[Flashback]
Minako and her team of S.E.E.S were within the higher floors of Tartarus. With how they conducted operations, only a few of them climbed the tower at a time, while the others remained on standby. As the leader, it was Minako's instruction and guidance everyone trusted when going forward. Right now, she was with Yukari Takeba, Aigis, and Junpei Iori. They didn't have any special equipment on them, other than what they normally used to take on Shadows. As the group climbed the stairs to the next floor, Junpei couldn't help but notice how tense Minako appeared.
"Hey, are you alright?" Junpei asked. He found himself asking this question a lot to Minako and for good reason.
"I'm fine!" Minako replied with her usual smile. Junpei didn't seem convinced, but she could easily play anything else off with her legitimate concern. "A little tense, though. I know we're here because of the missing people. One of them is a little girl that I know, too..." Elizabeth always informed her when people went missing in Tartarus, and this was the night to act before it was too late.
"Really?!" Yukari's eyes were wide at this. She was used to hearing about missing students or even adults, but a little girl!? "We have to hurry and find her then!"
"There are a few missing people on the floors above.!" That came from Fuuka Yamagishi. She served as the navigator for S.E.E.S. With her power, she could detect a great number of things that aided the group in their battle against the Dark Hour.
"Let's go!" Minako told the others, all of them following her lead. Tartarus was always a difficult place to navigate. Each floor was vastly different than the last, and the structure of them was never consistent every night. Minako was a solid leader and this opinion was shared by everyone. They were able to follow her lead without question, even though it did take Junpei a little time to adjust...
They rushed through the floor as quickly and carefully as they could. Whenever a Shadow approached, Aigis was the first one to attack. The robotic girl threw her hands forward, her fingers pointing ahead. "Firing!" Aigis exclaimed, unloading numerous bullets onto the enemies before they had a chance to strike. "Enemy eliminated."
"Good going, Aigis!" Minako gave Aigis a thumbs up. Aigis gave a curt nod in response to the praise. "Let's keep up the search." And they continued through the twisting corridors of the mysterious building. After rounding a corner, Minako found one of the missing people in question: a middle aged man who was in a lucid state. "I found one of the missing people, Fuuka!" Minako reported.
"Someone is coming right away to pick them up! Stay right where you are." Fuuka responded.
A short while later, the one who came up to assist in returning the man home was the young Ken Amada. "Thank you, Ken." Minako smiled.
"No worries, Minako-san." Ken gave Minako a resolute nod. "I'll make sure he gets back safely." With that, Ken took the man back down to the entrance of Tartarus.
One by one, they managed to rescue a few missing people. As the group of four continued their climb up the tower, rescuing lost person after lost person. With the help of the others; Akihiko Sanada, Mitsuru Kijiro, and Koromaru, they were able swiftly rescue people from Tartarus. Still, Minako's expression was a little tense. They had yet to find the one person she was actually looking for. "C'mon...where's Maiko..." She mumbled to herself.
The group of four then came to a split in the path. "Which way should we go?" Junpei asked while adjusting his hat. The worst part about Tartarus was that even if the areas itself did change, somehow it all managed to look exactly the same.
"The last missing person is on this floor." Fuuka reported. Once they found Maiko, they'd be able to leave for the day.
"I think..." Minako was about to make a decision, but then...
"EEEEEEEEEK!" The shrill sound of Yukari's voice caught everyone's attention. She was only a few feet away, but they rushed right over to her.
"Yuka-tan, what's wrong!?" Junpei asked. Rarely did he hear Yukari let out such a shrill cry like that!
"Are you alright, Yukari-san?" Aigis also asked.
"T-There's a spider!" Yukari pointed at the ground, her finger trembling. Everyone's gaze followed her point, and there was indeed a spider there! A small and harmless thing compared to the Shadows they were fighting, but it was still frightening enough for both Yukari and Minako, who yelped as it skittered at their feet.
"AAAAH!" Minako cried out as she and Yukari clung to each other out of fear.
"Whoa, what the hell!?" Junpei watched as the spider ran past him. He didn't even have the chance to swing at it. "Is that a Shadow?!"
Aigis quietly pointed her hand forward, her robotic eyes locking on to the spider as it tried to move to a corner. "Target locked." And then, she fired multiple bullets at the spider, thinking little of it. The spider was surprisingly adept, and it dodged a few of Aigis' bullets. In the end, the spider vanished into the darkness of the corner. "...I was unable to eliminate it."
"That was...scary." Minako and Yukari pulled apart from each other, trying to regain their composure.
"But, you know. It was kinda cute to hear Yuka-tan like that." Junpei said with a slightly annoying smile.
Yukari hated when Junpei did this. Always pestering her because she wasn't a 'typical girl' or whatever. She groaned and rolled her eyes. "Ugh, shut up."
"That was strange, however." Aigis stared at the area where the spider was. "I did not detect that it was a Shadow, but that should be impossible..."
"A few cats have wandered into Tartarus, right? I guess a spider isn't too far-fetched." Yukari brushed her hair behind her ear. "I don't think we should worry about it too much." And she was secretly hoping that wouldn't happen again. She'd rather fight one of those freaky chained-up Shadows than see another spider.
"Y-Yeah." Minako cleared her throat. That wasn't her finest moment. "Anyway, we should keep moving! We're almost done for the night. Fuuka, are there any Shadows on this floor?"
"I don't sense any..." Fuuka furrowed her brows. This wasn't anything out of the ordinary, sometimes floors were like this. But something about this felt especially strange.
"Really? How lucky." Minako seemed like she was happy about this. But on the inside, this was a little strange. "I guess Tartarus isn't off at all tonight." She thought to herself. That was another reason she wanted to come to Tartarus, but as it turns out, that was just her imagination. In that moment, she swore she could hear the faint sounds of a bell ringing. She looked at the others, but it didn't seem as if they heard the noise. Maybe she was going crazy... "If we split up, we should be able to cover more ground. But if you get into a conflict, don't engage and try to regroup."
"You got it." Yukari said. The others agreed with this sentiment. With that, they all split off to search for the little girl that was trapped on this floor.
It was eerily quiet in Tartarus tonight. When she was alone, Minako could feel it. "I didn't want to bother the others with this feeling..." She wasn't sure if it was just her, or if something really was off. "Something about Tartarus is just off tonight..." Her red eyes scanned the surrounding area. She trusted Fuuka when she said there weren't any Shadows present, but she was keeping her eyes peeled for both Maiko and that spider. She didn't trust that it just left. Spiders always had a nasty habit of appearing when you least wanted them to. That said, it was just silence. Minako rounded a corner and saw Maiko. "Maiko!" She quickly an over and knelt down, staring at Maiko worriedly. "Oh thank goodness, she's alright..." She didn't know what she'd do if something happened to this little girl. "Why are you here when you're supposed to be away..."
Ultimately, that didn't matter. "It's alright. You'll be okay. Fuuka! I've found the girl!" Minako reported.
"That's great! The next floor is a border floor, too. So you can bring her through the teleporter with the others!" Fuuka's smile could be heard. She always felt relived when they managed to save people. "I have the rest of the floor mapped out. The others are closing in on your location too..." Fuuka trailed off.
"Fuuka?" Minako stood up, taking Maiko by the hand. Maiko wasn't really consciousness, but her body did move. She did clutch Minako's hand tightly, feeling the sense of comfort. Minako started to walk with Maiko in hand.
"You have to hurry! I'm picking up a strong reading! The Reaper is coming...!" Fuuka warned.
"What!?" Minako's eyes widened. It wasn't long before Yukari, Junpei, and Aigis found her.
"What's wrong?" Aigis asked.
"Fuuka said the Reaper is coming!" When Minako said that everyone's eyes widened.
"For real!? We can't fight that thing!" Junpei groaned. Especially when they had a little girl in tow. They weren't going to have a lot of time to debate either, because the Reaper itself slowly rounded a corner.
"Oh, man..." Yukari's face paled. Even if they had been getting stronger and defeating the Full Moon Shadows, the Reaper was still far beyond anything they were capable of facing. "W-What are we gonna do?!"
"I suggest we retreat. I can hold it off." Aigis stepped forward, prepared to fight and act as a diversion. However, Minako instead gently pushed Maiko towards Aigis. "Minako-san...?"
"I'll distract it!" Minako said while glaring at the Reaper. She didn't have to fight it, but capturing its attention long enough to allow the others to escape was within the realm of possibilty.
"By yourself!? Are you crazy!?" Yukari did not like this idea. If Minako got hurt trying to protect them..!
"Yeah, you can't take that thing by yourself!" Junpei also objected to this.
"I also cannot allow that." Aigis refused. The thought of leaving Minako alone with such a foe was...!
"No time to argue on this!" Minako narrowed her eyes. The Reaper was taking aim at them with one of its guns. As such, she start to sprint to the side, and the sudden movement caught the Reaper's attention. "I'll circle around and meet up with you guys! Get Maiko to safety, please!" There was an urgency in her voice she couldn't hide. It wasn't just because of the situation, but...
"Okay..." Yukari understood. She gently took Maiko by the hand to guide her away. Junpei and Aigis felt bad about this, but...
"If we hurry, we can return and provide assistance." That's how Aigis saw it. They might have to bring the others if things were bad.
"Yeah! Let's hurry and get outta here!" Junpei didn't want to waste any more time than necessary. The sooner they got Maiko to safety, the sooner they could come back and help.
Minako watched as her friends headed to safety. Just in time, as the Reaper fired a blast of fire from one of its guns at Minako. "Uh-oh...!" Luckily, Minako already had Orpheus equipped. As such, the blast of fire, while intense, was reduced in damage. She gripped her naginata, sprinting off to try and find an area to circle around the Reaper. "Fuuka! Is there a way out for me!" She took a moment to summon Orpheus, releasing a streak of flame that exploded against the Reaper, slowing it down just a little bit. This bought her a little bit of time, but not much.
"I don't believe this. There are so many more Shadows appearing on the floor now!" Fuuka was starting to feel a little panicked. But she needed to do her best to ensure Minako got to safety. "A door just appeared not too far away from you. It's to your left...!"
"A monad door!?" Minako was not going to look that gift horse in the mouth. If nothing else, it would keep aggro off of her. So she followed Fuuka's directions, glancing behind her shoulder as the Reaper was still pursuing her. At least she was keeping it far and away from the others. She hardly cared what happened to herself. Minako turned the corner Fuuka instructed, and saw the strange looking door ahead. That didn't even look like a monad door! But she couldn't exactly take her chances either. So, she opened the door. Right as she did, the Reaper unleashed another blast of fire that struck her right in the back. "GAAAAAAAH!"
"Minako...!" Fuuka's voice faded out as Minako fell into the white void...
[End Flashback.]
.
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"And the next thing I knew, I woke up in You in Wonderland!" Minako told her story with a smile. The fact she was able to do so was a little unnerving.
"That sounds...pretty rough." Yosuke didn't have any words. Minako's unparalleled optimism was a little concerning. "And you sure your friends are here?"
"Mhm!" Minako nodded. "The Reaper definitely left after I went through the door. I know my friends probably came to follow me in a hurry with how concerned they were. So I truly believe we got separated. They might have just landed in a different location."
"That's plausible." Naoto couldn't deny that possibility.
"So you saw a spider as well..." Makoto asked Minako. She heard this before, but she just wanted to confirm it once again.
"Oh, yeah!" Minako shuddered as she recalled it. "It really surprised me! I hate spiders."
"I totally feel you there." Ann nodded. "When I saw a spider, I jumped..."
"How about you guys, then?" Ryuji glanced over to the Investigation Team.
"Would you believe me if I said the day started like any other?" Yu asked, cracking a half smile. Considering how everyone else arrived, he felt like he could make that light joke.
.
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[Flashback.]
An ordinary day was right. The school festival at Yasogami High was currently underway. The morning began with Yu walking into the main room, where Nanako Dojima was waiting. The table was already set, with a breakfast made by Yu's younger cousin. "Good morning, Big Bro!" Nanako greeted Yu with a smile.
"Good morning, Nanako." Yu returned the smile. Seeing Nanako was always a great start to the day. It was a welcome sight he'd quickly grown used to during his time in the town of Inaba.
"My teacher said you need to eat well in the morning!" Nanako said with her smile still present. "I just know how to cook eggs, so I made sunny-side up eggs and a rolled omelette!" Although, when she gave it a second glance, she realized something was off... "Huh? The rolled omelette turned black..."
"Let's just scrape off the burnt parts." Yu suggested.
"Mhm! I heard the burnt parts are bad for you. But Dad says he liked it like that, so I always tell him he shouldn't eat it." Sometimes, it felt like Nanako could be the most mature person in the Dojima household. But in reality, everyone was so protective of her because she was still a child. Because she was still affected by the loss of her mother. Dojima was doing his best, but the household was still a silent battleground of conflicting emotions. Yu's presence did help mend that issue, day by day, bit by bit. "Well, thanks for the food!" And so, she and Yu began to eat. Nanako's face lit up with a smile. "The eggs are yummy! Chickens are amazing!"
"This is delicious." Yu was pleasantly surprised with the breakfast. He was happily chowing down. This was a great start to the day. A few minutes into their meal, the doorbell rang.
"Huh? Someone's at the door." Curious, Nanako went to go answer it.
The one at the door was Kanji. When he stepped inside, he gave a polite bow. "Y-Yo..."
"It's Kanji! Good morning!" Nanako beamed towards the older boy.
"Sorry to show up this early in the morning, man. The old hag wouldn't shut up about me taking this to you." Kanji pulled out a few boxes of bento, his gaze shifting off to the side in mild embarrassment. "I thought it'd be a pain to lug it all around school, so I brought it now." Although he started to fidget a little bit. "Y-You don't want it, huh?"
"Ooh! We're having breakfast right now!" Nanako clasped her hands together. "Let's eat it!"
"Huh!?" Kanji's cheeks dusted pink at Nanako's enthusiasm. "Uh, I don't know if you'd like it, Nanak-chan...hahaha..." Still, Kanji spread the food he brought onto the table. Chikuzen-ni, Konbu-mako, and a lot of simmered dishes.
"Sorry...it's all...brown 'n stuff..." Kanji rubbed the back of his head nervously. He had no idea if they were even going to like it!
"It smells great!" Nanako smiled. "Your mom's a really good cook!"
"Y-You think so!?" Kanji could smile to that. "C-Cool. I'm glad to hear it! Actually, I-I cooked part of that...it's, uh...that simmered part..."
Nanako's eyes lit up. "You can cook!? You can make knit dolls too! You can really do anything! When I get bigger, I want to be like Mist- Um, Kanji!" For a moment, Nanako almost forgot Kanji wasn't actually an adult. He was just a really talented teenager!
"I'll cheer you on." Yu grinned at her, and Kanji.
"Mhm!" Nanako smiled.
"W-What are you cheerin' her on for!? Seriously, what are you gonna do if Nanako-chan turns out like me!?" Kanji questioned. Most people didn't think highly of Kanji's talents, specifically because it wasn't something they thought he would do.
Yu, however, looked as if he spaced out for a bit. His brows furrowed, because he could've sworn... "Was that a bell...?" It was faint, but he swore he heard something that sounded like the chime of a bell. When he looked at Nanako and Kanji...they didn't seem to notice.
"Oh, you're gonna be late, Big Bro! There's a festival at school today, right?" Nanako looked at Yu, and he nodded.
Nanako's words also served as a reminder to Kanji. "Whoa, look at the time! Guess we'll have to use my secret passage."
"Secret passage? What are you talking about?" Yu tilted his head. This was the first he heard about any secret passage.
"There's a hole in the school fence." Kanji explained. "It's a shortcut to the classrooms that'll prevent you from getting caught by the teacher's."
Hearing such a naughty route, Nanako could not help but gasp. "Kanji, you're a delinquent!"
"Oh crap!" Kanji grunted.
"You're so cool!" And somehow, Nanako ended up liking this idea.
"C-Cool!? U-Um, not really..." Kanji sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. That said, he felt Yu's brotherly stare piercing into his soul. This was not the route Nanako should be going down! "I-I mean, Senpai! C'mon, stop glarin' at me!"
.
.
The day passed quickly after that. It was an exceptionally eventful day at the culture festival. The beauty pageant was a very...eventful time. Some of the group would prefer to leave that incident behind them. In the end, Naoto was crowned the victor, even though she completely skipped out on the swimsuit portion. Yu's class had a Group Date Cafe as their display, and since the culture festival was winding down on the final day, it was empty.
"Today's the last day of the Culture Festival, but there's no one here at all." Yosuke groaned. They put a lot of work into this idea!
"I hear the other classes are in full swing..." Chie was sitting down at her desk, her face resting against her hand.
"Aw..." Yukiko pouted slightly. "I was kind of interested in this group date. I wonder why it's not catching on?"
"Man, I'm glad it isn't!" Kanji was seated at a random desk. "There's nowhere else to rest! It was so busy everywhere else! You wouldn't be able to catch your breath anywhere.
"I like it." Rise had a smile on her face. "No one's taking pictures of me or making awkward small talk. Great plan, Yosuke-senpai!"
Plan? Rise was giving him far too much credit. And she had the wrong idea! This was nothing more than an unfortunate coincidence! "If that was my plan, then I would've suggested a quiet zone to begin with." Yosuke replied.
"There's one last event before the festival ends today, right? I wonder what it'll be about..." Chie wondered.
"I heard it'll be a karaoke booth with no sign ups needed!" Rise was bouncing with excitement at the thought. She may have been on leave, but that didn't mean she didn't feel the urge to sing creep up occasionally.
"Wouldn't it draw too large a crowd if you sang, Rise-san...?" Naoto questioned, if only for Rise's wellbeing.
"You know, that does sound like fun. I could show off a little." Yu said with a faint grin.
"I want in!" Teddie suddenly interjected. "It'll be my second grand victory after the cross dressing pageant! When I grow up, I'm gonna be a singing, dancing magician! Do you wanna see my magic trick? Huh? how about it? Well if you insist!" Without giving anyone the opportunity to utter a single syllable, Teddie popped open his bear suit and started to wiggle around. "Tadaaa! My transformation into a gorgeous prince is complete!"
"All you did was take off your costume." Chie said, unimpressed.
"...Uh." Yu was not sure how to proceed. He did not want to keep enabling Teddie. However, he didn't have to worry about that, because something caught his attention. The sound of a bell, once again. "...?"
"What was that?" Rise asked. She heard it too.
"It sounded like...bells?" Yosuke furrowed his brows.
"it was different than our usual school bell, though, huh?" Chie noticed this as well.
"Oh...!" Yukiko gasped.
"What is it?!" Chie responded instinctively.
"I heard that the Kinjiro Ninomiya statue runs around the schoolyard in the middle of the night!" Yukiko said.
Chie slumped over. She should've known better. "..."
"Besides, we don't have one of those statues here." Rise shrugged.
"It's a common story as one of the school's Seven Horrors." Naoto placed a hand on her hip. "Does this school have its own urban legends?"
"Like I said! The statute runs around the-!"
Yukiko tried, but Chie just wasn't having it. "We don't have one!"
"Oh, but the second one's impressive, too." Yukiko's hands went behind her back. "The eyes of the Mozart bust in the music room glow!"
"All they do is glow!?" Yosuke felt disappointed in this.
"Again, we don't have a statue!" Chie felt like the only sane one here!
And despite that, Yukiko just kept going. "The third one is, 'if you write your wish in the logbook at the Nurse's office, it'll come true."
"Isn't that just a superstition?" Yosuke was growing less and less impressed.
Yukiko continued telling her story. Unfortunately, since they didn't have anything better to do, they listened. "Okay, but here's the main point I wanted to get to."
"So you did have point." For a while there, Kanji thought there wasn't any.
"Can you guess what the sixth one is?" Yukiko asked before going forward. "Whoever hears the bell of the block tower to the end..."
"Uh...we don't have a clock tower here either." Yosuke interrupted. He was beginning to wonder how much of this was just hot air blown about over the years.
"Although, as I recall, supposedly there was one here once." Naoto commented. "I heard it from the principal before."
"Y'know, I think you're right. I'm pretty sure that it was taken down when we were in grade school, though." Chie said. It sounded familiar, but the timeline simply didn't make it relevant.
"So, what happens when you hear the bells to the end?" They made it this far, so Yosuke was curious about it.
"You die." Yukiko said flatly.
"Dude, that's such a cliche!" Yosuke should've known better!
"You breathe your last?" Yukiko tried again.
"Rephrasing it doesn't make it any better!" Yosule grunted.
"Oooooooookay, enough about that story! That bell probably means the post-festival event's starting! Let's go!" Chie would much rather focus on that than the creepy story. So much so, she was the first to leave the room.
Yukiko watched, confused as Chie bolted out of the classroom. "Huh? Chie left..."
"Can't believe anyone our age still gets creeped out by the Seven Horrors stuff." Yosuke just rolled his eyes.
"A-Are you scared?" Kanji asked Naoto.
"Hm? No. Not at all." Naoto shook her head.
"Well, let's get moving..." Yu stood up and stretched. Everyone walked out to the halls of the school. Soon enough, Yu noticed Margaret of all people standing there. "Margaret?" It was rare to actually see her outside of the Velvet Room! "Margaret? What are you doing here?"
"Ah, Yu." Margaret greeted her Guest with a polite smile. "I've been allowed to have a fortune telling booth here. It's just a way to pass the time."
"H-Hey, Senpai! Who's this beautiful lady!? You never told me about her!" Rise's gaze narrowed towards Margaret. The jealousy was rising along with the threat level. How was she just supposed to accept that Yu knew such a beautiful woman!?"
"Me neither! I can just let this slide!" Teddie was upset about the same issue, but for a completely different reason.
"I can explain." Yu said quickly. And he really did have an explanation. All he had to do was explain the Velvet Room and its uses to him. Thanks to the Velvet Room, he was able to use his power as the Wild Card to its full potential.
"Oooh! You mean that place you mentioned before!" Chie nodded. She got it!
"But didn't you say the owner had a long nose?" Yukiko's gaze went towards Margaret's face. Her nose, to be more specific. "...Does it...does it stretch?"
Margaret let out a deep exhale through her nose. "It doesn't stretch, and he was not referring to myself. Yu I'd be curious to know what you've told your friends about us."
"Uh." Yu glanced to the side. This wasn't exactly a meeting he was expecting to happen.
"Oh! Sorry, we're uh..." Yosuke thought it rude to not introduce himself!
"There's no need for introductions. I know about all of you." Margaret said calmly. "That aside, did you jear that sound earlier?"
"That sound?" Kanji asked, but realized Margaret could only really be talking about one thing. "We thought it was the post-festival thing starting."
That was all she needed to hear. "I see. So you did hear it. That sound did not come from reality. I heard it from my fortune telling booth, after all?"
"From your booth?" Naoto didn't see what was so strange about that.
"Though it has no master, the fortune telling room is a simplified Velvet Room." Margaret explained. "The Velvet Room is absolutely inseparable from the Guests' fate. Absolutely nothing meaningless happens there."
"So then, if the sound was heard there, then it was by necessity?" Naoto deduced. It felt like the only logical conclusion.
"Maybe you just dropped a bell or something." Kanji provided a very simple explanation.
"Indeed. Something is happening. Or rather, something is about to begin..." Margaret took Naoto's words into consideration.
"She ignored me..." Kanji grunted.
"Well, I guess all we can do is check out this fortune telling booth." Yosuke crossed his arms, glancing at Yu. "This Velvet Room has been helping you out all this time, right?" Yosuke turned to Yu, who nodded.
"You raise an interesting point. If you all heard the sound, then it must be related to you." Margaret felt this was worth investigating. "Will you please follow me? It's this way?" She started to lead the way towards the booth. Everyone followed.
As they did, Yosuke did have one question tugging at the back of his mind. "So, hey, Yukiko. What's the seventh story?"
"Well..." Yukiko began. "If you've heard the six leading up to it, supposedly, something will appear..."
"What? That sounds like the Hundred Stories!" More like the Seven Disappointments! Yosuke groaned and his tilted his head towards the floor. That's when he noticed something small skittering by his feet, which caused him to jump. "Whoa!?"
"What's wrong?" Yukiko asked with some concern.
"T-There was a spider at my crawling at my feet and...!" Yosuke was frantically looking at the floor around his feet, but... "Huh? It's gone..."
"A spider...?" Yukiko did look at the floor. She didn't see anything, though.
Yosuke decided to shake it off. It was probably nothing... "..It must've just been my imagination. C'mon, let's go..."
[End Flashback.]
"And then, we entered the Velvet Room." Yu explained. "When we did, we ran into Marie, Elizabeth, Theodore, and the those twins. They explained to us what was going on, so we rushed into the labyrinth to help you guys out."
"So that's how you got here. How strange." Hifumi furrowed her brows.
"You had a cross dressing contest at your school?" Ren looked at Yu, Kanji, Teddie, and Yosuke.
"I. Do Not. Want. To. Talk. About It." Yosuke said with horror in his voice.
"And yours truly won the day!" Teddie said proudly.
"...Huh. I know Shujin wouldn't do anything like that." Ren said with a wistful sigh.
"Why are you lookin' so disappointed all of a sudden!?" Ryuji exclaimed at Ren, who did not answer the question.
"So...you also saw a spider?" Makoto looked at Yosuke, who nodded.
"Yeah. At least, I think I did." Yosuke rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought I was seeing things at first. But hearing yours and Minako's stories, I'm starting to think I really did see it. Right after hearing Yukiko's story."
"T-That part isn't the one we need to focus on." Makoto cleared her throat. The fact she faltered just a tiny bit was strange, since she appeared so tough and straight laced. But Yosuke didn't really think anything of it right now either.
"Did anyone of us hear a bell, though?" Ryuji looked to the other Phantom Thieves. "There was so much shit goin' on in the moments before we got trapped here." They were all panicking because the Mona Bus was out of control.
"...I think I heard it." Hifumi's voice was a little uncertain. "It was moments before Morgana sped up. It was very faint, and difficult to hear over everyone's screaming..."
"Now that you mention it." Ren thought back to those final few moments. "I remember hearing it a little bit. I thought that was the sound of everyone being jostled around. I did think it stood out a little bit."
"I thought I was hearing things." Haru admitted. "If I knew it was going to be important, I would've said something sooner!"
"This means everyone here has heard both a bell, and seen a spider. I don't think we can chalk this up to just a mere coincidence." Makoto was trying to make sense of it. There was a connection, but she just couldn't figure it out...
"I think it's safe to assume that there may be some thread between the sound of the bell and the spider." Akechi stroked his chin. "If the Velvet Room is described as a place where nothing meaningless happens, it stands to reason that the bell and the spider are linked in some way. But to what end? That I can't figure out either."
"I wonder what this all could mean." Kasumi had no idea. Anyone could see there was something connecting these events, but they were lacking in details.
"Whatever the case, I do believe we are one step closer to the mystery of this place." Naoto was not going to let such a deduction go to waste.
"If we want uncover the mysteries of this place, I think we should check out the second labyrinth!" Minako suggested.
"Minako-chan is absolutely right!" Teddie waved his arms around.
"Back to our class..." Yosuke gulped. He had a bad, bad feeling about what they were about to see...
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When the large group made their way to the second floor classroom, it was exactly as Yosuke feared. There was a large sign that read 'Group Date Cafe'. "My hunch was right after all!" Yosuke groaned. "Why'd they have to drag out such bad memories."
"No point in dragging our feet." Yusuke said. "We still have three labyrinths left." The numbers still seemed off, but it was all they to go off.
"That should be the case." Zen spoke. "It is also possible that I will regain my memories." Based on how things went with the Queen of Hearts, that was a natural assumption. Although he couldn't help but wonder about Rei's memories...
"If Zen-san's memories return, we might be able to learn something more about this place!" Kasumi was hopeful for that.
"Futaba-chan and I will help you all from the Velvet Room!" Rise did a cute little energetic hop.
"R-Right...! Sure!" Futaba stiffened up a little bit. It was a little intimating working with THE Risette, even if she wasn't currently Risette!
Noticing the stiffness, Rise couldn't help but smile gently. "You don't have to act so formal around me either. It'll be alright!"
Gosh. Rise was so friendly. Futaba would feel a little bad if she let her anxiety get the better of her! "C'mon, Futaba! You can do this!" Futaba had to psyche herself up for this. "Okay! We got this!" With that, the two navigators left for the Velvet Room.
Rei's spirits were mostly high. But the moment they stood in front of the second labyrinth, she felt that fear from before creep up on her. "Zen..."
"Are you scared, Rei?" Zen asked, worriedly.
"I-I'll be okay..." Rei said quietly. "I can do this...I-I'm gonna go back with everyone!"
"Okay, Rei-chan!" Teddie popped up with a big smile. "Repeat after me! Group date, hoooo!"
Rei decided to trust Teddie, lifting a corndog into the air. "G-Group Date, hooo!"
"Is she going to be okay...?" Morgana was understandably worried about Rei...
But worries aside, it was time for them to step into the second labyrinth...
.
.
Within pink Group Date Cafe labyrinth, multiple pairs of footsteps sprinted ahead. All of them were led by a young man with blue hair. They had yet to find an exit, but they weren't going to give in that easily. The blue haired male simply planned to push ahead. An exit was waiting for them, he knew it.
He just didn't know what they would find on the other side...