Why not just have them deal with Medjed and have that be the end of it?"
"Because, while dealing with Medjed was important… that wasn't the only reason why I tried to help." Makoto explained. "I helped them because I wanted to."
"Really now?" Sae questioned.
"I know that it might be hard for you to believe, but I'm telling you that I wasn't just in this for the fame or the trill, or even just to punish people." Makoto told her.
"What do you think about me?"
"Huh?
"You said it'd be hard for me to believe. What sort of person do you think I am?" Sae asked.
"I don't think that's relevant ri-"
*SNAM*
"I don't think you're in a position to be deciding what's relevant or not!" Sae snapped, cutting her off. "And even if you were, I'd argue that it's very relevant because I was one of your targets."
"… Then I'll tell you when we get to that part." Makoto said.
"Fine." Sae agreed. "So tell me what happened next then. How you dealt with Medjed with Alibaba's help."
Makoto's Confidant Progress:
THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 8
THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 6
THE CHARIOT - Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 5
THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 6
THE FAITH - Eiko Takao: Rank 6
THE TOWER - Chiaki Yasui: Rank 5
THE SUN - Shiho Suzui: Rank 6
THE MOON - Takayo Tachibana: Rank 5
THE HIEROPHANT - Sojiro Sakura: Rank 5
THE TEMPERANCE - Naoya Makigami: Rank 4
THE STAR - Hifumi Togo: Rank 3
THE DEVIL - Mitsuhide Matsuoka: Rank 2
THE HANGED MAN - Munehisa Iwai: Rank 2
THE DEATH - Yohei Kiritani: Rank 2
THE EMPEROR - Yusuke Kitagawa: Rank 4
THE EMPRESS - Haru Okumura: Rank 3
THE LOVERS - Ann Takamaki: Rank 3
THE STRENGTH - Caroline and Justine: Rank 5
THE JUSTICE - Goro Akechi: Rank 4
THE PRIESTESS - Kasumi Yoshizawa: Rank 3
THE FORTUNE - Phantom Thieves of Heart: Rank 4
THE JUDGMENT - Sae Niijima: Rank 4
THE COUNCILOR - Takuto Maruki: Rank 5
Are the Phantom Thieves just? Yes 40.1%