Fandom Persona 5: The Meta War CLOSED

[That Weird girl]

To be honest Morgana wasn't too different from a pirate. If he wasn't forced to behave like prophet had alluded to, then he would have gave the palace ruler a piece of his mind. Also, the damn staff for calling him a pet...that wasn't cool. But, with any luck, the thieves would manage to steal the treasure and destroy this palace. The story that was presented to him made him think about the others and himself, how he was just trying to get treasure at first by using the actions of the phantom thieves. Of course, the others had their issues and in society that caused them to think this way, Shiro was neglected by the ways of society, Masami was forced into acting like a criminal, Imato was unjustly done by the world was considered a lost cause to most. However, Ann had a much more easy life but she still was neglected by society at large. Prophet was also hard to know why he was a persona user, because most times the persona user is wronged by society.

Mona decided to not say anything in response to the palace rulers question, Heartbreak already having done so. He wasn't going to leave without these scallywags that he called his friends now. It used to be just him and Kaizen but now it was clear he had more possibility. The cat didn't have to be a forgetful thief that stole from the rich and powerful, no he could take down the rich and powerful. Kaizen was always too much of a coward to realize this and now he would try to stop Morgana and his human friends from purging the world of evil.

Ann felt the portrayal of the little girl growing up was an interesting show. But, the question was definitely a gray area that Ann felt like was kinda true, yes the thieves protected people but they did do what pirates would do. Of course, Ann felt like the phantom thieves had a reason to do what they did as opposed to pirates and the palace ruler. The question is, how would they get past the palace ruler? Ann was bracing for a fight but she also understood the importance of escaping because they are not going to win against her. Especially right now when they just met her, there had to be another way...

They probably would have to infiltrate the movie studio in the real world, didn't they? Ann looked at Swan and Heartbreak and gave them a pleading look of not to fight because it would end in their deaths. Who knew the Ditzy girl had more sense in this moment of not to fight, past Ann would have joined in preparation of a fight but now she was wising up a bit. Heartbreak could tank a hit but Ann would prefer her not to if they could help it. Swan was also in danger, being the closet thing that the Thieves had for guidance since Baron was gone and doing his own thing.

 

[Maeve Valor]

It took everything in her to not lash out and attack Baron. To prove him wrong. To show him that she has grown and she isn't that same new recruit he once knew, but under the surface she was aware how right he was. Syren had no choice but to just let him walk past her as her aura dissipated. She was still soft and naive even after all this time as well as unable to stand a fighting chance against Baron. Nothing had changed.

"Like how you left it all behind? I don't think so... Until next time... Baron." After that, Syren took a watery form as she completely disappeared from view. While walking away under camouflage with her surroundings, she decided to head towards the others and see what everyone thinks should be done next although she wished she could just head back now instead of later. Between the strange words that came from Prophet and encountering Baron, she had much to think about. Was Prophet truly sincere? Even if he was, should that really matter to her? He still needs to pay for what he did, right? Was she really not cut out for the MetaMercs? Even though she has grown in the ranks since last she saw Baron, she still could not shake the feeling that she did not belong and constantly told herself that eventually this feeling would go away.

TreasureSniper

 

[Anthem]

The show simply bore Tragedy, while he had no issue with works of theatrics in reality the boy knew this had to have been a simple work of fiction to twist the thieves' minds or a glimpse into this palace's ruler. His attention remained not with the show though, but immediately locked onto the dark tendrils he had grown to know all to well in their minimal time within this area. To see another shadow taken away by this abysmal creature of the sea sent a chill down the lionhearted-thief's mind, his mind then instantaneously locked onto what the hag had to say about this show.

"No... she was poisoned by those.... with no given chance," + "It wasn't meant to be real... it was to be an act... selfish... but with no crime in mind...,"

What could this possibly mean? Was the ruler made into their sin-filled self via a cause beyond their own acts of Envy? So many questions filled Tragedy's mind as new links were forming from previous ideas, and new possibilities emerged as well. But he was brought out of this thinking status as the shadows within the theater were stripped away from their seating, only leaving the palace ruler and the ragged shadow beside him. What the hell was this ragball still doing beside him? Why wasn't it swept away in the inferno caused by the lanterns? Well, the questions had to wait as there were now more... pressing matters to attend to.

"Now tell me those who steal the hearts of others for their own desires, and banish others' dreams away for their own plight... how are we different when all of us come from the bottom dregs of society,"

Before Tragedy dared to speak against the statement, Heartbreak made a statement that spoke... volumes. And he decided against tarnishing that speech of hers with his own added words, though he does say his own statement in the end either way. "Now make your next decision a wise one... Lass. Because if you dare fire upon us, I ensure you hell will be a relief for the beatdown you'd experience." Was it dumb for the boy to also take some heat when tanking damage was... well it was easy to say it wasn't his greatest ability. But he didn't think for a second about leaving one of his allies alone with all the heat on them, if push come to shove he could maybe take one hit or dodge out of the way.

 

[Azurian Dream]

"Hmph envy is the root of all growth, we do not arise to desire out of nowhere. We gain it from what we see around us. What others have already built we also seek to sail familiar shores. We give, and take of the haves of others. To deny it is a fool's errand after all. Everyone wants what they cannot have," the palace ruler smirked solemnly at Heartbreak's answer impressed with it but more likely having not heard something similar before. The Pirate Queen looked with a single eye jilted towards the boy who spoke next... seemed this group all shared the same moxie. They all were ready to defend or take advantage of the attack that could happen, and in this, their colors really shined. They were a rainbow of effects it was easy to say no one could really say where this could go. Yet at the end of it all the lack of answers spoke volumes to her.

"You act like a crew, but you couldn't be more divided on how to handle me. I'll strike as soon as she does, I can take it, what can I do, I'll rip her to shreds... such violent tendencies already to steal what I have... just... like...me," she spoke moving the barrel of her guns ire towards each, and every one of them. It was brutal, and honest even Prophet could tell he wasn't on page with them on this matter. A palace ruler ready to show themselves without any fear of her attackers, no idea who she was, why she was, or even what or where her will seeds were. They were at a complete disadvantage, and then out of the sheer tension of it all a familiar voice spoke out of the comms of Swan herself.

"I put forward to say we are still accumulating our stride in ordnance really. Succession of synchronicity comes from us partaking in interaction with you as our stalwart opposition as should be your concern," Cryptic's voice rang from Swan's comms rather without rhyme or reason bringing all attention of all involved straight to her. The ruler paused before lowering her gun with a raised eyebrow slowly moving. Before anyone could say much else the ruler responded.

"To what are you trying to imply," she stunningly requested in amusement at Cryptid's interjection. Even going so far as to put Prophet into a perplexing wonder of what could be gained by this intrusive conversation quip until he paused and realized something. This was the stage of an artist... and the Ruler herself held highly to that standard of thinking.

"Isn't it obvious? We are to be the villains of your send-off. For a story is only as good as its antagonistic element is it not? Are you really going to be satisfied with a peaceful end," Prophet chimed in causing the Ruler to clearly mull a thought over before holstering her gun as she walked away from them all the way to the end of the stage before turning around with a taunting smile of enjoyment the dramatic flare of the ruler easily shining through her demented yellow eye.

"Yes... Yes... Let our clash flourish, and stir these dead seas of battered and beaten monsters. For what is more daring for the pirate Queen Toihaa than to steal the passion within the last waves of the rebellious Phantom Thieves," her excitement and demented fever singed in the smile she gathered from Cryptid and Prophet's words. It was clear for the most part this Ruler never saw anything of opposition or the like thanks to the meta mercs. Ergo to have the chance to shine at its brightest through direct conflict lit the passion aflame in her to steal the fame the Pts had built thus far and add it to her own. Yet as she spoke of beaten monsters a small sign of annoyance crept into her face with a scowl of hatred towards the lackluster and weak appearing creature next to Tragedy. Yet the smile turned to a studious smirk...

"Yet the climax built is drought poorly. No, you must understand to truly cross the blades with me. I issue you an act as thus Phantom Thieves discover the name of the group I stole from to attain my glory. With that knowledge surely you will come out ready to hoist your colors high," she smiled taunting them clearly seeing them as nothing of a threat as they were now.

"When you truly come to terms we are one and the same we shall meet at the world's end. With naught but black pearls in hand we will each have what the other truly seeks," she lifted her hands out extending a warp wave of reality as the palace started to shake and tremble in reaction to her insane delight as something massively intangible started to form Infront of them as the ground cracked open wide a colossal wooden tengan gate was formed cutting off their sight from the palace ruler as it arose in is almost alchemic birth of existence. Destroying the theater into a shambling mess the Phantom thieves were forced to move fast escaping the intense destruction.

When the dust cleared, and the Phantom Thieves were out of harm's reach they would be brought to the sight of another eruption of power as the words "Ominus Terminus" rang out as an extreme force slash of energy came bolting out of nowhere slamming into the gates just formed exuding a massive energy of immense proportions yet again setting off a second chain reaction of violent shakes throughout the palace. Anything that had been prior in its wake in the way of the almighty slash would be singed from the existence or shattered into pieces sending numerous chunks of debris that threatened to squash the Phantom Thieves from its wreckless want of aimless destruction. The gate however held as the attack dispersed upon drained power puttering out as Mona transformed into his car form in the midst of panic. A massive shadow enveloped them all as one of the houses whose base was wiped from existence was now on crash course upon them.

"It might be best to consider this our time to take a tactical retreat," Prophet spoke up surprisingly in only a hurried voice snatching the driver's seat door not wanting another Swan driver to repeat even in the must of chaos. Once everyone was in Mona hit his own throttle as they attempted to escape the destruction with the others in the back whoever got in the passenger seat was one to get a regretful full view of the situation. Though upon the openings of debris rain, they would see through the chaos a single difference amongst the wooden gate. A small block that had the very question posed to them with an old Japanese ink brush ready to be drawn to answer.

Tragedy, in particular, might have noticed the wretched water figure hobbling with no sense of urgency if they were to be harmed yet any time sometimes came close briny waters tendrils would burst out of the ground followed by gushers of water saving the poor soul... almost as if symbolizing some strange duality to survive, but not at the same time. Panther may had notice the more they drove away a strangling device where the water was hiding leading up all the way to an intriguing lever atop the entrance gate. Did it control the water flow of the palace? Maybe Swan would snatch a view out in the distance of the meta mercs Abyss watching them without much reaction to their escape. Or could Heartbreak catch wind of fear and panic set upon the shadows by the immense force of the prior attack upon also threatening to treat the palace apart?

As Prophet did his best to keep the Monamobile from tanking into the recently added racecourse debris. The house coming for them was now nearing its impactive net ripping apart the very streets they drove upon catching up to them with a baited breath. However, as the roads would grow more treacherous from the rainfall the use of personas to blast the rubble out of Prophet's way would no doubt be warranted.

"Keep moving I almost got you," Oracle's voice would panic as the furious typing of keys signaled she was up to something though the clear panic in her voice was not one to fuel hope. Thankfully at the apex of being swallowed by the wraith of destruction, the Thieves would be saved as a white light enveloped them before teleporting them back into Oracle's safe room now with a drained Oracle breathing heavily. Somehow, she was able to draw back a massive moving vehicle with them all in it. Hitting her head against her computer layout Cryptid would run over to them offering any healing needed.

"Thank... you... Oracle," Prophet breathed a heavy sigh after the sudden adrenaline rush caused by both the ruler and an unknown source. Once everyone could catch their breath Oracle would inform them that Baron had already reported in saying something had required him to head out... rather curious it was, but for now, it was clear it was best to head home for now, and later they could go over what they had just experienced. As such the battered and weary metaverse years y would have to hold off their thoughts and opinions for now.

 

[Maeve Valor]

Just when Swan was prepared to jump into action if the Pirate Queen were to start attacking, she heard Cryptic's voice come through on her watch. She raised an eyebrow as she was utterly confused when she looked down at the watch as if by doing so the two on the other side would explain themselves. In disbelief, she then listened as the palace ruler actually inquired about the statement made. It wasn't until after Prophet added to the conversation that she too understood what they were trying to do and use this person's love for theatrics to their advantage. Glad that this approach was actually working, her respite was brief as the woman commanded the destruction of the building to make her own departure. As soon as the building began tearing itself apart, Swan sprinted back to the entrance way they previously came through. Once they were outside, Swan immediately was met with more rumbling and ruination of the surrounding area.

"Agreed," Swan confirmed Prophet's statement with widened eyes at the view of the oncoming debris. She was about to move towards the driver's seat, but Prophet proved to be quicker so Swan instead jumped into the passenger seat right as they all sped off. While they were trying to escape, Swan summoned Scheherazade atop of Morgana as used Eiga to knock debris out of the way. Fearful shadows filled the streets of the pirate town as Prophet evaded any that were in the way. There were a few that were dangerously close to getting ran over. One even dove out of the way into some water which briefly brought Swan's attention to what looked to be a unique formation of the irrigation system that resided. She then heard Oracle over the comms to a poor attempt of reassuring them that she was working on assistance.

"Keep moving?! At this rate, we won't have any road to drive on!" Swan yelled over the tumultuous environment as her voice jilted a few times from being jerked and thrashed around in the Mona-mobile. Though soon after saying this, her statement was falsified by Oracle making do on her word and was able to save them in the nick of time. On the other hand, the landing following after being teleported could have been preferably less painful, so she happily took a healing item from Cryptic before they all went their separate ways. After concluding the day, Masami now had time to wonder why Baron suddenly left as well as why his connection was strangely disrupted during the infiltration. For now, she made a mental note to brief him on what had transpired the next time they met.

 

[TreasureSniper]

Seeing no reason to further pursue the Metamerc, Baron continued walking around the streets with little resistance. Upon reaching a more secluded area, the masked man pulled the shard he had obtained from the twins for a closer inspection. Even within the mystifying realm of the metaverse, the sight of the Holy Grail shard was truly one to behold. The metal composing the shard possesses an otherworldly radiance, its surface shimmering with a lustrous sheen that seems to dance with ethereal energy. Its appearance is reminiscent of polished gold, but with a remarkable iridescence that shifts and changes hues when exposed to different angles of light. Despite having seen it numerous times in his previous profession, the masked man couldn't help but admire the mesmerizing beauty of the object.

"Didn't think I would see one so soon." Baron held the shard close to him, feeling the power emanating from it. The metal was oddly warm to the touch like it was..alive. Seeing no reason to hold back, Sougo tightened his grip around the piece of blessed metal and pointed the sharp end of the shard onto his chest. With bated breath, Baron stood still, trying his best to prepare himself for the inevitable feeling of excruciating pain. After taking one deep breath, Baron plunged the shard into his chest, feeling the piece of metal pierce into his heart. As his screams of pain echoed through the empty streets, the power within the shard begins to spread throughout his body. A radiant aura blanketed his body, igniting the man's body with an incandescent flame.

Spoiler: shard

As the team departed peacefully in the Mona mobile, a large silhouette of a dragon darkened the path ahead, casting immense darkness that swallowed the car whole. As fast as it appeared, it would just as quickly disappear right as the occupants of the car would hear something landing right on top of the Mona mobile's roof. It was Baron, restored to his fully armored self, with a new sword to boot. Baron gave the cat car a few pats on the "head" before opening one of his doors to gracefully swing inside of the moving vehicle.

 

[Nellancholy]

"You...!" The expected pulling of the trigger never came, with the palace's master instead bidding the Thieves to solve the mystery of her origins, and sealing herself away in a protective barrier. Shiro's lance flew forth in a resolute effort to impale the Shadow and force her to fight, but the rising wooden barrier promptly deflected it, incurring not so much as a scratch. There were barely a few seconds of breathing room before a huge wave of energy engulfed the building, shattering even what debris remained and threatening to swallow them up.

"Cowardly..." She muttered under her breath as she got into Morgana (which she'd never be used to), glaring over her shoulder just in case the Shadows tried to launch a parting shot at them. But that was hardly a concern.

The smell of dense, briny sea air remained in her throat as they fled the palace for now, her heart holding onto the resolve of defeating this palace at the next opportunity.

"It appears it's time for you to take the lead again, Swan."

 

[Maeve Valor]

~~ A few days before infiltration ~~
( Collab written with Azurian Dream & Anthem )

On the corner of Meisho Dori and Heisei Dori, there was a factory building that didn’t seem too old and yet it looked to be definitely abandoned. Upon entering the building, it would be set up to where the next person that crosses the threshold will be automatically transported to the metaverse. Both the front and side entrances led to one large room that used to have the machinery placed there, but it was now a wide, open space with a ladder on either side to get to the pathway along the perimeter of the room. In the middle of the room Countess and Warsong both stood behind a large shroud that was held up by whatever its contents were and it was rectangular that reached up to their torsos in size.

Warsong seemed to be waiting patiently while Countess made a gruff sigh and was bored using one of her steel claws to create a notch in the ground just to see how deep she could go into the concrete as well as how much pressure needed to be added. It was still slightly earlier than what was previously said in the message, but this was intentional due to seeing what kind of person Tragedy was. Would he try to come earlier to set up some sort of trap or device? Would he get to finish this trial? Just how serious was he about wanting to join their ranks? They would find out soon enough.

“Of all the things I expected you to ask. To recruit a Phantom Thief so directly I did not expect,” the older woman mulled still not sure how she felt about going through with this though since the All-Father saw use to them… she really had no choice but to oblige to the request. Even if against it this was a good chance to gauge them at face value to know how much of a threat they could become if not handled.

“So why this one in particular Countess,” WarSong asked as this had been the first time ever she had given out a legit offer to a persona user.

The metamerc in red only said in response with a grin, “You’ll see why by the end of this.”

`Well, it’s now or never. This meeting will change everything… I just hope I am making the right choice. And I hope the others don’t lose too much faith in me.` Checking the time on his phone, Imato looked at the abandoned factory with observant eyes as he tried to look for any obvious signs of a trap to no avail. After taking a moment to calm his nerves, the white haired boy raised his hood and confidently made his way through the front entrance, which sent him to the Metaverse. Not expecting this sudden transfer, the thief instinctively pulled out his ranged weapon and started to scan the area with his increased observation.

His surprise soon faded as he spotted the two mercs in the middle of the large room, he of course recognized Countess, a small smile admittedly appearing on his face upon seeing her. Though there was another one that he didn’t recognize, though the heightened observation ability the thieves’ held helped him quickly understand that the other merc must have been part of the organization longer considering the threat level. “Greetings love, I hope I’m not too early for this little meeting.”

Tragedy walked forward but stayed a respectable distance away, as to not make the two mercs ponder about his intentions. As he stopped, he would turn to WarSong and give a small bow. “Madam.” The thief then awaited to hear what they would have to say, or to hear what they might possibly want.

When the young man addressed the two, Countess smirked and said, “Not too early at all dearest. Although you’re acting much more proper than last time we met, beauty doesn’t suit you as much as the beast does. No matter, I’m sure I can get that bloodlust to come out again. Here…” Countess looked at Warsong and nodded her head, giving her the signal to take off her side of the shroud at the same time as her.

“...Let me give it a jump start!” Not wanting to give him any time to relax before the test started, in quick succession the shroud was pulled. For a brief moment, it revealed two vague, human figures before then shifted into shadow forms, showing that their “masks” were pulled along with the shroud. One of the shadows resembled that of a hellhound while the other looked like a wraith of some sort. If Tragedy were to look at his watch to scan the two, the dog-like creature would be shown as Urco while the other ghostly one would be Memitim.



After unleashing the two, Countess then jumped to a beam nearby with ease to jump again and land on the platform of the second floor so that she gave Tragedy plenty of room to fight… that and also to press a button that sealed off all the exits of the room. “First things first, defeat the shadows. I do hope you weren’t hoping to escape if things went south,” she cackled with a high pitch. It would be a hard fight but she had faith that he could take on these shadows, although she didn’t want to so blatantly root for him in front of Warsong.

Warsong herself stayed on the ground floor clearly unphased by being near the fight; she simply walked a bit to the left, allowing the shadows a direct line to their prey. Almost as if she was the very reason they had not charged the one known as Memitim unleashed a garula right under Tragedy’s feet to uplift him with pain before flying right into him ramming him with its hands crossed as it attempted to deliver a x-slash claw strike to inflict even more abrupt damage.

Raising an eyebrow as Countess talked of beauty and beastly nature, Imato watched as two shadows were unleashed from underneath the veil. A sigh fell from his lips as he shook his head, a smirk appearing on his face shortly afterwards as the challenge arose. “Now you must be joking, why would I run from some simpleton-” As if karma itself were listening, the Garula launched the thief into the air with a sudden gust.This didn’t do much damage but it certainly stun, however the sudden charge from Memitim along with the cross slash did significantly more damage. Being launched back from the attack, Imato stopped himself before slamming into the wall.

“Well that’ll teach me to talk shit. Haha!” Laughing out despite being damaged, the white-haired boy cracked his neck and knuckles before his gaze sharped on Memitim. Not even bothering to use his weapon, Imato set forth in a full sprint towards the ghastly being. Grabbing the shadow’s “face”, another cackle came from the boy.

“Now… ENJOY THE FLIGHT!” Throwing Memitim at Urco, Imato waited for the two shadows to collide before ripping his mask off and unleashing Loki. “Let’s see how you lightweights handle this…” Putting a hand out, pointed at the two shadows the ground around them started to crack and glow a bright cyan blue. “Rot in hell you fools!” Casting Mafreila, a powerful Nuclear spell was used to attack both of his foes.

“There he is…” Countess mused to herself as she observed the Phantom Thief. This was exactly the kind of tenacity that she wanted Warsong to see for herself. It was one thing for a person to have the drive to survive, but it was an entirely different game if the person was driven with the will to cause pain. Judging from the last time they fought, he was strong but he lacked tactical expertise. With the right training, he could be a force to be reckoned with. At least that’s what she thought; it was ultimately up to Warsong on whether she deemed this true or not though.

When Memitim was thrown at Urco, the shadow yelped like a dog normally would as it was knocked on its side. Once it got back up, that was when Tragedy used Mafreila on the two shadows. Two indentations were made into the concrete of the floor around where Urco and Memitim stood. Urco glowed the same tint of blue that was usually caused from the nuclear type abilities but the wounds from the prior attack were still on him. This meant that his nuclear attack was only negated. In a fit of rage, Urco retaliated by using Freila on Tragedy. But when it proved to also be an attack just as useless, the dense creature tilted its head in confusion to what just happened. It then shook with a bony rattle that was heard before charging at Tragedy and swiped at him following with a bite at his leg.

The damage to Memitim had been a bit more well received as the shadow took a moment longer to recover having been a bit indented into the ground by the blast unlike Urco. Yet once it was in full function it came up with a gust of life shooting off to the far left side of Imato. As Urco bit into Imato, Memitim summoned a dozen arrows flinging its hands forward to unleash a Myriad Arrow, a medium piercing attack.

As this all happened Warsong simply kept quite keeping an eye on the fight, and while most would see this as a bad sign of disinterest Countess knew different. When Warsong had negative thoughts or corrective measures she would be vocal, and brutal. Her silence meant at the moment Imato was holding her interest. Whatever her exact thoughts at the moment were kept to herself.

Like Urco had done upon seeing its spell had no effect on the thief, Tragedy tilted his head as he took note of the shadow’s negation of the nuclear element and how it hadn’t absorbed the energy like a previous foe of the thieves had done. When the dog-like shadow charged, the thief had expected an attack similar to what Memitim had done but was mistaken as the beast took hold of his leg.

“Son of a! Bad dog! Bad dog!” Trying to pry the shadow off him, Tragedy hadn’t realized Memitim had risen until the ghastly shadow started casting another physical attack. His body moved before his mind had time to process what was happening, moving the leg Urco had gripped up to make the beast take a few hits from the Myriad Arrow. Of course, Tragedy took decent damage from this attack as well and he was starting to feel his physical stamina drain away more and more. ‘Unarmed combat won’t be effective against this duo, I suppose it’s time to test their defenses…’

That battle-crazed look returned to Tragedy as he finally was able to rip Urco off of his leg, slamming the shadow into the ground directly in front of him. Quickly rummaging through his inventory, two items emerged from his pockets and were tossed into the air. “Now this is the battle we’ve been waiting for boy! Show them what for…” Loki laughed as he unleashed a weak area move, Varja Blast. The blast destroyed the two items, a bead and a stun gun while also pushing Urco further away. The bead healed Tragedy’s physical wounds, and the stun gun’s properties were transferred to the boy’s weapon as he revealed the cane-like armament.

“Jackpot.” Grinning wide, Tragedy would charge to attack both shadows with his chained weapon which was now enchanted with electrifying properties. His attacks were fierce and relentless, but not without meaning as he aimed specifically for the heads of both shadows.

The canine shadow had become angered from Tragedy’s escape from its toothy clutches as it got back up from once again being brought down. Only this time as it got up a purple aura began to form around it. Tragedy would recognize this as a sign that it was a disaster shadow. It then howled as the translucent blue glow from its black, skeletal chest began to pulsate as if it were threatening to explode again even though it had already tried that and it didn’t work. It was obvious that this chaotic monster was truly too blinded by rage to contain its nuclear energy and understand that the blast would be futile, but that didn’t stop it from attacking again. It grabbed the weapon with its mouth, letting the chain wrap around its head as it fought through the pain and moved forward to headbutt Tragedy in the stomach. Upon impact, the shadow would explode again. Regardless of the fact that it didn't do any damage, the headbutt would still be effective.

In the intensity of the electrical whip coming wildly at both the shadows Memitim weaved past, and then hauntingly spun around the whip like a whirlwind as Urco grabbed the weapon with its mouth. Upon the nuclear explosion the green specter would fly so fast past Imato riding the pulsed waves from the dogs attack. As Urco came in for its frontal assault Memitim would latch onto the persona user from behind wrappings if wretched hands around the Phantom Thief restricting his movement as its inner stomach teeth stabbed into Tragedy sides from his feet all the way up to his waist. Then with chilling laughter escaping its void like head an all consuming Garu Sphere would be unleashed wrecking havoc all over Tragedy’s body.

“A disaster shadow? Shit, this just took a whole new turn for the worse!” Complaining a little bit to the sudden realization of what he would be up against, Imato would try to pull his weapon back before it was grabbed to no avail. The thief watched as the chain wrapped around the canine’s head, before the beast slammed its head into his chest. “Gh- You boney.. Bastard!” Before he could counterattack with a swift slam upon Urco’s head, his movement was stopped by the ghastly Memitim. The boy yelled out in pain as the teeth from the shadow dug into his body as a Garu tore through him. Seemingly losing consciousness for a moment, his head hung forward as blood lightly started to drip.

Despite the Imato’s injuries, Loki wouldn’t disappear as he continued to only watch as his user was ravaged. Instead the persona would shake his head before speaking. “Now if I were you two, I would run but I suppose it’s too late for that… Good Luck.” Like clockwork, when Loki was done speaking Imato lifted his head with a crazed grin, his red eyes looked like they were filled with killer intent. “Hehe… HAHAHA!” Ominous laughter came from the thief as Memitim’s hold on him was suddenly broken as the ghastly shadow was grabbed and slammed onto Urco.

“I’ve had enough of these games! Now let’s start, after all… Talk is cheap.” As Tarukaja increased his strength, Imato would grab Memitim once more and hurled the shadow into the air. His next action was to grab his weapon once more, and the boy started to fling the canine around into the walls since the chain was still wrapped around the poor shadows head. The final target that Urco was slammed into was Memitim as the ghastly being fell after being thrown into the air.

With the two shadows grouped together, Imato and Loki rushed towards them together as one. Imato went in and used his increased strength to pummel both of the shadows senselessly as Loki acted with more discipline as the person cut into the shadows using Giant Slice to inflict moderate damage. The relentless assault continued until the thief unleashed one final Mafreila, to cause great damage to Memitim and launch Urco into the wall at top speed. “Heh… How’s that, you damned fools…” Imato smirked as Loki became his mask once more, as his mental stamina was slowly fading along with his physical stamina as well.

Shining brightly for the last time, Urco’s aura made up of purple and blue swirled around itself and grew quickly until a burst of energy exploded damaging its ally in the process. The shadow was released and now can become one with its original consciousness. Though the remaining shadow was severely weakened enough to revert them to their human form. It was now revealed to be an elderly man that had a walker. Even in the metaverse, the man looked sickly pale.

“How dare you hurt my grandson and I… Although we probably deserve it. My poor grandson is doing everything he can to pay for my medical needs. He is embezzling from the company he works for and even caused some other folks to lose their job for whoever suspected him… All those unfortunate folks… he’s really good at heart. But sometimes I feel like he resents me for it… What is a disintegrating person like me to do, young man? I had to encourage it in order to live. But it doesn’t matter now. Just put me out of my misery and stop this nonsense my grandson has put himself through for my sake,” the old man pleaded for the boy before him to end his existence as Countess stood above smirking down at the hard decision that has been set forth

Now it was time for Countess and Warsong to see what kind of person this Tragedy was. Would he talk him down to convince the grandson to stop embezzling? Would he cause a mental shutdown? Or would he leave things as they are? The MetaMercs were hired by the CEO of the company to secure their assets and look into who the embezzler was. No matter what he chose the issue would be taken care of, but that wasn’t the point of this test. The whole goal was to observe his methods and how he took care of problems.

Imato’s eyes widened ever so slightly as Urco had reverted to its true form, revealing the ill man who seemed to already be a foot in the grave. He almost felt bad… almost. While it was the need for survival that drove their actions, the embezzling had gotten innocent people out of a job while they continued their ways. A scowl set upon the boy as his hand instinctively reached for his firearm, pressing the barrel against the elder shadow’s head.

“I should end the life of a bastard like you, and hell it would be more satisfying than anything… But I won’t do that.” Smacking the shadow away with enough force to send him back a bit, but not kill him, the scowl remained on Imato’s face. He knew that killing the man wasn’t going to solve anything, something had to be gained from him… the geezer had to pay back for his wrongs, or pay a greater price.

“I am many things, but unfair is one that I am not. So allow me to offer you an accord.” Taking off his mask, but not summoning Loki, ruby red eyes pierced through the elder with a gaze that felt like it killed the soul. “You will discontinue your grandson’s schemes immediately, and have him admit his crimes. Your family will then repay the debts you have gained, I don’t care how you do it… But it will happen. You will be allowed to continue your miserable life if these conditions are met. If not…” Showing his firearm to the shadow, Imato remained dead serious as he continued with his ominous rant. “You will be granted the privilege of watching all those you care for perish, including that embezzling grandson of yours. That I promise.”

Taking a few moments to allow his words to sink in, the thief stood and returned his mask to his face. A grimace was settled upon his visage as the final words to say came to mind. “I know I have made myself clear. Now scram before I change my mind. Tick tock, Old Man… Tick Tock.” The boy hoped this was enough to get the shadow to give in and impress the likes of Countess and Warsong.

Luckily for Imato the words, and threat made their mark as the oldman, and his grandson both terrified to their wits end bowed in appreciation for the second chance fading away as this encounter would now take effect in the real world. With the trial at its conclusion WarSong rather casually walked over and started to circle the boy for a moment clearly making notes of his current conditions, and mannerisms. Each step of silence would add weight to whatever concerns Tragedy might have had about this infiltration plan. When the woman finally came full circle in front of the boy she spoke.

“Your sloppy,” those words alone would probably put a sense of dread on a field as if the sudden realization he was on the enemy's turf would come flooding into the boy's mind. However the words didn't stop there.

“You’re a glass cannon that foolishly takes hits for nothing more than style points, and to slow down faster enemies to get your hits in. Speed, and reflex would more than make up for this mistake yet you barely have any of either,” WarSong emotionlessly listed out rather brutally as at any moment if she found him unwanting she could pull out either her blades rifles, or blades pistols on him ripping what little left of him was their after the fight he had just experienced. This was probably starting to paint a picture of a huge mistake on the Phantom Thieves part until…

“You are quick to understand what won't, and will work though. You swapped methods on the fly which is a rare trait even in our ranks unfortunately,” she expressed with a notable hint of annoyance as she knew why that was boys will be boys was an allowed mentality, and while it did breed heavy hitters it also produced one trick ponies as well. While Tragedy showed that problem there was also a hint of the better quality as well.

“Adaptability is where you need to usher your primary growth. Taking hits for the sake of openings will get you killed, and fast. You need to up your defense game as well just because you can’t take a hit doesnt give an excuse to not block one. Speed, reflex, and defense are your weaknesses currently, but you have creativity, adaptability, and raw power to balance them out,” she said, finishing her first impressions on his combat capabilities with her hands resting now behind her hand she than seemed to lighten her hostile presence with something he did resoundingly well.

“Your handling of the target within the contracted means shows a strong understanding of keeping to flow. You kept your aggressive nature solid from the fight to the negotiation making your target realize you do not waiver nor will be swayed by emotion. You kept it professional which is a highly sought quality,” WarSong finally sang some comboing praise though this would bring the evaluation to the most important part… the final result.

“In turn I would grade you as a jagged gem. You're rough around the edges, and too sharply ahead in front of other needed balancing talents to make you shine. However a gem is still a gem those sharp points can be cut down to balance out, and those rough patches can be smoothed to produce a flawless stone,” WarSong spoke giving her reasonings in full to Imato giving each of words to reason what he lacked, and had that was valued to the Meta-Mercs in full. In Fact even Countess would know for her to talk this much to a recruit was rare, and a strong positive sign as her own evaluation had been much shorter.

“Though I remind you, your background makes future steps a hill to climb. You are a part of the Phantom Thieves currently, and took part in bringing down not one, but two of our contracts… lucky for you they were minor ones all things considered. Yet the ire of our fallen brethren is not one forgotten any time soon. You have your work cut out for you,” she finished her evaluation done in full as she gave Tragedy time to voice any questions or concerns her way.

Countess watched as Tragedy’s eyes flickered from looking confused, to solemn, to enraged fairly quickly upon hearing what the old man had to say. If it were her, she would have just killed him right there like he had asked. Without the proper care he needs, he’ll likely shrivel out anyway. Not only would she get her kicks from snuffing him out but she’d also be saving him the trouble of going through a slow death. But hey, to each their own. She still got to see him intimidate the target pretty well.

As she listened to her prior teacher’s assessment, she had to agree with everything that was mentioned. She even touched on things that Countess herself didn’t quite catch upon observation. It truly lended to why WarSong was at a much higher rank than her own. Based on her own review when she first started out, she must be just as intrigued with Tragedy. Of course for her own reasons other than Countess’ (of which were mostly based around an infatuation). After her own trial, most of what WarSong had told her boiled down to telling Countess that she needed to direct her impulsive behavior in a way more beneficial to her combat style. If channeled correctly, her movements would become a lot less predictable. At first, Countess didn’t like how the woman talked down to her, but through training with her, a feeling of respect was built up.

When WarSong was done speaking, Countess jumped down to them and beamed at WarSong with a smirk. “See? What’d I tell you WarSong? The guy has potential. I knew he wouldn’t be a waste of time. I believed at the very least, he’d make for an interesting story to tell to the others about the trial,” Countess said, not really comprehending how dismissive of a statement that was before then addressing Tragedy with a hand on her own hip.

“I’m glad that we didn’t need to slaughter you. Congratulations darling, you’re the newest recruit. Hardshell will be happy to hear that he isn’t the maggot anymore. Now let’s move onto the next step.” She then sent a message through her watch. A few moments passed by and from behind Tragedy, out of nothing appeared a pillar of brilliant light that illuminated the room with an array of colors as a familiar humanoid crow came from it that Tragedy would have seen in the past. “Time to show you around Headquarters.” With that, she made a sinister smile and pushed him through it without warning.

It was expected that Tragedy felt some fear upon Warsong’s first words of her inspection, he would silently gulp whilst trying his best to not show any small signs of weakness as the merc continued her analysis. The stings at his lack of capabilities in some aspects hurt to hear, even though most of them were sadly true. Defense and Reflexes were his worst “stats”, but the thief held back a chuckle as Warsong mentioned speed. ‘A good fighter never reveals his complete set of skills, even to an “ally”.’

Keeping his thoughts to himself, Tragedy ensured he remained dead neutral whilst Warsong continued even when the comments being said were complimenting his skills. Hell, his lack of emotion and professionalism throughout the whole inspection was rather impressive considering his usual way of acting. The only reaction came from when told of the adversity he would have to face due to the banshing of two Mercs, both having involved the Thieves in some way.

“I understand their hatred, but I won’t allow that to stop me. I don’t care how much work it takes to make myself respected, I’ll reach that point in due time…” A mature response for the most part, hopefully it would be accepted by the veteran Merc and not simply scratched off as nothing. Afterwards, Tragedy’s eyes drifted over to Countess as she had jumped down, his mind wandering for a few moments before the woman had addressed him.

“Slaughter..? Yikes-” Tragedy mumbled under his breath as he realized how death could have been one of the outcomes of this trial, but thankfully that wasn’t the case. But now came bigger fish to fry as Countess’ mentioned their headquarters. The thief only had time to let out a small “huh” before being pushed into the portal, causing him to fall flat on his back on the other side.

“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised…” The boy mumbled as he stood, taking a look around to see what he was dealing with.

“Then you're ready for the climb better than most… good luck. You’ll need it,” WarSong spoke short, and to the point in response to Tragedy’s maturity in understanding there was nothing else to say as she watched him go into the portal with Countess. After a moment of dwelling though in the realm of her lonesomeness a unseen scowl was hidden behind her mask.

“He didn’t show everything though… that's concerning,” she mumbled, but for now the All-Father had directed them to take them in if the chance appeared all she could do with that concern was head it up to Maestro… for now. With a single phone touch she was gone back to the real world.

 

[Anthem]

~ Continuation of Maeve Valor 's Post.

~ Written with TreasureSniper & Maeve Valor



Suddenly, they felt a pulling sensation, as if gravity had shifted and they were being dragged through space. The world around them blurred and twisted, until they were surrounded by a swirling vortex of bright colors. The pillar of rainbow energy consumed both thief and merc alike, completely blanketing them in blind light.

The energies of the bifrost were unlike anything the person had ever seen before. It was as if every color in the universe was present, swirling together in a hypnotic dance. There were deep blues and purples, bright yellows and oranges, and even shades of pink and green that the person couldn't identify.

A few second later, with sudden Jolt, Tragedy and ther mercs would find themselves rematerailzing in front of a foreign land, The buildings were tall and imposing, crafted from gleaming metal and surrounded by intricate carvings. The sky overhead was a deep shade of blue, with wispy clouds drifting lazily by. The sights different compared to the rest of the metaverse, making some question if they were even still in the same dimension. Having fulfilled its duty, the Raven would fly off into the distance, disappearing from sight.

Apart from the buildings, it was a place where the air was pure and crisp, and the sun shone with a golden radiance that warmed the hearts of all who lived there. The buildings and monuments were carved with intricate details and crafted from the finest materials, gleaming in the light and towering over the landscape in awe-inspiring splendour.

The massive fields had what looked to be modern farmland infrastructure to them, with shadows and real people alike working together to cultivate them. On the Horizon, large fishing boats could also be seen returning from the vast ocean, dragging in their massive catch of the day. But before Tragedy could take in more of the sights, he would be greeted an unfamiliar masked individual.

“Ah yes…you must be the one known as “Tragedy”. You’re a lot…rougher looking than expected, but you have Warsong’s tests, then I have no need to worry. Welcome to the All Father’s realm. I am Maestro, and I will be your guide for the day.” His voice sounded like that of an older individual, calm, gentle and yet powerful in his own way. “Follow me.” And just like that began walking away from the area they teleported in. “Go on then..I am sure you have many questions about the place, as most people do on their first arrival here..” He seemed cordial enough to answer the newbie’s questions if he had any.

The blinding colour of the Bifrost was rather annoying to Tragedy, but he didn’t complain about it to remain professional which made for a rather quiet travel. His eyes would scan the surrounding area upon arrival, taking notice of the domain’s rather… unique appearance. Was this even still the Metaverse? The thief looked down to see that his phantom attire was still present, so this had to be just a part of the verse, unknown to those without access.

Though this place seemed like a whole new world considering the buildings, people and operations in progress. Tragedy’s eyes would then meet with the face before he could continue his observations. Seeming to take no offence to being called “rough-looking”, the boy simply nodded as Maestro introduced himself as the guide, simply responding with: “Lead the way.”

As the group started to walk, Tragedy continued to look around whilst keeping note of facts that were “interesting” to him. “Hm..? Questions…” Taking another look around the location, the boy would then shake his head. “Unimportant, as they have to do with the appearance of this place. And I believe details such as that will be meaningless in comparison to future information.” Tragedy spoke rather gracefully despite just having come from a rather brutal battle, perhaps he had already calmed down? Or maybe his acting had already grown?

“Though I won’t say no to partake in any facts you’d like to give.” Keeping himself calm and respectful, the thief believed it couldn’t be going much better than this.

Upon the gorgeous landscape of greenery meeting an impossibly blue ocean, one place stood out among the environment. Out in the middle of the vast grassy plains, there was a thriving kingdom that functioned as a normal city with residents just as regular with each serving a purpose within the masses. Even though the building and streets seemed archaic in nature and foreign in design, every surface seemed to shine creating a buoyant ambiance to its citizens.

At the golden gates of the kingdom the MetaMerc known to many as Syren emerged and stepped foot on the outskirts and went on the tips of her toes as she stretched while looking at the “sky”. It had the same light tint that the real sky had in the real world, but there were no clouds and it clearly had dream-like swirls that made it jarring if you continued looking up for too long. Even then and seeing through her visor, the climate was very pleasant to just take a deep breath in every once in a while like Syren was currently doing with a sigh. “Much better, my that palace can get stuffy~” she said to herself. Expecting the green plains to be empty as usual, the blue-haired girl looked out and was about to do something else until she had to do a double-take to see two people approaching; One of them being a familiar face, but the other not which caught her interest. “Hm?” the cheerful MetaMerc comically put a hand over her visor as if she could see better by doing so.

She then walked to Maestro and the newcomer with a smile. “Good evening Maestro, a new recruit I’m assuming in tow right?” The girl in scantily clad armor looked at Tragedy up and down and circled him in a predatory yet somehow adorable way with her hands clasped behind her back. “Ooo, another young guy, kinda hot too.” She then stepped a bit too close for comfort to Tragedy with a smirk that showed she had an obvious ulterior motive in mind. “What’s your code name cutie? And would you be interested in a welcoming present… I’ll give you one guess as to what it is,” she winked.

To say that the newbie was expecting such a cheery merc to approach him whilst on this little tour would be a complete lie. Tragedy tilted his head as the lady approached him and Maestro, of course the two mercs would know each other, but he hadn’t expected the attention to turn onto him so suddenly. Stiffening for a moment as she stepped close, he listened to what she had to say before a smirk had made its way to his visage.

“Well aren’t you a flirt?” Tragedy chuckled as he started to speak, seemingly intrigued. “I was known as Tragedy, but you may call me whatever you please.” Keeping the pleasantries within his actions, the thief would bow his head as he introduced himself as the smirk remained painted on his face. “And it would be rather rude for me to deny such a… kind offer.” A light layer of red could be seen on his exposed face, it seemed he was fully aware of what was possibly being implied. While this wasn’t an expected part of the introduction, for him at least, he wasn’t going to let a few of the benefits slip through his fingers.

“I should finish this little tour though, but after that… I’m all yours, hot stuff.” Tragedy’s smirk turned to a full grin in that moment, but would calm to a neutral expression after a few moments. After all, keeping a mostly proper profile was probably of high importance for someone in his position.

“If you wish to learn about the formation of this realm, you are free to do so reading our history books in our library. However, the short version of the story is this, this place was formed from the desires and ambitions of the All-Father.” Maestro honestly wanted to tell the boy a bit more about the place, but for now his allegiance was still very much questionable at best. “As you can see, this place is far different than the usual metaverse, much closer to reality. Maybe even better for some.” The air was cleaner, the skies free from any pollution. Heck even the people and shadows there seemed a happier than most people in real life. A young man eventually approached Maestro and offered him fresh baked piece of bread which he in turn took with a noticeable smile. “Welcome back, Lord Maestro.” the spoke before returning to his station that looked very much like a bakery. Breaking the bread in two, Maestro would offer the young man the other half while he ate his own. “Go on. I promise it taste as good as the real thing.” Maestro spoke with a smile as he bit into the fresh pastry. If the boy were to decline he would eat the piece himself.

“Ehem. Syren. Please do behave yourself. It’s best if you don’t give our new recruit the wrong impression of our organisation.” As the second in command of the All Father, he knew the importance of maintaining order and keeping up the appearance of a professional organization. “We are professionals and as such carry ourselves with appropriate cadence. You’d do well to remember that.” It wasnt that she wasn’t allowed to partake in such activities, more so that she needed to be more mindful with her timing, something Syren would be fairly familiar with by now. “That goes for you as well, Tragedy. Save your unclean thoughts some other time. You have matters to attend to.” There was a slight hint of annoyance in his voice, it quickly dispersed as he continued to lead the way, eventually leading the boy towards a massive structure at the center of the land.

“Tragedy? Oh ho, you’re that boy Phoenix told me that captured Countess cold heart. Haha, that just makes me all the more interested!” At Maestro’s warning Syren stepped back with an “embarrassed” smile and a giggle to go along with it. “Sorry Maestro sir. Got ahead of myself there. I’ll be more professional with my goodbye then before letting you two go on.”

The girl then held a hand out for Tragedy to shake, “The name’s Syren! If you see me around, don’t be a stranger. I’ll give advice and help wherever I can.” Syren usually tried to be friendly person to the new recruits since she knew that this line of work can sometimes be overwhelming. Even with Hardshell, she tried to be kind, but for whatever reason he doesn’t seem that interested in any sort of friendship with any of the mercs. This new person seemed different from him though, so Syren decided to give him a different gift. When Tragedy would go to make contact he would feel a vial of Idaten Ofuda that was slipped into his grasp as they shook hands. Afterwards, Syren took her leave but as she walked past him she whispered, “Be ready for another battle.”

It was the entrance towards the presumed palace of the All-Father, a large golden gate that looked like it could fit a giant inside. Strangely enough, the door itself had no handle and seemed much too heavy to move by hand. “The person you need to speak to is in the throne room. Don’t keep them waiting. They aren’t very…patient.” Maestro warned the boy before disappearing in a pillar of light.

The palace gates would eventually open in front of the boy allowing him to enter the gargantuan door. From there he would see a large hallway that had a path towards the courtyard which he likely had to go through just to enter the throne room. However, right as he took a step towards the lush greenery, his face would immediately be greeted by a fist. The strike was strong enough to send the young man flying across the grass, his digging slightly into the dirt as skid across the surface.



“Sup meat.”

It was Slayer, continuing his long tradition of hazing new recruits as they went on their way to the throne room. “Hmm I remember you. You’re one of those Phantom Thieves…I am surprised they would even let someone like you in here, given your low level and involvement with Fixer.” Slayer unsheate his blade and wore a twisted smile on his face. He was going to enjoy this. As strong as Imato had gotten over the past few weeks, this was likely a foe that was still out of his league.

Gladly taking the kind gesture, Tragedy took the half of bread offered to him by Maestro but wouldn’t eat it quite yet as Maestro then proceeded to maintain the professionalism between the newbie and Syren. Bowing his head as an apology and sign of acknowledgement, Tragedy would listen to Maestro’s final warning before watching the merc disappear in a pillar of light. Great… Now having to heed to Syren and Maestro’s warnings, the boy started moving forward along the path to the throne room until he was struck by a heavy fist, sending him sliding back.

‘Shit! I should've expected that!’ Quickly standing, Tragedy would glare at Slayer but not with anger but rather in an attempt to get an early read of the danger standing in front of him. “Hm.” Not showing many signs of annoyance or displeasure, Tragedy would then eat the bread kindly given to him to recover his physical stamina. And to wash it down, the boy downed the vial of Idaten Ofuda given to him from Syren, he felt his speed increase from the item, along with his precision.

“Sadly, I recall having seen you before as well. I believe it was roughly around the time I gained this power of mine…” Taking a moment to think back, Tragedy rubbed his chin for a moment before shaking his head, equipping his trusty cane and pistol. “But let’s save the chit chat…” Tossing the pistol into the air and catching it, the boy now grinned wide with his usual battle-crazed look. “Let’s dance!” Rushing forward, it seemed that the fool was going in for a direct attack but instead he would break off at the last second. Tragedy started to speed around Slayer, weaving through the environment with quick footwork and generally quick movements. He waited to see what Slayer would do, looking for an opening, looking for the “perfect” moment to strike.

“Heh.” Slayer quite enjoyed it when greenhorns were cocky, it made it much more satisfying to cut them down to size. Dark energies began surrounding the merc as he made no attempt to follow the movements of the Tragedy. With this next attack, he wouldn’t need to. A second passed before the merc flicked his blade, unleashing of wave of darkness all around him, blowing apart the good portion of the court yard, tsunami of destruction that covered a significant radius around him.

Slayer’s silhouette could be seen exiting the smoke and dust caused from the destruction of the attack. Placing his blade over his shoulder, he would plant one of his feet down on a slightly elevated piece of debri and taunted the boy with a hand gesture. “I heard you’re suppose to be the strongest of the thieves. Come on then. Strike me!” It was clear that this merc was definitely holding back his strength to take fool delight of this opportunity to exert dominance over an inferior specimen.

Eyes widening as energy built up around Slayer, Tragedy would act quick as he used his cane to springboard high into the air. While it wouldn't allow him to completely avoid the oncoming devastation, it did enough to avoid the brunt of the damage, which is exactly what the boy wanted. As he landed on the ground, he took little time to recover, glaring at Slayer as he spoke. 'A frontal assault won't end well. I'll need to do something to get a good few hits in before retreating again to avoid a counterattack…' Luckily, quick thinking is what made Tragedy a real threat alongside his level of power. Throwing a wind-elemental item to the ground, the thief then stomped on it, releasing a large gust of wind that filled the air with dust and smog once more.

'Brains versus brawn… Never thought I would be in the place of brains.' Smirking a bit at his own thoughts, Tragedy would disappear thanks to the dust, moving rapidly around the area as he prepared to strike. Loki was promptly summoned, giving the thief an attack boost and nuclear infusion to his melee weapon before becoming the boy's mask once again. Without any hesitation, Tragedy rushed in with his weapon in its chained state and started to attack Slayer with reckless abandon.

Slayer seemed thoroughly unimpressed by his reliance on subterfuge and tools. The only people that would rely on such things were probably too weak to fight without them. The first few strikes would hit their mark, with Slayer visibly flinching from each strike. However, right as he before could land one more strike. A faint whisper could be heard coming from him. “Thantos…”

And with that, the animalistic red and black persona would violently materialize into existence in front of the merc, immediately grabbing the boy by the face before slamming it into the ground.

As the mask on Slayer’s face reformed, the merc took this opportunity to walk towards the down thief and gave a cruel stomp on his abdomen. “You must think you’re really special don’t you? Wielding a weapon that doesn’t belong to you, fighting people you have no business fighting…” The dug his boot into the boy's gut before turning around and taking a few steps back. Raising sword over his head, dark energy began converging on his blade. “Consider this… your initiation. Meat.” Slayer smiled gleefully before swinging downwards at the defenceless boy.

However, before he could strike, a familiar merc would step in to intercept the attack with a rhino-like weapon. It was the merc called Hardshell. “You? What the fuck do you think you’re doing!?” Slayer shouted at the armored merc, sounding almost insulted that he would even consider interrupting him. The merc remained silent and motionless, almost as if he didn't see the person worth answering. Despite the large disparity between their threat levels, Hardshell seemed unfazed by his threats.



In response to this insolence, Slayer would retract his blade and concentrate even more energy into his blade, preparing to swing towards the two targets right in front of him. Before he was swiftly interrupted by the arrival of two more familiar mercs, Rex and Roadkill.

“Geez…must you always do this to all the new guys.” Roadkill commented, palming his face, embarrassed to be in the same faction as this bastard of a person. “Stand down, Slayer. Or we will be forced to use less civilized methods.” Rex gave the merc a warning as he pointed his signature golden sword towards him.

While they all have much lower threat levels compared to Slayer, he knew the consequences of any serious violence against the fellow mercs. Seeing no other option, the merc reluctantly sheathed his blade and slowly walked away.

With the threat now pacified, Roadkill would be the first one to rush towards the newbie and offered a hand to pull him up. “Hey hey, you ok there? Hope old Slayer there didn’t rough you up too bad.” And just like that, Roadkill would begin talking in his usual carefree voice. “I know this isn’t the best first impressions, but not everyone is a jerk like him!”

“Yes.. I must apologize on the behalf of our…colleague.” Rex was completely embarrassed by the stronger merc’s display of hazing. He always found such practices to be archaic and unnecessary. Taking out a bead from his utility belt, he would crush the healing item, allowing it’s energies to flow into Tragedy, restoring his vitality to where it once was. “Hmm I remember you. You were the one back at the palace.” While it was difficult to tell what type of face Rex was making due to the full mask, his voice didn’t sound like it had any ill will or bad intent. “But the past is the past. Welcome to our stronghold.” Rex’s voice was as polite and professional as ever, a reflection of his strength of character. “So what are you doing here anyways?” Roadkill immediately asked, seemingly curious about why he was in the palace in the first place.

Meanwhile, after the short scuffle concluded, the silent Hardshell would simply walk away without saying another word.

Tragedy was more than ready to endure whatever pain he had to, even a brutal slice from Slayer whilst on the ground thanks to Thanatos’ quick movement. But to be saved by the other mercs, two of which he had battled against directly whilst infiltrating palaces, was shocking to say the least. And to see Slayer actually back off just added to the shock the thief felt in that moment.

“Thanks…” Tragedy mumbled as Roadkill helped him up, before dusting some of the dirt off his overcoat. A bad first impression was an understatement, even though he was trying to become a part of the merc’s organization, getting payback was now a primary goal for the boy. While being healed by Rex, the thief watched as Hardshell silently left which made the newbie question what the rhino-merc could be thinking at the moment.

His eyes then drifted back over to the two other mercs that had saved him from Slayer’s hazing. Tragedy recognized Rex rather quickly, but took a moment to recognize Roadkill as he had only heard reports of him from the other thieves. “I’m an initiate… or well being initiated I believe. I received an invitation from your colleague, Countess and underwent Warsong’s trial. Now I am here, and as much as I would like to chat… I have matters to attend to.” Tragedy started to continue on his path, but he would stop to turn to the two. “Thanks again for saving me. If you two require anything, just let me know and I’ll do my best to aid you. I’m in your debt now after all.” Flashing a small smile while staying professional, that was when Tragedy finally continued on his path.

The speech the thief adopted seemed oddly formal when compared to the way he was in battle, but it did help him keep the charade going with minimal skeptics. Tragedy made his way to the throne room, assuming that the All-Father would be waiting there to potentially finish the initiation. But then again, it could be anything or even another trap. The thought of this kept the thief on high alert.

“If you were expecting to meet the All-Father himself, you’re shit out of luck. He hardly ever sits in that thing. He constantly has important matters to attend to,” Out from behind one of the nearby pillars Countess approached Tragedy. “Ha, I see that my brother has already initiated you in his own way. You seem to be in a lot better shape than how he usually leaves them so good for you,” Countess said, noticing that he was messier than how previously was before arriving. The way that she mentioned the hazing was so nonchalant and that there was nothing inherently bad with it.

With a sigh the red-head then said, “What a shame, I was looking forward to seeing you bleed but you barely did even with the test.” Countess extended one of her claws to rest on the cheek of one of his masks as she went on to say, “But I’m sure I’ll be able to see some other time since you’ll be sticking around.” With that, she retracted them again and began walking away.

“I should get you back to Maestro. There is still one more matter to address before your tour is finished. And by the way…” She stopped and turned around showing a more serious look than what she has displayed for the most part while she has been around Tragedy. Even with half her face being covered by her helmet, her pursed lips lended to showing this change in demeanor. “It’s probably best that you hear this from me rather than someone else, but we know that you haven’t cut ties with those Phantom Thief guys.” Countess paused to see what his reaction would be before she continued and said with her common creepy grin, “Don’t worry, we don’t care… for now. Although if we find out that you’re leaking information about our operations we will not hesitate to resort to… sanguinary methods to take care of the issue. So don’t cross us okay? Oh, and lastly… just know that one day you will need to make a decision. Us or them. To put it simply, just don’t be stupid when the time comes.” Finishing with that foreboding threat, she went back to walking in a direction away from the throne room.



As soon as Countess left, Tragedy would find a creeping sensation from behind him. There was someone else here. Or rather some thing. It was one of the raven’s that was Phantom thieves had seen a handful of times. Always silent, always watching. The raven extended its hand onto the boy’s shoulder, instantly teleporting him into another location. From his point of view, he could see that he was in some sort of a hall where discussions among the higher echelon’s of the All-Father’s court took place. In front of him were seven seats, each of them with their own distinctive insignia, signifying who they belonged to. One of them has had their insignia clawed off.


Of the seven chairs, only two were currently filled, one with an individual that Tragedy should be familiar with. The other one, not so much. “Yo~ I remember you. I honestly didn’t expect to see you of all people here.” the cobra-merc spoke with his head chin lazily resting on his hand. The other much bigger merc, did not seem pleased by the sudden appearance of this interloper. Things were bad enough as it is and now they have to deal with this green horn? “Who’s the runt?!” The larger individual immediately bellowed as he slowly reached towards his massive hammer that rested on the floor near his feet.

“That would be Tragedy. Our latest potential recruit.” Maestro joined with dazzling display of the pillar of light. He would took a seat, next to his compatriots, each one of them were staring right through the boy’s soul. “Tell me, boy. Why are you here?” The large horned one demanded to know with a rather hostile voice. While the others had been welcoming thus far, Tragedy would likely feel that this individual would likely not hesitate to end him there and then if he didn’t like his answer. Escape wasn’t an option either, as the two ravens would stand on each side of Imato, carefully watching his every movement.

So Countess and Slayer were siblings? To say the thief was surprised would be a total lie, hell it seemed rather fitting for a blood-crazed girl and (probably) insane boy to be siblings. Though a smirk was admittedly on his face when Countess mentioned the lack of blood, he had done better than he originally thought when he considered that he barely shed a drop of blood. But that smirk faded as the woman then mentioned his ties with the other thieves still being intact, and having to make a final decision eventually. Despite how lionhearted Tragedy was, he had to gulp down some fear. Hurting the other thieves, his friends, was the last thing he wanted but the boy was quickly realizing that some violence against them would have to be dealt with if he wanted this plan to continue.

“Don’t be stupid…” Tragedy mumbled, repeating Countess’ words as she started to walk away. Feeling like he was already at that point, the thief sighed and was ready to walk away until the raven came into his line of sight. He was confused by the things' presence until he was promptly transported. The seven insignia was the first thing that caught his eye, especially the one that was clawed off its original resting place. And then to see Veno, accompanied by the larger merc… Yeah, this place had to be for the higher-ranked among the Meta Mercs.

Listening to the banter between the mercs, Tragedy took the short time to analyze his surroundings, the people that were in the room. If he were going to try to escape, this wouldn’t be the place to do it, that’s for sure. He was then promptly brought back to the situation at hand by the large one’s hostile, bellowing voice. “I thought that was obvious? I’m here to fulfill an invitation and become a part of the ranks. The thieves are too soft, and I have a… distaste for their provider. And if I recall prior battles, you all seem to despise the fool as well.” Keeping a firm, strong voice to not show any sign of hesitation or fear, Tragedy tried to use his minimal knowledge of the mercs to his advantage, even if it meant throwing Baron under the bus. “A similarity that can prove beneficial if we take advantage of it.”

The room silent for a moment. Each of the mercs did not seem impress by the boy’s answer. Seconds later, the large one would let out hearty chuckle, amused by the boy’s antics. “Thats it? You’re backstabbing your “friends” because of him!?” The large one lifted his hammer and hurled it towards Tragedy. The boy had little time to react. By the time he realized what had happened, it was already over. The hammer landed behind, planting itself deep into the ground while violently emitting blue lightning from it’s headpiece. While he was far enough from the impact zone, the electric in the air would remind him that this was very much a near death experience. “I don’t care about your beef with Baron. But how do I know you won’t do the same to us?” The large horned one clearly did not take well to traitors, regardles which faction they were from.

“Oh come on now, give the greenhorn a chance. Besides, it’s not like we’ve never recruited someone an opposing faction.” The switching of sides in the metaverse was a lot more common then one would think. But all the same, such recruitments were born out of necessity more so than willingly. “Hmm….what do you have to say to all this, Tragedy?” Maestro opted to ask an open-ended question. He was a careful man, and withheld his judgment until he was able to observe more of this person’s character.

Tragedy would tilt his head as the large merc let out the hearty chuckle while lifting the hammer, his eyes only widening a bit before the hammer struck the ground. The electricity left a frizz in the air that admittedly made the thief gulp a little, before resuming his calm demeanor. It seems a bit of convincing would be needed to convince the mercs. It sounded like it was possible nonetheless, though the situation was probably different.

“If I could bring them down the same path as I… I would.” Putting a hand over his heart and letting out a defeated sigh, Tragedy continued pulling ideas from nowhere to attempt making this go well. “But Baron has corrupted them to follow his ideology. They’ve now become his tools and I refuse to be treated as an appliance for him to simply use.” It seemed Tragedy was capable of acting at least a little bit convincingly. “While I know you all work under contracts, I’d rather work by that instead of being stuck working for some megalomaniacal control freak…” Stopping there, the thief would wait to see how the council of mercs would react.

Once more, the room remained silent and sceptical of the boy’s statement. “Hmmm…very well.” Maestro nodded, appearing to have accepted Tragedy’s reasoning, much to the surprise of Thunderlord. “Thats it? You’re swayed by his words?” The large brute interjected almost immediately, absolutely annoyed by these turn of events. He couldn’t care less about all this talk about ideology.They had a job to do and he was going to carry it out, regardless of what the others believed in. “Yea…I don’t usually agree with the big guy…but he’s got a point here…” Even the laid back Veno noticed how out of character it was for Maestro to simply agree to him joining on the spot.

“We shall review this matter some other time. For now, we are in need of fresh recruits. While still new to this world, I believe his battle sense is as impressive as they come.” Maestro gave the green horn a smile as he stood up from his seat. The senior merc would pull out what appears to a be a conductor’s baton from his suit. “Now then…a show of goodwill.” Maestro began waving the baton, as bright green energy converged into the object. With a graceful flourish, the he would point the baton at Tragedy before shooting out a violent stream of green energy towards him.

The green energy would flow viciously into the thief, penetrating him throughout his form, bathing his entire body with it’s magnificent glow. Tragedy would feel an overwhelming pain all around his body as he is consumed by the power. But eventually, the light would disperse, revealing his new found form.

Letting out a silent sigh, Tragedy was happy he could get through to Maestro since it seemed like that was all he needed. Sure the big merc and Veno would seem unimpressed by the performance but it didn’t matter since they were hurting for newbies either way. Plus the complement from Maestro admittedly made the boy smile a tad before he saw the baton, wondering its purpose. His question was soon answered by the green energy being violently blasted towards him. “What the!” In a defensive manner, Tragedy put his arms up as the energy brought pain… but also a newfound power.


“My my…” Maestro blew off the excess smoke from the baton before returning the powerful object back into his coat. He stood there and admired the thief’s new stronger form while the other two seemed speechless more than anything else. “Not bad…threat level 60…” Veno chimed in, clearly impressed by the significant threat level ascension. “You should be able to freely switch between your previous form and current one to avoid suspicion from you..colleagues…” The merc sat back down, satisfied that the blessing was able to raise the boy’s threat level signicantly. “Now then, thats it for today. Expect to be called upon when your contracts are ready. For now..you may leave.” Without another word, one of the raven’s would once again grab Imato and immediately teleport him outside of the center palace.

With Tragedy out of sight, Thunderlord was finally able to voice his full displeasure over the kid’s ascension. “Have you gone mad!? Giving the All-Father’s blessing like that to a green horn.” The large merc growled at him with strong ferocity. Maestro would only respond with a small chuckle, giving the two small grin as his laughter subsided. “..Do you trust this guy, Maestro?” Veno spoke, questioning the intentions of the All-Father’s second in command. Maestro’s small grin would become a full-on smirk as he replied the other senior mercs. “Not in the slightest.”

 

[Azurian Dream]

From an empty alleyway between some buildings, a certain blue-haired young woman materialized from the metaverse as her silvery MetaMerc armor glittered quickly away in a watery display in the process. Before anything else, she took out her compact mirror to check her makeup and see if anything got smudged while she was working before being on her way to her day job as a successful model. She knew that even if her makeup was off, the makeup artists would take care of it, but no matter what, she wanted to look presentable at all times. And besides, she had to always be ready if someone needed a little… persuading to be done.

The model sighed before taking out a healthy energy drink and downing it. Since she just left the MetaVerse, she was still pretty drained so some additional source of energy was definitely in order. Usually, the MetaMerc known as Syren would be in a happy mood when she was on her way to a photo shoot, but today was different. She had just finished a job in the metaverse that would normally call for Fixer to accompany her, though since his banishment she had to be paired with someone else that wasn’t as understanding as he was. She knew that many of the others looked down on her for sticking to certain morals she had, but Fixer wasn’t like that. He encouraged her to stay true to who she was and now that he was banished, she felt like a friend had disappeared.

She was so lost in thought that she had barely registered that she arrived at the photo shoot area before the project assistant manager, Kudo Masayuki, spotted her. “Ah, Sadako Ejiri! You got here just in time! Now we’re just waiting for Ann Takamaki. Hey, you okay? You don’t look so good. Need me to get you some aspirin? Oh I know, maybe a bottle of water will do the trick!” As the man that looked to be in his mid 20’s fell over himself trying to help Sadako and reached into an ice chest to get her some water, she would tilt her head and noticed something very interesting. Every time she has worked with the man in the past, he has had his wedding ring on. This time he did not and he seemed like he was trying especially hard to please her more than he usually did. Sadako smiled as she figured that she could possibly gain favor before Ann showed up. The blonde even though so young, was good competition and certainly was a bombshell herself in her own right. Anything that could give Sadako an edge was helpful.

Sadako responded by speaking honestly yet vaguely, “Oh Masayuki-san, I appreciate it. Really I do. I’m just distraught over a friend leaving and I just… I guess I feel lonely.” When Masayuki handed the bottle of water out to her, Sadako would reach for it and subtly touch his hand as she did so. “Oh, I notice you don’t have your ring on… perhaps you’ve been feeling lonely as well?” Sadako asked, being very direct with her intentions.

The man immediately began to be flustered as he scratched the back of his head, “U-um well… Yes, my wife has left me.”

“I see…” Sadako smiled with intent as she caressed the side of the bottle very suggestively and was about to take a drink before suddenly changing the subject. By doing this, she was trying to keep his interest. “How about we start the photoshoot and get some photos out of the way before Takamaki arrives, hm?”

The poor man gulped and tried to keep calm. “I-I’m afraid I can’t do that. I’m still waiting for a replacement for Jinja-San.” Sadako pouted with this new bit of information that the male model that was supposed to show up wasn’t able to.

“Ah excuse me, is Ann Takamaki here,” an unusually accented voice would call out on the set. As Sadako was cornering the man a Shujin Academy student clearly not of Japanese descent would walk in carrying both a bento lunch box, and a bag clearly filled with school homework.

The jet-haired American boy looked around the studio being his first time anywhere near the modeling gig side of things; it was definitely a place to amass new info and perspective on the layout. Dascal had been around when Ann’s homeroom teacher Ms. Kawakami had gotten the call that Ann wouldn’t be in today due to a job shoot for her modeling career. Since Dascal was around she asked if he would be willing to drop Ann’s daily assignments off to avoid getting behind which he was curious enough to oblige. However, the lunch box was his as he had skipped lunch to check up on Futaba that day.

“Ah, excellent you're the photographer for this set correct? The assistant out front told me you would know where my fellow Shujin attendee would be,” Dascal’s aloof yet studying eyes quickly locked onto Masayuki, and his get-up clearly identified his profession without needing a second glance. At the same time, Dascal would study the girl next to the cameraman actually recognizing her as being in some of the same magazines that his fellow second years ogled to death. She seemed rather curious at a glance as well, holding a water bottle with her hands instead covered in humidity droplets as if she had been moving her hands up and down the bottle… strange. She was notably attractive without a doubt yet Dascal wasn’t ogling her like most of his male classmates would, or probably what she was used to from younger school boys he mostly just kept eye contact with her as he came close by before giving her some small talk.

“Apologies for interrupting Mademoiselle Blue,” Dascal looked at Sadako casually giving her a nickname based on their profession and her current color code giving her a genuine smile before turning back to the photographer for an answer.

Sadako didn’t seem offended by the stranger butting into the conversation and instead seemed intrigued, especially at the mention of Takamaki. Aside from that, he also didn’t seem phased by her presence as well. It wasn’t like she hadn't met people immune to her looks in the past, but the fact that he didn’t even bat an eye in her presence made her interested. Fortunately for Masayuki, Sadako turned her attention to the young man and kindly addressed him. “Oh, no worries at all! We were just talking about Takamaki-chan. The dear hasn’t shown up yet, but it’s not like her to be a no-show so I’m sure she’ll be here soon. I can keep you company in the meantime,” Sadako let him know with a friendly demeanor yet there was a subtle underlying look of devious nature behind her smile.

Suddenly Masayuki’s phone went off and he all too eagerly took out his phone. “Oh, that’s Jinja-San. Please excuse me, sir, I really need to take this call.” Knowing well enough how Sadako operated typically, he happily walked away to speak without interruption.

“Take your time!” The blue-haired girl waved. “So… are you just a cute classmate of Ann Takamaki’s or are you something more to her, hm?” Sadako asked just as straightforward as she usually was. She was a girl that took pride in her transparency.

"I wouldn't want to eat up your time miss… ah, where are my manners? I am Dascal Marion," he said, taking her offer while he waited for the supposedly late Ann… seemed to be a bit of a ditzy girl the more he experienced on her behalf. He would have offered to shake her hands but his were still rather full. This blue model though seemed rather keen on cutting straight to tact asking if he was a boyfriend or something… so the modeling business was as cutthroat as he had read. More impressive was how she went about it trying to rile up a quick reaction by using charming words.

"I am sorry to say I know nothing about her. I just happened to get napped by a teacher for a favor," Dascal answered just as straightforward rather than tearing straight through any hooks laid out. He didn't mind the woman's reasoning behind it but unfortunately, he had nothing to give nor desired anything in turn to make up anything either.

"What about you? Are you two good friends or just a delightful cute concerned coworker," Dascal turned the tactic right back at Sadako using the very word she herself had probably not been labeled so innocently in a long while, and though it was clear to him her questions were a bit more digging in for info he strangely gave her the benefit of the doubt asking of her own opinion on Ann turning the conversation rather casual like with just two people chatting about nothing.

“I’m here!” Ann called out while rushing into the studio, “I am so sorry…I lost track of time-” She huffed as she took off her bag and looked at Dascal who had her homework in his hands. She was grateful that someone had brought her the work so she would not get behind. She looked around for Kudo, hoping she was not mad at her for being late.

“Oh hello Ejiri-san,” Ann greeted her rival and turned to Dascal, and smiled, “Thanks Marion-san!” She was a bit frazzled since Morgana was being grumpy and would not move from the couch, it took her a while to convince him to join her. Never know when you are going to go to the Metaverse.

Morgana peeked from Ann’s bag and looked around and spotted Sadako and his eyes popped out of his sockets almost. She was so beautiful, Morgana had a nosebleed and fainted in the bag.

Even with Sadako’s advances, Dascal continued being nonchalant with the conversation. He had even managed to call her “cute” in a way that seemed natural and not in a flirtatious way as she had just been. Her interest in the boy grew as she was eager to respond in a way just as easy-going. “What a sweetie haha. I’m Sadako Ejiri and I would definitely consider myself the latter as a co-worker. Between you and I, Ann and I don’t usually see eye to eye on most things, but I don’t blame her. I can be a lot to handle for an extended period of time. Speaking of which, here comes my fellow princess,” she giggled, probably remembering something that has happened in the past between her and Ann, and then as if almost on cue Ann showed up flustered that she was late.

“Hey, Pigtails-San. Tsk, tsk late to a photo shoot, you’ll never pass me up that way in this field,” the blue-haired model poked fun in response to the girl’s neutral entrance. But her expression suddenly changed from smug to excited with a gasp. “Takamaki-San is that cat I just saw in your bag!” She then ran over to Ann and without permission reached into her bag and took out the black and white feline to cuddle with it.

“It’s so cute! Is it a boy or a girl? Do they always like to be cuddled like this? What’s their name?” Sadako happily asked question after question as the photographer came back into the room and was putting away their phone.

“Oh thank goodness, you’ve shown up Takamaki-Chan. “That was the replacement model I tried to get at the last moment, but he just called and said he’d be unexpectedly a couple of hours late. A couple of hours, can you believe that? I just told him not to worry about it and that I’d figure something else out. I don’t want to keep you girls waiting for too long to start the photo shoot.” The man then paused as he looked at the three teens in front of him and had a thoughtful look. “Actually… you three together don’t look bad for the theme we’re going for today. If it’s not too much to ask, would you please help me by substituting as the male model? You would of course be paid for the trouble.”

"No problem… wait what," Dascal was about to leave having performed his duty and not wanting to get in the way of theirs. However, as irony would play it out it seemed now that they were in need of a substitute for the substitute. Dascal looked at the two girls before raising an eye to the photographer.

"I have no experience with modeling, and I can't even begin to pose to a theme. Are you sure such is a wise idea," Dascal above all else was trying to politely decline having no sense of acting or modeling to his repertoire when it came to coming off as attractive. Something also sneakily told him this was a dangerous tank to enter with the two girls as rivals in Sadako's own honest words. Though he wasn't sure of Ann he could tell Sadako was competitive and that didn't seem safe for him as an amateur in this field with what she had to say about herself.

Thankfully there was a temporary odd distraction as Ann had a cat in her bag that seemed to be taking a nap in Sadako's arms. Maybe a relief animal? Actually, wasnt that the same bag used by the sports members at Shujin? From what Dascal understood Ann wasn't a part of any school teams. Unfortunately, this left him open for an all-out attack.

Ann tensed up a little bit as Sadako took out Morgana of her bag. Of course, she didn’t ask for permission, why would she? She hoped Morgana was able to sleep through that…well, she better come up with an excuse.

“Uh he’s a boy,” Ann told her, “his name is Morgana and he is not cuddly. can you please ask me before you go rummaging through my belongings?!” It was clear that Ann was annoyed with Sadako.

Ann smirked at the thought of Dascal modeling with them. He had the looks to be one for sure. But, watching him fumble around with Sadako would be funny, she seemed to be into him. Like every male that breathed…

“Marion-San, watch yourself around her,” Ann said to him, “she likes to flirt with every living organism.” Of course that was a crude joke, of course Ann knew that Sadako had standards. She just liked to have fun. One time she even admired Ann.

Morgana woke up and looked at Sadako cuddling him, “What the hell? Uh, Ann?! Why is she-“

Ann sighed and looked at her rival, “Give my cat back please.” Morgana couldn’t be in the photo shoot! The photographer would be really upset.

At Ann’s comment about Sadako fraternizing with everyone, she seemed to take it as a compliment. “Hey, you’ll never hit your target if you don’t shoot your shot in the first place. So I just have a happy trigger finger,” her smile widened as with a free hand she used her index finger and pointed as if she were aiming it as a gun right in Dascal’s direction. “Pew~,” Sadako winked at him. She then begrudgingly, Sadako began handing Morgana back to Ann, “Fine, fine here’s your adorable sweetums.” Before completely handing him back she kissed the top of his head leaving a bit of gloss on his fur.

In the meantime, the photographer was trying to reassure the young man in order to get out of his current predicament. “Luckily, you don’t need to worry about the experience with this photo shoot. It’s not like you're dealing with high fashion or anything. The theme we’ll be working with is vintage and since that style from the time period is largely western inspired, you should fit right in. And between you and me half the models I work with hardly know what they're doing anyway. But these two do know so they can easily help you wherever you need help. Here, these look like they would fit you. Try this on. Oi Takamaki-Chan, Ejiri-Chan, your outfits are already in your dressing rooms and labeled in the sequence that you both will be wearing them,” the man threw the outfit attached to a hanger over to Dascal, assuming that he would agree to substitute after his explanation and then addressed the girls with instructions.

“I mean I guess I do not want to be the pin of failure for this grenade, but….,” Dascal wouldn't get a chance to respond to anything else as the photographer had his makeup team whisk him as Sadako, and Ann fought over the tal…..

“Gah where are you touching,” Dascals thoughts were cut off as he yelled a bit in his changing room as they had attempted to take off his clothes after a few minutes of allowing the boy to change himself with the changing team coming back in to apply the product, and tighten the notches of any changes needed. Dascal would eventually come out decked out in quite the fetching dark purple suit matching with an aquamarine handkerchief, a fusha black swirling tie, and an old school pocket watch that looked like it belonged to the mafia era of the brand. The boy's hair had also been completely flattened and lightly curled at the tips.

“This seems all rather expensive… I am a bit afraid to move in it honestly,” the boy admitted taking small slow steps in a rather hilarious well-suited strut down the steps as he was directed onto the picture stage waiting on the girls.

To say Morganna was affected by Sadako’s kiss was an understatement. He blushed a little bit as Ann took him back and stuffed him back in her bag. Wow, that felt amazing. He wanted to be kissed by her again and the fact that she called him adorable was nice. Only if it was from a cute girl like her though.

“Whatever you say Ejiri-chan,” Ann said and went to change into her outfit that was in her dressing room. She changed into her vintage-inspired outfit and came out of her dressing room. She confidentially strutted down the steps to the picture stage. She wondered what Sadako was wearing because she did somewhat find her attractive although refused to admit it to her.

“Don’t worry Marion-san,” Ann said to him, “you’ll do fine. Just do what the photographer says alright?”

The backdrop the two would find themselves approaching would be what looked to be a bright city except it had a brick building and had a black and white filter to it which contrasted with the colors the three would be wearing. After a while, Sadako walked out after the others in an outfit that was surprisingly modest which was a warm, tan, long-sleeved dress styled in the front as if it were a long coat with a belt looped around it and a matching sun hat. Dissimilar to the simple, sweet dress she wore, Sadako had an uncomfortable and irritated expression as she approached the others and complained a bit to the photographer, “Masayuki, didn’t I give you a portfolio of the usual styles I wear? This doesn’t match what I normally model for so what’s going on?” It was obvious that Sadako was making a valiant attempt at holding back from using some probable choice words to the man.

“Um, your agent told me that work was getting slow for you and that you wouldn’t mind expanding past the styles listed. I apologize if there was some miscommunication that happened, Miss Ejiri,” the man defused the situation, successfully making a valid excuse.

The older model of the two frowned once more as she mumbled, “Guess I’ll need to have a chat with my manager later then.” She looked to Dascal and raised an eyebrow as she looked his outfit over, “Wow, you sure you haven’t modeled before? I can already tell that the camera is going to adore you with how well the outfit suits you.” Sadako then looked to Ann and said dismissively, “And I guess you look alright to Takamaki-Chan.”

After Masayuki called over the other members in the studio to help and finished setting up his cameras, he hollered over to the trio, “Alright we can start now, go ahead and start posing. The mood we’re going for is happy and lively.” At this, Sadako wasted no time in throwing an arm over one of Dascal’s shoulders to lean on him closely and waved to the camera “innocently” as if they were an item.

Ann felt that she had to fight over Dascal with Sadako, even though she had no feelings for Dascal currently. Sakado was her only opposition and she would have to be ruthless to beat her at modeling. Or would she have to? Well, at least Sadako said she looked alight, maybe she did not totally hate Ann.

“Thanks, you look good as well Eiri-chan, my fellow princess,” Ann said and mumbled the last part, knowing that the girl did not like this dress very much. She kind of found it funny how Sadako was irritated. Was that petty? Yes, it was and Ann had no shame in thinking that. Because normally Sadako was the one who had all the energy and was annoying Ann.

“Smile Marion-san,” Ann told the boy as she smiled and waved to the camera as Sadako did. She did not like how Dascal was forced into this, hopefully, he would not hate her. Ann had a feeling that Dascal would probably refuse to speak to her for about a month after this, she could not blame him.

Before anything else could be really explained to the inexperienced Dascal about how the hell to posture, and pose for this sorta thing Sadako sunk her claws right into him like a falcon after a fish. Except the falcon had missed and fish which instead had turned out to be a shark catching the falcon about to pull it into the murky abyss. As the boy was surprised by the sudden latch on by Sadako he chuckled a bit, taking it more as her passion for the camera. It was her job after and as such Dascal needed to try to match them to make sure he didn't cause a slip-up in their work.

"That's very kind and appreciated coming from a professional, it's a much-needed confidence boost," Dascal spoke in thanks to her compliment which surely was to help get the shots they needed. As such Dascal smiled softly to Sadako before taking her hand in hilariously placing them both into a dip position to smile right at the camera. Loving the enthusiasm down the camera burst into taking shots with the two of them, though oddly almost not as friendly as each new snap of the camera saw Sadako sort of get more suggestive with her clingy nature.

Sadako happily let Dascal dip them for the camera shots as she supported herself by wrapping her arms over the back of his neck. At first, the shots would show that she put her hat on his head as they smiled at each other in a fun-loving manner. Though the pictures taken would soon shift from a friendly angle to a romantic one as Sadako placed a gloved hand on the side of his head and looked up at him amorously. With her other hand she held her hat up to the side of them as if she were hiding a kiss from any pretend onlookers on the opposite side of the camera from them.

As he adjusted to place an arm on her shoulders for friends hanging out the picture right as it was taken the jaws of a fierce and petty panther latched onto the falcon's other wing from the vegetated jungle threatening to pull the falcon into its vines never to be heard from again. Right as Ann pulled him over to her, snatching him from Sadako’s rather dangerously evolving friendly to getting a very close more romantic nature. Even behind the hate, he could tell… it felt like she was waiting for an opening to strike her sharp teeth upon… thank you, Ann.

"Oh? Of course Madame," Dascal mused as he spun Ann in a dress to let the photographer catch some fun dancing shots. After he put a hand over her shoulder he did a few peace signs with her. This was rather fun, surprisingly, but Dascal had to admit… he couldn't quite place it… but he felt like an endangered species about to go extinct in the decree of the food chain. As the girls went back, and forth fighting over him in the theme of "fun" there was a point he really felt like his arms were going to pop off… so this was the danger of being a male model… this would go on for a while until the toner finally rang.

"Alright, that's a wrap. Thanks again for filling in for our replacement. It would help if you did this more often. I know a few good agents if you're interested," the photographer offered, very pleased with what he had snatched today with his lens. Although he felt that it was at the cost of the poor foreigner’s well-being.

"No…I think I'll pass. It was fun… as a one-time experience," Dascal hesitantly chimed having felt like he was tan through the ringer in more ways than he should have been. However, he had a hell of a lot more respect for Ann, and Sadako now. Though more intriguingly the passionate rivalry between them that… almost ended his life.

“Suit yourself.” As he walked past Dascal, he would pat his shoulder and whisper, “Good luck” before continuing to pack things up. Masayuki had a strange feeling that though the photo shoot was over and all the equipment was being packed away, the young man would still be in the middle of this underlying onslaught between the two girls even afterward. He shook his head in pity for Dascal as he fidgeted with some equipment.

Still on the prowl, Sadako stuck around Dascal just a bit longer as she complimented him some more. “What a natural. Well since you said that this was only a one-time experience, that means we sadly won’t get to have fun like this again. So…” She then reached into the top of her outfit and took out a business card that one could only assume was tucked away in her undergarment before handing it to Dascal. The card was blue with her number printed on it and had on both sides the image of a water droplet where the top part looked like a little fishtail. “...if you want, we could try a different kind of one-time experience together,” she slyly and unabashedly flirted before stepping away.

“It was a pleasure meeting you Marion-San. Call me anytime handsome.” She then looked at Ann with a condescending expression as if she were looking down at her yet they were about the same height. “Nice hustle out there Takamaki-Chan. Hopefully, you get more pictures accepted than I do this time in the article unlike the last few. It’s good that you don’t give up though,” she flipped her hair over her shoulder as she confidently walked back to the dressing room to then leave.

“What now,” Dascal didn't get a chance to ask the man what he meant as the camera all but bolted out of the scene as quickly as possible as the pace of the man gave Dascal whiplash just following him via view. Scratching the back of his head in concern the boy turned around to a picaresque Sadako still treading the lines of water almost as if seeming to legit pull him in.

“Oh, you are too kind Ejiri… and very hands-on,” Dascal joked not so sure of a lot of the photos of her would actually end up on an article for fun well… on an appropriate term of fun… he was really going to need to see this magazine and make sure he hadn’t just acted to something sleazy. However, before he could worry about that type of flaunting Sadako flexed even harder with her own as she dispatched a business card… from a place Dascal really had to fight thinking about now. This girl was coming on now to a volcanic point where he wasnt sure if this was simply flirtation, or if she was really trying to make a legit move on him… Ann’s warning definitely came to mind as Sadako made her… desired business known.

“I will definitely keep that in mind… though maybe we could continue talking instead of one time experiences,” Dascal offered accepting the card as he had a strange feeling this wouldn't be the last time he would get to experience her passionate nature.

…………………………………………………………….

I am thou, thou art I

Thy wills tied estranged in unknown territory in the pursuit of the truth,

In shattering the chains of doubt,

A blasphemous yet serene bond has been formed,

Between The Lover & The Heirophant

Thy paths have given new strength in meeting
………………………………………………………………​

As he watched her saunter off he got the feeling such future interactions with the older girl would potentially bring some very “unique” scenarios his way. Best to tread lightly with her until he could figure her out. As such he examined the water droplet on the card finding it rather impressive for the cleverness of the design from droplet to fishtail. She was indeed a creative one that girl… as such he grabbed his belonging snatching sight of Ann on his way out he brusquely walked over to her with a welcoming smile.

“Must say I have a newfound respect for models. That was… pretty damn intense. I can't imagine keeping that sort of fire burning surrounded by enemies like that. Kind of surprised you're not fighting off student boys as well,” Dascal shook his head wondering how she did it while on the stage. Standing next to his underclassman he wondered a bit of something… why had no one offered to bring a pretty girl her stuff from her own class?

“Or have you beaten up all your suitors my bonne lass,” Dascal joked.

Ann chuckled a little bit at that and nodded, “Yeah, it’s a really competitive world.” She was just packing her things in her bag, making sure everything she needed was in there. She was already feeling annoyed with Morgana, because of his nosebleeding.

“Not yet,” Ann said and laughed a little when Dascal asked her that question. She thought it was hilarious that Dascal imagined her as a femme fatale which she was but did he know that?

“So I take it that modeling isn’t your next career choice Marion-San?” Ann giggled, seeing him not really enjoying it. That was understandable since he was being tugged around by the two girls. She was glad he came through.

"Definitely not with sharks like that in the water," Dascal shook his head to answer Ann's question with some well-earned humor. He watched her sort of hurry up her collection of things. Seemed she was a busy girl…

"Actually now that I think about it, shouldn't you be quite the popular girl," Dascal asked, rather confused, why he never heard any of his fellow upperclassmen talk about her given how pretty she was and clearly talented. It was rather bizarre the case all things considered hell he had heard multiple buzzing of girls talking about him just by being a foreigner guy alone… and she was a mixed nationality, talented, natural beauty, and yet not a single gesture of talk was ever heard about her… it was a mystery unto itself.

There was a reason that no one was talking about her…she stopped and looked at him, she didn’t want to get into the stuff with Kajiki, assuming he heard the rumors. “Well…it’s a long story Marion-San…I don’t want to bore you with the details.”

…………………………………………………………….

I am thou, thou art I

Thy wills fogged stranded in uncertainties in the pursuit of the truth,

In shattering the chains of doubt,

An oddity of an intrusive yet concerned bud of a bond has been formed,

Between Another The Lover & The Heirophant

Thy paths have given new strength in meeting

…………………………………………………………​

“You know that you should talk to someone about Kajiki,” Morgana whispered to her, “he seems like a nice guy to talk about him with. Ann nodded and didn’t think that she would like to do that with him, she needed to trust him a little bit more.

“I should get going,” Ann said, putting her bag over her shoulders and leaving, “Bye Marion-San, I’ll talk to you later."

Dascal found himself rather concerned for Ann as she suddenly became uncomfortable and uneasy about whatever thoughts came plaguing her mind over his question. Within just a few seconds she bolted at a hurried pace… rushing out like a schoolgirl late for an important exam. Yet it felt more than that… it felt like he had opened an old wound, unfortunately, and who was this Kajik her cat… mentioned.

Dascal froze for a moment in an act of thinking over what he was about to consider another bizarre mysterious student of Shujin before reality came crashing down as he realized that… cat… had talked in the bag… of a model figured… blonde girl. Dascal's mouth opened agape slightly for a second with what seemed to be a moment of dumbfoundedness before suddenly spiraling off into an intense sprint. What would be followed was an unbridled insane madman's run throughout the prefecture as many concerned citizens would watch a deranged almost mouth foaming breathing wild animal sight of Dascal running for his life vaulting and weaving past anything that got in his way like his life depended on it.

“Cleaning is so exhausting, and booooring. When is my mystical preacher in holy garb coming to whisk me away to thy church steeple,” an exhaustedly irritated Futaba scowled in grumbles as she laid back on the living room couch. Upon Dascal not arriving from school on time rather than hacking his phone to see what delayed him her mom had snatched her to clean the living area while she went out to get groceries.

“He better not has gone to the metaverse without me again… coming home all hurt marketing me all concerned,” she sighed a bit worried as she picked up a magazine off the coffee table with her feet to her hand all in an effort to open it up and drop it on her face liked an eye guard as she remembered the code call saving the Phantom Thieves, Baron, and Prophet… okay maybe not Baron but to be fair being in the warp counted so he technically owed her alone for the transportation.

She still couldn't believe her mother's research was a reality nor would she have found out if she hadn't been accidentally pulled in by the Prophet… the intensity of her first time had caused her so much nausea she practically threw up on him. Then when they were attacked by those shadows… she didn't like thinking about that memory her curiosity had almost… no she was told not to think about it. Deciding best to treat herself to a small nap she could feel her worries and guilt melt away as one last thought entered her mind… did she remove the cleaning rags by the doorway?

"FUTABAAAAAAAAAAA," Dascal came racing in immediately skating out of control on the abandoned rags whizzing by Futaba as dropped into a solid slide towards the stairs. In a very understandable reaction, Futaba screamed at the top of her legs jumping up like a wild cat and grabbing the blanket behind her as she fell backward in an attempt to dodge an attack they were surely under given the sudden wake-up call she had received. In the midst of her twists of turns, she ended up wrapping herself up in the blanket like a terrible mummy job gone wrong. Dascal in a daze from his stunt shot back up running wildly up the stairs like a frenzied animal he finally got up the stairs straight into Futaba's room he went straight for the chalkboard flipping out to reveal pictures of the phantom thieves with a picture of Shiro next to Heartbreak with the rest circled with question marks around them.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH PREPARE TO TASTE THE COLD STEAL OF METAL INTRUDERS," Futaba came screaming still wrapped up like a mummy in a blanket, but now with one hand free, half her face uncovered, and now armed with a metal baseball bat. Jumping in the direction to find who the perpetrator was she was instead met with a confused and somewhat deranged sweat-covered wide-eyed Dascal. A moment of awkward silence was shared between the two as Dascals hand smacked against the chalkboard right into Mona's picture.

"That cat is literally a cat, and supermodel bod Panther is literally a model," he spoke as if nothing he said didn't add to his deranged appearance yet Futaba just looked at him dropping her bat to utter one word.

"Wut?"

.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

A few days later...

"Welcome back Phantom Thieves and Investor Baron. Oracle if you will so kindly," Prophet nodded as the group of those mentioned would start to arrive back at Oracles Safe Room. It had been a while since the intense getaway caused by a rouge attack that nearly cost them their own lives in the theater and amongst the road. The situation had been rather heavy enough to warrant some time to heal, and recuperate while giving Oracle, and Prophet the needed collaboration to start structuring everything they could to locate, and siphon the information learned up at this point. Quite a few things had come to light, and now was the time to sit down to go over them as sometimes certain people saw certain things that could no doubt help better shed light on the scenario. Upon Prophet's words a projector screen from the UFO Persona Necronomicon would show the layout of the palace as seen through their eyes at best they had definitely explored a good third of the palace. It also gave time for Swan, and Tragedy's covert operation to blossom further to start gaining the crew's respect, and more importantly loosen their lips.

"We do have some good news, but first do to our separate work on our first run I think it might be best to go over anything you may all think is important to the notion or mention. Please anything at all could possibly help with future endeavors. No info no matter how small can easily be a treasure for use," Oracle expressed surprisingly sounding very mature at the moment as she stood up turning to them ready to devour anything they had to add.

"However I am sure Tragedy might be the one true dumbass to impress us by proving that the golden rule is false. After all for someone to take the term stealth and instantly instigate a bar fight well how smart can they really be," the sharp evil verbal stab was directed straight at the boy with no filter. Clearly that first outing had really created a sour ire from Oracle to Tragedy. Mister tough act calling her nothing more than a child well she too could play the game of laying brickwork right over his head. Though what might have been the most impressive is she still kept the sweet professional tone almost sliding it in so naturally that it would come off as a bit jarring on second thought as a slip of a poisonous tongue. Prophet though sighed shaking his head oddly rather okay with the interaction as it showed she was opening up to them... though Tragedy was doomed to be at the end of her wraith for a bit... yet sibling brutality was one of many ways for some to open up to other rough patches and all.

"Regardless we will give you all the floor first encase anything you provide has an effect on our stuff to be adjusted," Prophet politely nodded giving the thieves the lead on investigative talk.​

 

[TreasureSniper]

Given the highly traumatic and emotional experience that Baron went through, a little bit of downtime was most welcomed. He took this time to reflect on how the dynamics of the team have changed. Despite the initial hostility he had toward Prophet, he couldn't deny that his investigative prowess would be a useful asset to the team. As irritating as his personality could be, Baron could see this person becoming the foil that the team needs to keep each other in check. Aside from Swan, everyone else's sense of reasoning can be...questionable at times.

But even Prophet's usefulness pales in comparison compared the one called Oracle. Despite her young age, her powers have manifested magnificently rivaling even the most talented metaverse navigators. Only time will tell what are the upper limits of this girl's powers, but for now, it would be in his best interest to remain in the good graces of this "team". That said, ever since he met with this "Prophet", his gotten a very consistent tarot card reading.

Spoiler: Tarot Reading

---

"My dear tricksters, given the recent developments in our operations, I think it would be an appropriate time for me to provide all of you more autonomy. Henceforth, you will be given a direct line of communication with my suppliers." Attached to the message was the contact number and ids for these "mysterious" suppliers.

"Tae Takemi is our medicine supplier. She usually delivers our orders through dead drops. The effectiveness of her products varies due to the nature of the metaverse. The prices for her more powerful medicine are high but they are well worth the investment. That said, they are...of the less legal variety, so try not to get caught. Oh, and they may or may not be addicting. If you're feeling extra brave and want some extra pocket money, she is looking to run some trials for her more experimental medicine." He had a feeling that some of the thieves would be very inclined to take such an offer. "Just make sure to tell her that you're with Baron Corp to avoid any...misunderstandings." For now, such an explanation would likely suffice.

"Munehisa Iwai is our arms supplier. He's the person you want to talk to if you are interested in owning life-like guns. That said, if you may have noticed, some of the weapons used by your adversaries are not "realistic" at all. This is where personalization comes in. Besides being realistic, weapons of the metaverse can become significantly stronger when their user becomes more in tune with it both in form and function. Whether that comes in the form of a paint job or other modifications is up to you. Iwai's model gun kit's are a good starting point for crafting a weapon that is unique to you. Additionally, you may also be able to sell some of your findings of the metaverse to him. You will need that money if you wish to fully utilize the customization options available in his shop. Alternatively, you could work for him on a part-time basis as a shop assistant. He's been looking for some hired help for some time now." By now, the thieves should know very well just how important their weapons were in the metaverse. Just as the meta mercs would train their warriors to be more reliant on their physical prowess, Baron too would do the same.

---

Within the interdimensional meeting room, sat in the corner and listened to what two freelancers had to say about their findings. Cunningly, they asked the thieves to provide their findings first, giving them a second-mover advantage. Sly. But such moves did not bother him, since at this point in time, they haven't shown any hostile motives. That said, he did not like hearing Oracle disrespecting Tragedy so brazenly. Based on what Swan had told him, given the situation and his expertise, he faced it to the best of his abilities.

"While his infiltration ability leaves a lot to be desired, his battle prowess is ranked among the highest among the Phantom thieves." Baron spoke, defending his teammate from the hostility of the green gremlin. "I'd advise against insulting your fellow teammates given that you'd be relying on them to keep you from harm's reach, Oracle" He spoke, sounding as professional as ever. While he valued Oracle's ability as a navigator, he will not tolerate her needless jabs at what is supposed to be a serious meeting.

"As it stands, I see no reason for us to simply conduct a full frontal assault on the palace once we are sufficiently strong enough. However..." His head motioned towards Prophet, patiently waiting for his input on the situation. "I have a feeling you'd still prefer us to have a stealthier approach. Any particular reason for that?" Baron's line of thinking was simple. In his experience, the easiest way to a palace ruler's treasure was to lay siege on it. Unless there was a specific reason to conduct an infiltration, such an operation was simply not worth his time.

 

[Anthem]

Considering his working with the Phantom Thieves, and now also the Meta-Mercs, Imato took the down time between their incursions to get some well needed rest. The stress of working both sides, keeping himself safe while also constantly dipping into danger zones were taking a toll on his mind. His usual violent energy had been replaced by a tiresome bore, that kept him in bed for most of the break. While he tried his best to keep social, the chains wrapped around his mind kept him down until some proper rest was indulged. The other members of the Makage household worried for the boy, but allowed him his rest without much questioning. As long as he remained somewhat healthy, they allowed him his privacy to what could possibly be filling his hours outside the house.

---

Inside the safety that was Oracle's obviously named "Safe-Room", Tragedy was stretching whilst listening to the opening statement from Oracle. His opinion of the mysterious two was quite positive so far, more so positive towards Prophet rather than his partner but positive nonetheless. Well, that was until the little goblin had decided to jab at his defense of Panther during their first look into the palace. He hadn't even properly participated in the brawl! And what was he going to do, stand aside as one of his friends and allies gets harassed? Hell no. His pupils shrank as his eyes widened, looking at the girl with an obvious rage. But before he could speak against the gremlin, someone rose to his defense... Baron. Tragedy wasn't expecting this but he gave a small nod of approval before speaking to the investor in a calmed tone after he finished he question to Prophet.

"Baron... You have my thanks. But as for you." The fool quickly snapped his head back towards Oracle as he stepped forward, enraged once again as one of his hands raised from his side to point at the navigator. "Watch your tongue before I rip it out, the only reason I don't slug you right now is because I actually hold some respect for your partner." The spite within Tragedy's red eyes was strong, and to those who knew him behind the mask, these actions would more correctly align with the rumors spoke about him at the school. He'd then start to ominously crack each of his knuckles one by one as he continued to speak to the gremlin. "But please. If you hold an issue with my defending one of my teammates, let me know. I'll gladly end this little spat if that's the case!" After finishing that sentence, Tragedy took a step back as he started to cool down after the little onslaught of rage. He didn't wish to showcase this amount of wrath towards someone who's suppose to be an ally, but with the mental fatigue he had been dealing with, keeping his cool was becoming harder with each passing day.

After taking a moment to cool and suppress any left over anger, Tragedy would turn back to Baron to hopefully answer his question. "If you don't mind me stepping in here, I believe I may hold a valid reasoning. This may be different to yours, Prophet, but I believe mine may still hold some validity." The fool said as he looked at the supplier and robed meta-user. "Even if we hold a reasonable threat level average to storm the gates, there are still a few too many variables that are unaccounted for that may turn the tides against us if we aren't ready." Snapping his fingers as he looked around for a way to... visualize their approach if they were to attack head on as of right now. A uncanny idea popped into his head, as he pulled out a glass container and scooped up some soil.

"Bare with me for a moment, but imagine this as our group's vitality or stamina. We have a few variables battle-wise that would prevent a frontal assault from going well, firstly we have the four Meta-Mercs that we encountered whilst exploring the first time. It's safe to say that we would have to battle them again or work a way past them to reach the captain." Tragedy grabbed a good handful of the dirt from the container, throwing it aside specifically at Oracle. "And our victory against them isn't assured, and we can't be certain that they won't have reinforcements the next time we roam the grounds. Then there comes another factor, the shadows." Taking another handful of dirt from the jar, he would throw it aside once again to represent another loss of group stamina. "Even if they're weak, they could possibly come in great numbers which can be devastating if we're caught whilst split up or even worse, on our own. Not to mention a unique being in that palace, one that seems to sap the strength of shadows with ease. It makes any and all water a dangerous place to be around. Info on it is slim, but all I know for sure is that it had enough power to not be disappeared by the captain when all other shadows were." Before he could get to his final point, Tragedy took the jar and then shattered it upon the ground, hoping that everyone there would get the meaning of said action.

"Then there's the captain herself. We haven't gathered a single will seed or found the location of one as far as I've heard, which makes battle against her much more difficult. Then comes a big problem, her identity is still hidden to us. Unless you saw her during our incursion, Swan?" The fool stated before sighing a little bit. "Long story short, I know I would feel much more comfortable knowing the identity of our target and reasons why a palace was formed before clashing fists with them." With that, Tragedy took a well needed breath as he sat down once more. His proxy-planning led to this conclusion and he hoped that it was enough of a reasonable contribution to the meeting.

 

[That Weird girl]

Tragedy had some good points about the current palace and how they did not know much about the ruler. Ann listened with interest to him, Imato certainly had a good view on the issue but so did Baron. She would be fine with whatever the group decided the best course of action to take, she was pretty quiet right now which was unusual for her. She was thinking over her conversation with Roadkill that she felt that she should have done a bit different. Honestly, Ann regretted her decision about telling him about her identity and wished she hadn't. Things did have consequences, maybe she should just not act ditsy anymore like she thought was supposed to be her personality. Without that, what was Ann Takamaki? Some random hot girl? It seemed like she was on the sidelines while the others were doing the real work of fighting.

Spoiler: Panter on Red pt 2

Ann was truly depressed right now and when she felt this way she would hang out with Kajiki usually. But now that he was exposed and made out to be a horrible guy she now relied on Ryoma for support. Luckily the guy seemed to be into her and cared about her problems. So she got out her phone and texted Ryoma.

Ann
Hey Ryoma, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today, we can workout too! Then go to our favorite crepe shop.

That made her smile. She enjoyed hanging out with Ryoma a lot and hoped that he would be free today. Of course she was still upset over her past blunders and thinking about it was not going to do anything.

Ryoma was in the metaverse, taking care of the last client of the day. It wasn’t anything too serious, just usual shakedown where they take note of any exploitable information on the target and provide them with a little…motivation and persuasion

Seeing Ann’s text, the young man couldn’t help but smile in anticipation of taking to his good friend. Dropping kicking the final shadow into oblivion, Ryoma swiftly replied to the girl, with as much as enthusiasm as usual.

Sure thing blondie! Don’t forget todays is leg day! But yea I guess we can have crepes after we finish. See you there!

Finishing up in the metaverse, Ryoma made his way to his house, quickly picking up his usual gym gear and an extra bottle of protein shake. After dressing up in usual tracksuit, he made his way to the gym both of them frequently went to. Once he was there, he patiently waited for the girl at the entrance.

Upon seeing her, he would immediately start waving wildly. “Hey hey blondie! He’s your fix of the good stuff for today.” The young eagerly passed on her the bottle filled with strawberry flavour protein shake, which was apparently her favourite. “Feels like it’s been ages since I saw you! How have you been? You havent been slackin on your training I hope!’ Ryoma with a friendly smugness. He was always a bit on the competitive side, even when it came to small stuff like this.

Ann smiled at him when he noticed her. He was so enthusiastic and she loved that about him. Ann was super happy when he handed her her favorite protein shake, “Thanks Ryoma! Yeah it has been a while since we last hung out, I've been good! Been busy, doing a lot of modeling gigs.” Ann gave a smirk as he questioned her about slacking on her training and shook her head, “Of course not! I wouldn’t miss a day!”

Ann was pumped and ready to start working out! Ryoma had a way of always pumping her up to be the best she could be. There was no doubt that he could help with her self worth problem and encourage her to value herself. She also had something to tell him that would be important for him to know about her. She trusted him enough to tell him that she was with the phantom thieves going around and changing people’s hearts. She had no idea how he would react to that but hopefully it would be good.

Ann had started to work out and she smirked at him. The challenge was to see who could work out harder. She liked his competitive nature and found it attractive. She also had to stay in shape for modeling so this was a win win scenario.

“Alright! Bottoms up!” Ryoma clinked his bottle onto hers before chugging downt the protein shake, drinking it all up in a very short amount of time. “Come on let’s go, I saw two treadmills that were open!” The young man made his way to the rows of treadmills, started it up at brisk walking speed, just to get himself warmed up a bit. “So Ann-chan, what have you been doing lately? Busy with school? Modeling?” As always, he liked to talk while doing his workout, not that it was an issue since he was pretty good at multi-tasking.

A few minutes later, he would increase his speed, while also paying attention to the television above them which was currently on the news channel. The newscaster was talking about the recent scandal from a gym teacher at Shujin. “Hey! Isn’t that guy from your school?” Ryoma recalled that Fixer was assigned to protect the palace of that specific person before he was banished by an ally of the phantom thieves. He liked Fixer, though he can’t say the same about the client. Afterall, Ryoma himself would have likely killed someone like him without a second thought if he wasn’t on the “safe” list.

“Oh it’s the phantom thieves again.” Ryoma spoke as soon as the newcaster showed the a picture of the calling card as evidence. From what he could tell, they weren’t exactly bad people, but at the same time, he coudn’t let his guard down around them. They were out to banish people, so he couldn’t afford to pull his punches anymore.

Ann started to run on the treadmill next to Ryoma and thought about the question he asked and what to say. “Um, I’ve been busy with school and modeling. Geez, studying for exams is kicking my butt.” Ann said and kept running to keep from falling off the treadmill and decided to increase her speed on the treadmill now so now she had to run extra fast. “What about you?” Ann asked and noticed the news as well.

Ugh, Kamoshida had to repent publicly didn’t he? Even now he was going to make Shunjin a living hell to go to. “Yeah…” The girl sighed, hearing about him again, “Guess the phantom thieves got to him.” Her words were backed up by the newscaster showing the calling card that she knew and she would be hesitant to talk more about it because she was involved. The banishment of Fixer would certainly cause the thieves to be hunted down by the mercs. Ann was worried about that and how that would fare with her friends.

“Ryoma, do you think the phantom thieves are good people?” Ann asked him while panting. She was wanting to see if he thought they were bad people or good people for taking justice in their own hands.

“Hmm thats hard to say. Everybody’s got their own motive these days you know? At least thats what Gai tells me.” Ryoma answered, while running at the reasonable pace. He wasn’t the type of person to think too much, but doesnt mean he doesnt think at all. He is under illusion that what he is doing is considered illegal and immoral to many people, but at the same time, he like to think he has done a lot of good things as well in the metaverse. “Personally, I think they are probably good people. Judging from what they’ve done so far, which has only been about exposing bad people.”

Ryoma increased the speed of his machine, wanting to push himself further than before, even if it’s just a warm up session. He enjoyed every bit of this, the rush he got from accelerating as such speeds. While it was nothing compared to the speeds he had done in the metaverse, he still knew the importance of getting his regular training. “What about you Ann? What do you think about the Phantom thieves?” She was probably a big fan of them considering how much she has been singing their praises.

Ann wondered what his reaction would be if she told him that she was a phantom thief. It could be argued that Ann was tooting her own horn but she was proud of her teammates accomplishments. She was content with her level on the treadmill and did not feel the need to increase it. Everyone has their own version of justice now and it happened to be stealing people’s hearts for the thieves.

“I think that they are what society needs,” Ann told him honestly, “what they do is harsh but it is needed to catch these bad guys.” That much was true, the bad guys would have never repented to society about their sins without the involvement of Baron and the thieves. She was of course biased but she believed that what she was doing was right and just.

“I am so hungry,” Ann changed the subject and stopped her treadmill and panted, it was a good workout though! Keeping up with her workouts were going to be important if she still wanted model gigs. She waited for him to be done with the workout so they could get crepes.

“Hmm I think its a bit early to say that. But we’ll see”. Labelling the phantom thieves as some sort of a need was a bit of stretch to say the least. Even so, Ryoma saw the good in these people. Despite what the thieves would think, many of the merc do operate under a set morales and code of honor. Ryoma himself would have gladly curbstomped the pervert king’s face in if he had the chance.

“Well too bad! We’re just getting started!” Ryoma’s workout regime had just begun. For the 30 minutes, blonde and young man begun doing a bit of heavy lifting for both their legs and arms. While Ann was rather relaxed in the matter, Ryoma had a very intensed enthusiasm for improving himself.
After finishing work out, Ryoma decided to humor Ann’s request of going somewhere to eat. “You know, you’ve put in a lot work today. So how about we go to that Crepe’s shop now? I’ll even buy you one!” Ryoma offered the blonde while wiping off the sweat he had just built up. Ryoma was absolutely ecstatic to find a gym partner like Ann. She was a lot nicer than how he had pictured her to be. In his experience, pretty girls can be rather mean to people, using their physical attractiveness to their advantage, Ann on the other hand didn’t seem like she had these problems.

His workout regime was really something that Ann had come to appreciate. He was disciplined about improving himself which Ann could respect in a man. There was nothing she liked more in someone than them having the drive to do what they do.

“You don’t have to buy me one!” Ann wanted to be mindful of his economic status. She really appreciated that though. Being pretty gave her no right to take advantage of people like the many palace rulers the thieves had defeated. She had ethics, even though she could seduce a lot of males she did not.

“Yeah lets go,” Ann said to him and smiled, feeling hungry. She wondered if telling him that she was a thief would be a good idea. She sure trusted him enough to do so, even though he had not been with her a lot. Ann was very naive about the mercs and their ways so she did not know that they had a sense of honor. All she knew was the mercs that seemed to not care like Veno and Phoenix but Fixer was different.

“Alright if you say so!” And with that, the two went off as cheerful as ever. After ordering their food, Ryoma would find a table where both of them could comfortably sit down and talk. In truth, he was thinking about finally asking if she had boyfriend already, but like any boy his age, he didnt know how to go about it. If anything, he was afraid that things would turn awkward if she did have one already. And even if she was single, there was no way for him to know if she would reciprocate his feelings.

When their food finally arrive, he had noticed that the blonde girl seemed to have a lot on her mind. Thinking about something apparently. “What’s the matter Ann, you seem like you have a lot on your mind..” What could she be thinking about? Is she worried about her calorie intake or something?

“Well, I wanted to tell you something,” Ann sighed, picking at her food like she was not hungry. She did trust Ryoma a lot, even though she had known him for a short amount of time, she felt like she could trust him. Maybe he didn’t have a girlfriend?

“I am a phantom thief,” Ann whispered to him, she then pulled back from his ear and wanted to gauge his reaction. Hopefully he wouldn’t do anything drastic like call the police, he seemed to have a good opinion on the thieves from what he said about them.

“And I feel kinda bad for something…” Ann continued on, hoping he took this well. The death of Fixer weighed on her, even though she did not do it.

“Oh? What is it?” Is this it!? Was he gonna get a love confession!? But then again, its more common for the guys to confess right? His thoughts were lit ablaze by this sudden need to him something. Whatever it was, it sounded important, so he made sure that he carefully listened to her. But he next sentence made him spit his drink a bit as he struggled to remain composed.

What in the name of the All-Father was she on about?! Ryoma wondered if he actually heard that this confession right. And even if he did, how was he suppose to feel about this information? Why is she even telling him this in the first place? Has she gone insane? “Hmm I see…” His mouth struggled to form a coherent sentence. His mind racing to come up with an appropriate response to this information. But thankfully, her sentence brough him back to reality, immediately giving him an easy opportunity to respond. “What do you feel bad about?” Once again, he prefer to let the her open up to him rather than the reverse.

Ann knew this was not a good idea to let him know about that, probably would bite her in the butt later. But she had a good reason to do so, or so she had been convincing herself that she did. The fact that he seemed to have trouble with this information could mean something else. Maybe he was expecting a love confession or something.

“Well one of my friends,” Ann began with a sign, “banished someone who we were fighting…should have just let them go.” Ann didn’t really like any of the Meta Mercs but she did not want to kill them either. They were people too, although with far more evil intent. Protecting perverts and criminals for a paycheck.

Ryoma carefully listened to the girl, trying his best to understand what she was trying to say. From what he could understand. She was part of the phantom thieves and they were indeed the one responsible for banishing someone. While she didn't specifically say who it was that was banished, his best guess would be Fixer. "Well… from what I can tell, the Phantom thieves are a righteous bunch..so however it is had it coming.." although he himself didn't fully agree to that statement, for the sake of saying undercover it was the best thing he could say. "And…if you really are a phantom thief….you shouldn't be going around telling everyone that…" He gave her small bit of advice to keep quiet about her identity. He himself had no reason to reveal his allegiance."Like I'm sure there's a lot people out there aren't a big fan of your work so.. you know just be careful." Ryoma spoke again, sounding uncharacteristically serious.

His tone was getting serious and Ann was beginning to regret this decision of telling him. That was not the kind of reaction she was hoping for but what was she hoping for? Of course he would not appreciate that but at least he did not call the cops about it. Ann also felt like she had expected people to respond to the Phantom Thieves positively. Actions were bound to have consequences…she would pay for this information and maybe Ryoma would be kind enough to not tell anyone about it.

“Yeah…sorry,” the girl said and went back to eating her crepe in silence. She avoided his glance as she ate.

Ann made a mental note to see Iwai about getting a new weapon. She had decided that her old submachine gun was not going to cut it anymore, she needed more firepower if she was going against the more tough mercs. But yes, she understood the importance of training and choosing battles that she can win, instead of just rushing in. Ann should also learn battle strategy and how to best the opponent, because she was not the best at that. Something told her that she was going to have to be a leaning figure for the team to lean on and not worry about. The ruler was right about them being divided on how they should take care of her.

The team lacked decision making as a group. They needed a leader who could tell them the best approach to do and do it. Ann understood the phantom thieves were all different but they needed a leader that would organize them. She was not going to elect herself since well, she did not feel like she could do it and lead the thieves to a good future. Someone was going to have to make sacrifices for them and be protective.

---

Morgana was quiet as well, although that just meant he would not be snarky for a change. He thought about what had happened so far and the escape that they made. Was he the only one who thought Swan wasn't a bad driver? That could just be his fondness for her. Morgana did not care about Futaba and Imato's little bickering battle and thought she was trying to take his place. "Are you trying to take my place of his least favorite member," Morgana asked Oracle with a smirk.

Making fun of Imato was one of Morgana's hobbies but he had limits, like no calling him a dumbass. He sighed and sank in his seat, feeling pretty tired from transforming but did not want to show weakness. He still to worry about Kaizen, who was out there and who wouldn't hesitant to hurt the others. Morgana listened to the others talk as he wanted to go to sleep from the previous encounters. He was good with doing whatever the others wanted to do and trusted Agata's take more pout of all of them.


Azurian Dream Maeve Valor Anthem Nellancholy TreasureSniper

 

[Nellancholy]

The conversation took a turn, as it often did. Shiro, frankly, was quite surprised (and a little annoyed) that Oracle would single out Tragedy for his impulsivity and aggression, and not her. In her few years of life, Shiro never liked the type who would put others down for being the ones willing to take action for their own sake and those of others when no one else would. Of course, for all his quirks, Tragedy was perfectly capable of proving Oracle wrong, as he laid out his reasoning and the information he had to plan out their entrance. "And so, Oracle." Shiro emphasized Tragedy's plan. "Do not mistake our initiative for carelessness. If we are to continue assisting one another, some consideration of our capabilities both physical and mental would be worth it. If you are capable of considering others, that is."

Of course, the next part of the plan came up. The will seeds...apparently there were examples of these things in Matriarch Suzuki's palace. They'd had some luck with a few of their targets even without targeting the will seeds, but a target as aware and as influential as their current one would take every advantage they could get. "Shall we work on a plan to get her to expose the will seeds, then?" Her helmet tilted as she looked at her teammates in turn. "Tragedy, Swan? You've gathered some information, I hope. Do you believe she is the type who would make mistakes if threatened by someone who knows her secrets? Or shall we take a more subtle approach?"

Anthem Maeve Valor

 

[Maeve Valor]

Upon receiving the message from Baron, Masami was happy to read answers to questions she has had for quite some time like where they were getting their supplies from. She decided to take a moment to look up the names of these two people that were listed and to her surprise, she was hardly able to find any information on them. Although she didn't know what to expect considering this was a doctor willing to give drugs under the table and a craftsman who sold extremely believable gun models; they had to be shady to some degree. Nevertheless if Baron trusted these people enough to do business with them, then that was enough for Masami to turn a blind eye to the suspicious nonexistent background to these vendors. "Understood, please send the addresses as well," The thief texted simply back.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As Swan let the rest speak their mind first, she took into account everyone's thought and opinions on what had transpired thus far. While she didn't "respect" this duo quite yet like Tragedy did, she did think a covert method was the better option rather than starting off an infiltration on the offensive like Baron was inquiring on the validity of. And judging by what she heard happened to them at the bar, she couldn't blame Tragedy for acting the way he did even though she herself would have reacted much differently that wouldn't involve nearly as much physical confrontation. On the other hand, Swan was able to see why Oracle would be cynical regarding the capabilities of the team considering how everyone in the Phantom Thieves had their own style of problem-solving.

As the conversation went on, after Tragedy's finely executed demonstration Swan nodded in approval yet was unable to keep herself from commenting, "Looks like someone took their medication this morning, well said. I agree, it is imperative that we figure out who this captain is as soon as possible." Following this statement, Heartbreak spoke up bringing up the issue of the will seeds somewhere within the palace. At this, Swan decided to finally contribute more to the conversation. "A more subtle approach is probably in our best interest although I do believe you're on the right track by using theats to gain the upper hand. That being said, Oracle, Prophet, I am still curious about an answer to Baron's question. If we use intimidation to persuade the right shadows into telling us where the will seeds are, that might help us in the long run. But we need to figure out which shadows this person would trust enough to share the whereabouts of the will seeds. And to figure out which shadows, we need to first find out who the captain is. As previously stated, uncovering the identity of the palace ruler should be a priority. Unfortunately, we have not discovered anything new while working with the film crew. Tragedy and I have been just as confused as we were when we left the palace. So what are your opinions in the matter?"

 

[Azurian Dream]

Maeve Valor TreasureSniper That Weird girl Anthem Nellancholy

"And that feeds into my point right there," Oracles somewhat hissed with a scowl now directed at Baron in particular, however, she didn't continue her words as she waited for the one she had twisted the knife into to respond. Prophet was a bit curious about what Oracle aimed to accomplish in this unexpected mood of opinion as usually she was relatively peaceful, but as Tragedy took the stage of words he had a sneaking suspicion he knew where she was going with this. Oracle watched Tragedy's body language down to the smallest of movements the boy had the domineering spirit of a true enforcer mixed with the ferocious elements of a thug down to the core in truth it showed his commitment to his friends quite strongly.

"Panther, was cornered in a bad position right? Placed in a scenario your senses wouldn't let you ignore right? What would happen had that fight happened? You would defeat the one who caused your ally harm without a second thought I imagine," Oracle spoke going strangely from a sassy disposition to an analytical one as she crossed her arms... had that been an act? Though it may have confused the others Baron may have noticed this line of questioning of action to sound a bit... too familiar from the reason down to the crime being called out.

"I don't hold any issue against what you did... in fact, I respect, and think you're cool for it it reminds me of my Prophet in fact. Yet had you gone through it would have placed Panther, and everyone else in a worse situation would it not? The whole palace immediately alerted to an enemy coming crashing down on a personal operation... a whole shadow society dropped way too early on our heads. Especially to me and Prophet who has a personal stack in this... just... as we did to you," she turned her attention to Baron the ire of her words no doubt being the same recognized pattern perfectly down to the line of what Baron had indicted Prophet with by jumping in to save Heartbreak and Swan.

"If you are not willing to denounce something in the most minor of forms what gives you the right to attack it in a higher form? He did the same exact thing Prophet did and yet you'll defend him yet berate my Prophet. How can we trust you when you contradict how you handle the same scenario in a favored light," Oracle asked making her point revealing she had in fact used Tragedy's reaction as a way to paint the picture even clearer. It wasn't a berating, but a demand for proper professionalism on all parts. If Baron wanted things more his way then how could he ask it if he did not give it in turn?

"And don't mistake our ability to consider others if you will deny others' actions either," Oracle shot back at Heartbreak in turn as she had missed the point as well.

"Look we're not damning your actions, but we will not have our own damned as well if you're going to do the exact same thing and not blink at it. Were to be equals in this are we not," Oracle expressed finally calming down. It was an estranged conversation as the more the Phantom Thieves talked the more it oddly sounded like The Phantom Thieves and Baron, had conflicting moralities. As Prophet listened to the conversation he also turned to Baron a bit perplexed by it all he was clearly a high-caliber businessman. He was powerful, but extremely cautious, had the connections, had the ability, and yet the Phantom Thieves were a lot the opposite they were high-caliber in the ability to do the unexpected in unorthodox ways as seen with each of their own methods that day. They also used what they could get their hands on and didn't mind playing dirty or being risk-takers. It was like watching a literal Baron working with Marauders/Bandits it was a strange view to take in earnest. It was truly interesting how Baron expected them to act when in truth it didn't seem to be in their nature to do so. Maybe that's why it worked it made both sides accept and take in elements of the other.

"However I have more tongue than you can handle you Punk you're going straight into my shit list you little hero wannabe GAH," okay Prophet could tell the value part of this was finished as he lightly bonked Oracle atop her purple-haired head causing her to grab it and mumble how she was just trying to protect him from the unfair bias shown.

"While I appreciate my partner's protection of me I do understand my scenario has as she said taken higher ground to damage to your long-term op. In truth, if there is a time I must surrender myself for what I did I will do so, but she's not wrong. We are to be acting as a team in this, and I will admit we all flunked on that pretty hard when the Meta-Mercs caught on to us. I think it best we move forward more open to each other's tactics from now on and see how we can combine them rather than just brute force them. Personality is important in one's methods though, but there is always a way to unite methods together," Prophet spoke taking equal blame on the matter as he had thought they would be fine to do things as they had, but now he was starting to pick up on the fact... their victories while no doubt earned... clearly had a bit of madman's luck to it as well. This led him to one obvious conclusion about the Phantom Thieves... they were insane, and somehow that made him along with Oracle feel more at home with them.

From there the conversation went to everyone's thoughts with Baron's question on why they believed a frontal assault wouldn't do, to Tragedy's valued point about the oddities of the palace with the palace ruler and that particularly strange watery shadow along with the whatever was hiding in the shadows itself. Though as he gave his visual Prophet was quick to use his hat as a shield to block the dirt as Oracle would peer over it with daggered eyes. Yet the body language from Prophet reminded her she had earned it as he placed his hat back on. Then there was Swan's rather unique blend to it all. She took from all suggesting and agreeing with Tragedy, taking note of notions like Baron while still not wanting to assume without Prophet and Oracles take. He couldn't point it out yet he was still weirdly noticing something familiar about her way of addressing things. However, it seemed whatever he was familiar with was not all too familiar yet as well... a strange conundrum for sure.

It wasn't just her either Tragedy was starting to feel notable as well but he had yet to know why either. While Heartbreak, Mona, and Panther he knew who they were behind the mask all by coincidence as well. It was strange it's like he was supposed to find them... Once Swan finished her inquiry it was time for them to give their thoughts as answers. After going over everything in his mind he turned to them all, it was time to show their worth in this go-over.

"The reason a frontal assault is meaningless is simple to put. Just as we have no idea who our palace ruler is neither does she herself," Prophet bluntly stated as he tilted towards no doubt a confused audience nodding to Oracle he allowed her to better explain.

"A palace's shadows are influenced by the way the Palace ruler sees themselves as you know. Right from the start we have seen three different identifications of shadows, and in truth potentially two different variants of who she is," Oracle expressed showing images of both the Pirate Queen and the Watery Wretched being. Oracle then showed two of the three variants of the shadows the ones of the pirates under the Pirate Queen, and the vagrant homeless under the Watery Wretch.

"I think Noble Mona can also confirm that there is in fact no formed will seeds at this time to take... we seem to be dealing with someone who in the best of terms is fractured in their own psyche. Ergo because they have no solid will, and have blinded themselves to their own actions they feel mentally completely bulletproof. Thus while the dominant personality in charge the Pirate Queen is elated by our presence it seems unless we directly make it clear to the real-world person that we know who they truly are... no treasure will be born to steal meaning any assault could only end with use accidentally killing a part of her psyche, locking us off, and correcting nothing of the sort but the potential death of an unknown giving Asahi Beppu no life to regain," Prophet broke down the best he could of the situation to his opinion.

"To put it in simpler terms she is mentally broken by her actions, and while accepting them judges herself as a monster deserving the damnation, but also deserving of what she got by doing so in a toxic victory. She is willingly destroying her true identity by devouring her own guilt allowing a new identity to take over. We're still going to have to deal with the two known personalities, but we can't defeat them as it will shatter her psyche undoing all our work, We need to bring out the original before we can waste them," Oracle and Prophets combined psychological analysis skills were rather sharp bouncing off each other to clearly have built this psych profile to benefit them to all what they were dealing with, and needed to look out for in both terms of advantage and caution.

"So until we can force her to realize her origin is coming to haunt her we can't accomplish nor claim what we are both after. We need to know who she is and make her remember to bring out her will seeds, and her true shadow. Once we do that then we can take the fight to her," Prophet finished as Oracle's holograms signed off as she gave them a big grin.

"Yet while it all seems like doom and gloom all your added methods did give two roads of avenues to take to potentially. We know the answer to the question to the next section of her palace has to do with an event Kongo Burst threw ten years ago around their sudden popularity I looked into it and it so happens that they did in fact throw a script contest back when they were absorbing all the talent they could find. we have the advantage cause we know Asahi was in the group mentioned in the play. The problem is this was back in the day before everything was digitally saved ergo we are going to have to find a way to get them to give us the physical contestant list from back then I recommend a small group does that while the other...," Oracle paused motioning for Prophet to finish the news.

"While me and Oracle lead the rest of you to Asahi Beppu shadow... we have him pinned down in a deeper area of Mementos unclaimed by any of the factions. Yet given his real-world condition there's no way to know how his shadow will be. While we are pretty knowledgeable about the metaverse, and its connection to psychological effects we are no doctors of the field your insight would be no doubt boundless in helping us maybe reach out to him to remember something if possible, Baron. There's also no telling what people will be around unclaimed territory so better for it to be a bigger group," Prophet requested of the Investor motioning to his more advanced, and experience on the matter of unique shadows. With that, the duo laid out their thoughts, and the methods of action to move forward for now. One is an immediate answer to the roadblock at hand, and the other is maybe a helpful hand to better paint a picture of who they were after.

"Yet I must also ask given what I understand from you about the Meta-merc's Baron don't you find their treatment of this palace... rather odd?"

 

[TreasureSniper]

Foolishness. Foolishness was all he heard from the young metaverse user. Thankfully, as always he was able to read between the lines of what she was saying rather then the disrespectful tone that accompanied it. "Young, juvenile. Likely no older than 15." Baron thought to himself, quickly piecing together her age group from the way she spoke alone. "Given that your not as experienced in the metaverse, I will overlook your faux pas." His been there before, so he's won't think less of her for that.

Nornally such a behaviour would have earned her an instant banishment but Baron understood the challenge with working with unruly freelancers. Resting his back on the spine of the chair, he placed his knuckle on his chin, getting himself into a comfortable posture.

"There is no double standard." Normally he would stop at that, but given the nature of this group, he'd felt that they would require more information. "Because I know the stakes. The value of every piece on the board for the metamercs. And the consequences for removing such pieces." With that reasoning whatever argument they had fell apart immediately. And despite the hostility that has been shown, Baron remained composed and chose to explain things further, hoping that these people would understand the position they were really in.

"This palace is nothing more than a resort world for the mercs. An entertainment hub they keep for an otherworldly vacation. As such even if we were to tear it apart, there would minimal consequences as they have no personal stake here apart from using as a vacation home." Baron revealed the reason why he was willing to rend this palace asunder, as it was an inconsequential construct of the metaverse. "Even the metamercs posted here are more likely to leave then pick a fight. And even if they were to fall in combat, none of held the same position as Fixer did." From an untrained eye the situations looked similar, but this cannot be further from the truth.

"As you can see. I have nothing to gain from doing this "your" way. But even so, I choose to so as a show of goodwill." In truth, the duo should be grateful he would even consider doing such a thing inefficiently. This palace was quickly proven to be much more troublesome then he thought, the only thing forcing him to stay the course was his word.

"I do not blame your ignorance on the matter. It would be impossible for any of you to fully comprehend such things in short amout of time. However..." Barons posture shifted, putting his hand in front of him, interlocking his fingers to form a "tent". Despite his initial impressions, he does harbor any ill will to them anymore, in realizing that they were just unassuming metaverse tourist trying to do right thing. But what he would not excuse is the unprofessionalism that has been put forth.

"Thus far, I have done my best to remain professional in dealing with the both of you. And yet your partner here has brazenly disrespected a valued team member and demanded to be treated equal in spite of that." It was a truly paradoxical thing to do, to insult someone before demanding to be treated as equals. But in truth, so long as the duo lacked common sense, they will never be equals.

"I do know of a person that could help us in diagnosing. However, I am reluctant to involve him unless the two of you behave yourselves. Given that we are short on time. I will excuse your behavior. I can set up an appointment with them. But I'll have to stay by their side. How all of you proceed is up to you."

 

[Maeve Valor]

Oracle and Prophet's theory to this palace ruler's psyche was abstract yet very interesting and the palace continuously was proving itself to be more distinct from the others thus far. Following this explanation, she concurred that it was for the best to break into two groups in order to get these tasks done productively. "Sounds like a coherent plan to me. The best bet in receiving a hard copy of the contestant list would be at the main Kongo Burst office space. Which means either Tragedy or I would need to be part of that group. In covert operations, I am best suited to such tasks; the second being Mona so I suggest Mona also being part of the this group. A third person present as backup would help, ideally someone that is sociable. Panther, considering your background, you should be the one to fill this role since you would be able to comfortably speak to people in this field of work. With this set up hopefully this time around our performance will be to your satisfaction Oracle," Swan finished her statement with a demeanor that matched the audacious nature that Oracle exuded sprinkled with a bit of sarcasm.

She could not ignore that certain topics needed to be dealt with before this mission progressed. It was obvious that Oracle was not satisfied with how the last infiltration unfolded. Albeit, for good reason, but that still did not quell the feathered thief from speaking on the matter further. "The prior incident in question at the bar was tactless and was left unmentioned without reprimand. In the future I believe such actions should not go unchecked if we ever wish to be better at infiltrations. Although, I also must bring up that Baron is correct in that the circumstance was vastly different. And while we're on the topic I feel that it should be said plainly, you must understand..." Swan stood up and placed a hand down on the table in front of her while stiffening her arm to drive the point. "You two are not our equals operation wise, that is just a fact. Baron is investing more in us than he is in you two so of course he would seemingly be a lot less harsh on us. As for the team, we protect our own just like you Oracle are protecting Prophet. We know little to nothing about the both of you. Yes, things aren't equal so if you have a problem with that then you can add me to your so-called shit list as well along with Tragedy."

Swan then took her hand off the table, showing the change in her serious tone to a softer one, "Now that, that's out of the way I would like to emphasize that the Phantom Thieves prioritize helping people in need and by extension that means you two. So do not mistake my saying we protect our own with meaning we can't be trusted. You and Prophet are our allies in this endeavor, so Prophet is right, starting now let's all do better at working together as allies regardless of whatever slip-ups either of our sides has caused so far."

 

[Nellancholy]

So tactful as always, Swan. It might be a bit presumptuous for Shiro to feel...proud of her, seeing how much she'd changed since the Thieves (few as they were then) helped her to face her true self and embody her rebellious spirit. And as for Baron, she wasn't necessarily too sure of him yet, in light of the revelation of his identity. But it was relieving to see that he was still standing up for them. Hopefully, that wouldn't change, even if she would far prefer them being the ones to speak for themselves most of the time.

"Helping people in need, very much so, Swan. It is an end we meet first and foremost by striking down those who abuse the Metaverse to exploit the unaware..." She tapped her finger on the handle of her lance. "Unlike some of you, I am no scholar, but I will assist where I can to reach out to this victim of the palace's master. And so I am ready to lead the search for Asahi Beppu's shadow and gather what we can from him."

She looked to Swan and Panther instead. "You may count on me, while you pursue the investigation in the real world."

 

[That Weird girl]

Ann didn't like that Oracle was bashing Imato, but she didn't say anything to her. The others already had called her out on that juvenile behavior, although she did look pretty young so Ann wasn't surprised with the attitude. They would need to act as a team on this if they were going to get anything done and that was one thing that Ann excelled at, working on a team. She could handle Oracle's sassy behavior if that was going to be a factor in this team up, in a way she was like Sadako but less charming. Although, the girl did have some good insight on the palace ruler, it was hypocritical for her to ask to be treated as equal after she had dragged Imato through the mud and threatened to have him on her shit list. Whatever that was.

Ann nodded as Masami had pitched a plan that involved her and Morgana in the real world investigating Kongo Burst. "Yes, I would be able to talk with people in that field no problem," Ann responded, knowing that her ditzy behavior would certainly aid her in that.

Masami could have not said it better. She should be the spokesperson for the Phantom Thieves if they were a company, although that would defeat the purpose of them. Well, in a way they were a company because Baron was investing in them...that is an interesting thought. Ann was now excited to finally solve the case of the unknown palace user and then they could take her shadow out. She was a little nervous about working with Prophet because they did meet each other in the real world-she was sure that it was him anyway. The hair reminded her of Dascal a little bit. Maybe it was him?

"One more thing before we head out Prophet," Ann said to him, "what were those strange aquaduct control devices? I could see them during the upwards car chase." She wondered about them and how they managed to get ahold of it.

"Great to hear," Ann said to Shiro, that was good that they could count on her. Hopefully she could get something out of his shadow that could help them reveal the palace a little better.

Morgana didn't really feel the need to say anything, it was clear this girl's knowledge of palaces was pretty good. She did her research and would be a beneficial ally for sure. A little mouthy but that was alright. Mona hoped that they would not run into any meta jerks, hopefully one that was not as fast as Crow was.

Azurian Dream Nellancholy Maeve Valor TreasureSniper Anthem

 

[Azurian Dream]

This had been the very reason Prophet had wanted to test Baron's parameters before bringing Oracle into the picture she was young, and while skilled had a very particular personality that clashed hard with others especially that of Baron's character, and that of Tragedy's. She had done an excellent job of keeping it to herself the first round of meeting them, but it was clear the second round had been her collision point. Sadly though he had attempted to negate, and diffuse Baron fed into it in a not-so-well direction, but thankfully not the worst his personality type could respond to Oracles personality type.

Though while Prophet had his concerns about how this could go Oracle held her tongue. While inexperienced with people she was not inexperienced on the field thanks to her small ops with Prophet in the metaverse. Baron was right they did need them, and her age was indeed showing in her emotional reaction. Yet that's what made her who she was and dictate her own actions. Baron's own ability to keep his composure while she couldn't also hit a nerve as she realized her own antisocial tendencies to take a point from Prophet had potentially wrenched some potential ire to not just her but him as well. She had to accept it as she was cornered in this conversation that she knew Prophet wouldn't be caught in... she felt terrible for bringing his rep down with hers to the Phantom Thieves... she could feel her own will caving to the massive shadow that was Baron.

Yet in the mix of this, thought of her's came back to when she had pinned her bet that Sougo Agata could be Baron there were some interesting similarities between how he aimed to keep thing completely business structured to the ways she had seen that boy act with the school for the council and school events... it felt very formal in unique sharing of the two methods. She wondered if Prophet had noticed even if he hadn't been at the school as long as she had. Apparently, Dascal had talked to Sougo temporarily but hadn't shared the details of the talk saying it was a bit of a private light-hearted clash of thoughts.

However no matter the route it seemed she was now in a hard place requiring her to eat her words to appease another so that they could save Asahi Beppu her neighbor's son who had been wrong for so long it was unlikely any victory to prove his worth back to the world would mean nothing. Yet just like Prophet, she didn't care about that... Asahi Beppu deserved that chance. Baron was wrong Asahi Beppu deserved things to be done their way to make sure it was done right without throwing away his chance at being cleared as a failure of society. She and her partner believed that with all their might thus it seemed she needed to surrender her identity to Baron to make things right.

"I...," Oracle was about to grovel, and grovel hard in apology to make up for what damage she could have caused being herself in the matter showing her frustrations so blatantly, and as she closed her eyes ready to abandon her pride, and methodology she was interrupted. With a surprised, and confused venture of a look Oracle listened as Swan came up, and gave her a piece of her mind.

Prophet had been ready to interview knowing Oracle had bitten way more than she could chew, but when her face was that of one of conviction he stopped himself knowing if it was something he himself could do he needed to let Oracle do so as well. Her actions did have some consequence of effect, but it didn't mean it was in a foul way. Since beginning this duo work with her he had realized her talent way exceeded what most would ever dream of Baron was right in his reprimand about how could she demand equality, but the fact she felt it was needed meant she noticed something that concerned her about the dynamics of the group they were teaming up with. No matter how much Baron thought her a greenhorn her emotions were skilled at noticing things as such he would keep a sharper eye on the Phantom Thieves to see what it is that was needing this attention from his fellow analytical partner.

Yet where he was about to step in was where she was about to surrender herself in the wrong way to go about it... she didn't have to break her will over this... and strangely enough it seemed Swan beat him to the punch. Holding a verbal banner of fortitude Prophet, and Oracle both listened to the feathered thief giving an interesting take on the matter one that both pointed out proper respect to both sides of the spectrum and also united them in a way that Oracle hadn't expected.

Just like the froggy-dressed girl had been feisty in her verbal launch so to have the avian of the Phantom Thieves was like being addressed that it was okay to feel that way while also competitively being pushed back expecting her to better herself to do so more skillfully next time. It reminded Oracle how she had fallen in love with hacking as a challenge in life against the mundane, and how she had felt to learn to open up to Prophet. It was unexplainably violently warm just like how she strikes forward in life. When Swan was done Oracle had no expression on her face at first until slowly a feisty toothy smile beamed up at Swan with renewed vigor.

"Heh, I hear you loud and clear Big Sis Swan. I and my darling Prophet will blow you away on the stage don't you forget it. You'll see just how valuable we are in due time," she flaunted in a pose as she used the rim of her wrist to lightly adjust her goggles. It seemed Swan had revitalized her in a positive way while securing the point of the message without ripping away her spirit to her own will. Even seemed she had strengthened her resolve in an unexpected light of perception.

…………………………………………………………….

I am thou, thou art I

Thy wills now tangled in the rebellion of rivalry in the pursuit of the truth,

In shattering the chains of doubt,

A progressively sisterly bond has been formed,

Between The Hermit & The Tower

Thy paths have given new strength in meeting
………………………………………………………………​

"I am sorry for my outburst, but I stand by my convictions that our way is important to Asahi Beppu, and that's what matters to us," Oracle spoke turning her attention to Baron giving an apologetic bow yet now standing firm with what their deal in this business venture was keeping her emotion separate from the goal.

"And nay you're not on my shit list your the one I aim to beat," she smiled pointing at Swan as if she was some idol icon to defeat in the end game of a video game. Seemed Oracle had taken a massive shine to Swan.

"Well said, and well learned Oracle. Though I think you have gained a dotting admirer, Miss Swan," Prophet patted his sister's shoulder even genuinely clapping to Swan's impressive handling of the situation. Once things calmed down though he found himself concerned about Baron's thoughts to the palace. It made sense such places would exist, but while this had signs of being what he suggested... it also very much went against that. Why had they not seen more of them than? Why was the Meta Merc count so low yet felt like a structured watch from what they had gathered it seemed Abyss was in fact commanding the meta mercs here. Also from what he had heard from when he had first found the palace it seemed like no partying resort, but in some sort a secondary venture.

Yet with no visible evidence at the time he guessed Baron's guess was of similarity to that, there was no valid evidence saying otherwise, but sneaking suspicions for now which he wasn't willing to wave off just yet. It was then Swan preemptively gave the case to the team that should hit the Kongo Burst office which made sense since Ann being a model would be easy to get in, and distract the workers, while Morgana BEING LITERAL CAT... would no doubt have valued infiltration skills if needed while Swan would be able to use her position to get them past a few levels... of course, they didn't know he understood it, but Prophet was starting to see Swan was indeed a dangerous player.

"Aquaduct Control Device," Prophet asked surprised by the silent Panther's sudden interjections as she brought up a curious question what was she on about with curiosity growing he turned to Oracle who didn't even need to be asked as she ran up to Necronomicon to project the map of the palace she had made from what they had seen. Within a second Oracle pulled up the aqueduct walls revealing not just one, but two devices clearly connected to the water flow system making the port towns downward canals.

"Well then that's quite the find, Madame Panther I dare say that can be very useful in the future. I wonder what other talents of detective work you are hiding behind those well-smoothed claws," Prophet complimented Panther as he then nodded to the rest. With the ops now decided everyone had their goals, and it was time to head out.
................................................................................................................................

(Team Swan Kongo Burst Real World Theft Opt) That Weird girl Maeve Valor

The trio Masami, Morgana, and Ann would find themselves a bit out of the normal popular Shibuya prefecture, and more out towards the daunting, and imposing business venture side filled with adults lining the streets heading god knows where. The population of the corporate buildings of white structural coloring, and blue glass was blinding to those new to its streets. Thankfully the address, and route provided by Oracle would help them cut through most of the hustle and bustle of the urban jungle.

Not too far off from their projection was surprisingly a small not as omnipotent building that was indeed the original first founded center for Kongo Burst back in its not so well funded starting days. Yet the honor of tradition had definitely kept it together, and updated yet no doubt torn from its original design as a landmark of the film industry. Upon the sight of entry, the girls would quickly be noticed by two armed guards at the front which then lead straight to a secretary guiding the front. Notable that it might cause a flashback to Ann's first building rush during the Metatron Cult scenario no doubt the girls wouldn't potentially get an awkward feeling just going in normally via direct/insane indoctrinated means.

..........................................................................................................................................

(Team Heartbreak Shadow Asahi) TreasureSniper Anthem Nellancholy

It was never easy to particularly traverse Mementos in fact for those not with a modiquem of architectral, or geographical skill the burdon would be outright insurmountable crushing in the maze the mysterious union of reality, and mental cognition made. Right now though Oracle was keeping them on the fast track guiding them through the weaker enemies of the Path of Qimranut, directing them to some valuable chest in the Path of Aiyatsbus, giving enemy weakness guidance in the Path of Chemdah until finally they would reach the beginning of the Path of Kaitul. As the current trio of Heartbreak, Tragedy, and Prophet head towards the crumbling dark green ambience of its tracks Prophet himself was not excited to see where they were going.

"I take it he is in the most recent depths of Mementos Oracle," Prophet asked clearly not to keen on storming a area no doubt about to come head over on fire as the factions would no doubt be scouting the area's themselves preparing to fight over it.

"Unfortuntely... I originally caught sight of him in the Path of Chemdah... but i think this newer paths opening finally attracted him to go deeper," Oracle expressed as she to was rather concerned Mementos was constantly changing, and while older paths could eventually be pathed out the newest one was constantly reforming making its impossible to map until the next section would open as of late though Mementos had been expanding rather rapidly with newer area's for some unknown reason. Though if one was to pay attention it strangely started around the same time the Phantom Thieves Palace hunting had began. The green garbed metaverse though felt that was a conversation for another time.

"From here on unfortunately Oracle Navigations will only at best be able to map our routes slowly as we move about. Though given how quick we got here I doubt that will impede use to much one would hope," Prophet spoke to his counter parts as he tapped his baton on his shoulder quickly going over their supplies for a moment. From the other side back at Oracles safe room Necronomicon, and the operator herself were fast to work already woking out was to scan out as fas as she could off their mental cognitive connection to her persona. Regardless if she was limited now she would be damned if she wouldn't make head way.

"Best for us to work off each other for now on in attacking, and defense. Solo fighting is not recommended past this point. Lets try to rely on each other when we can if we see a opening we call it out to each other. If we need to code our intentions upon running into other metaverse users well lets hope we know what each other means in the heat of conflict," Prophet expressed pretty sure they were aware of tricks like baton pass, and showtime though more than likely only Tragedy, and Heartbreak would be able to perform a impressive feat like showtime together. Though he had seen Thrud, and Loki in action it was hard to say if they would play nice in unison with Rasputin... yet no doubt that would soon be put to the test.

"Whenever you guys are ready," Oracle prompted waiting for them to enter the Path of Kaitul.
.............................................................................................................................................................

 

[Nellancholy]

Shiro, for one, couldn't help but feel sorry for Asahi Beppu. He was afraid, certainly desperate, driving his Shadow deeper and deeper into Mementos as if he was emotionally (and maybe physically) fleeing from something. The master of the marine palace, no doubt. She had to wonder if she hadn't gotten involved with Ann and awoken her Persona...if she would have ended up in a similar situation. Her Shadow tormented in the Metaverse, burdened with fear and doubt borne of her resentment and her wish to protect innocents from the harsh world that threatened them.

Would her intentions even have made a Palace of her own and blinded her to her actions if she had escalated her crimes further for the sake of her "sisters"?

Perhaps she could have become that kind of person. But she would never know, and thankfully so as she had been granted the power of Thrud instead.

Today, it was almost certain that they wouldn't be able to literally drag Beppu's shadow out of whatever dark place it had fallen into, but at the very least gaining intel that could lead to solving this case and vanquishing his tormentor's Shadow may relieve his pain.

"Behind me, then. Whatever comes for us, will have to face me head on." Heartbreak kept her visor up, not calling on Thrud for the moment. Some other Personas might be more subtle, but Thrud's stature would draw attention to them that might be unwelcome.

With her gun levelled, she felt the loose rock rattle under her boots as she took point and moved into the shifting landscape of the Path of Kaitul.

 

[Maeve Valor]

While Swan expected a confrontational response from the purple-haired accomplice, she didn't predict it to be in this manner along with calling her "Big Sis Swan". In fact it was so unforeseen that she didn't quite know how to take her proclamation of wanting to beat her somehow. Since she grew up as an only child, she was unable to place why she felt flattered instead of off-put from this budding rivalry between herself and the younger girl. Swan looked away and to Heartbreak in order to retain her resolute composure as she said with a slight cough, "Of course, I wouldn't expect any less."

In the next topic brought up by Panther regarding the aqueduct devices, she too was curious what Oracle had to say about it. She found it odd and out of place yet it did not weigh on her mind all that much since it wasn't that relevant to their plans at the moment; just a peculiar observation.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(Kongo Burst Opt)

Once the building came into view, Masami decided to do a quick overview with Morgana and Ann as they walked. "We should act like we belong there when we get in. Morgana, if I need you to look into something, I'll let you know. Ann if you ever need help in a conversation we should have a key word for if you need assistance. How about... hectic? Yes, that'll do." As they got closer she said, "and remember to follow my lead but improvise only when necessary."

Spotting the armed guards out front, Masami became inwardly nervous but continued walking onward as she reminded herself that the lanyard she wore with her employee pass should protect them at least a little bit from seeming suspicious. After passing the front doors, she approached the secretary assigned there, "excuse me miss, do you know anyone that possibly knows the history of Kongo Burst?" In asking this seemingly plain question, Masami was hoping to watch where this person came from. If they knew the history of the company, that meant one of two things: either they worked in the records department or they have worked there long enough and was slightly higher up on the echelon. Either way, it would be a good place for them to start. Figuring out which direction they came from would be a good indication of which area they should look in.

That Weird girl Azurian Dream

 

[Anthem]

For the rest of the meeting, Tragedy had remained silent even though there were many moments for him to jump in and rebuttal. Now wasn't the time to be headstrong, since this palace was seriously turning out to be much more trouble than the last few the thieves had taken on. The fool was grateful for his teammates of course for their support when he admittedly had an outburst towards Oracle, but he had grown a stronger sense of respect for the odd duo. It seems they were more than capable of gathering valued info, and were able to find webs of potential from the smallest threads with their combined minds. A good asset to this team of tricksters indeed, as much as Tragedy didn't want to admit it thanks to his spite towards the one in frog-like attire.

Just as an extra layer of info, the Fool would take note of the interactions between the two allied users and the team of thieves. It would best to keep track of who would work best with who, to prevent any potential fumbles whilst in combat or high-risk situations. Him taking these mental notes were most likely just another episode of his over-active cognition, something to keep him and that wouldn't annoy the others. Though the boy's mind quickly snapped to the meeting at hand as it was decided whom would be doing what to reveal more of the ruler.

Time to get to work.

---

Despite the hellish landscape that soon came before the trio as they dove deeper into the depths of Mementos, Tragedy seemed quite unimpressed by the path before him. Hell, one could say the Fool seemed confident in their ability to navigate through it with minimal issues. Cartography was never the boy's strongest subject but he was more than sure that some random wandering would allow them to find their target upon finding some form of tracks hopefully. Walking with his hands placed on the back of his hooded head, Tragedy casually strolled beside Heartbreak with much less seriousness than his fellow thief.

"So no more running in head-first? You're killing me here, Prophet." With a joking tone within his voice, the Fool laughed out a little bit as the group continued on their way. Despite the situation, he always seemed to find something or someone to laugh at, even at himself. "But in all seriousness, I can handle a decent amount of the offense but I'll have to rely on you two for defenses. I'm certainly not the greatest in a test of endurance..." Tragedy said whilst glancing at the others, reluctantly admitting one of his more expendable weaknesses. But at least the other two here in the Path of Kaitul would be of good assistance.

 

[TreasureSniper]

There was a plethora of responses from the group, ranging from considerate, indifferent, and even stubbornness. While less than ideal, they will have to make do with this pseudo-apology and move forward. Hopefully, the overall attitude and team cohesion will improve given enough time. For now, their usefulness still outweighs rude behavior and thankfully, he is starting to see some level of self-awareness from this duo with both of them showing more of an understanding they were in and a small hint of willingness to make amends.


Apart from the duo's positive shift in attitude, he also noticed the Phantom Thieves' general maturity in their inclination to continue onward despite having been disrespected so brazenly. While Swan's professionalism was unsurprising, it was good to see that the other thieves were willing to follow her lead on this matter. Given enough time and the right challenges, she would likely grow to be a wise and capable figurehead of the thieves. Even the bruisers of the group, Heartbreak, and Tragedy, impressed him by shrugging off the statement and instead focusing on what their comrade in arms had to say in the matter.

Normally, Baron would have more to say on this situation, but for now, perhaps it's best for him to let things play out at their own pace. As capable as this team is, he can't deny that general team stability can still be questionable within this crew. There are still some aspects about them that remain an anomaly such as their tolerance towards certain types of stimuli. Without saying anything else, Baron simply took his leave, slipping away from the scene without a sound.

---

Upon arriving at the path of Kaitul, the team would notice the very familiar sight of a zone gate. While the team has already thus far gone through a few of these, this particular gate had noticeably more red runic markings around it, likely acting as a warning toward all who dare enter this region. Some of the markings that were present seemed recent as well and less ornate, resembling something done by a brute rather than a skilled artist. But there was one symbol that stuck out, one that was carved into the stone-like surface of the gate with a lot more force and depth than the others. Though it is likely that not many would recognize the significance of the said symbol.

Spoiler: Spooky rune

While quiet at first, Oracle would soon detect three notable threat levels that were closely and quickly closing in onto the mementos party. With only two visible entry points, it was strange to see, at least from the radar, that they were coming in from another angle. Eventually, a loud beeping sound emanated from one side of the track mementos train, indicating that it was stopping. So far, none of the thieves would have known that these trains were even usable in the first place. The only thing that even hinted at such a thing in the past expeditions is Baron's passing remark that maybe one day they'll get to see what it's like to ride on the inside.

One of the trains would soon arrive on the designated track, stopping in place. Its appearance was not too different from the regular train that the students have been using, apart from the red tint, it was almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Though the windows of the train seemingly showed an empty interior, the thieves will soon find out that things are rarely as they seem. The train doors would slide open, giving a brief glimpse of what was inside, an impenetrable mist that completely hid its interior. Soon, humanoid silhouettes can be seen exiting the locomotive, emerging from the mist, and revealing themselves to the group. First came two shadows that wore uniforms resembling that of the Special Assault Team, of the Japanese police force. While they were indeed shadows, their threat level was far higher than anything that should be on this floor, indicating that they are native to this area.

Spoiler: Shadow Soldier

Right after shadows made their entrance, a trio of familiar mercs would do the same. The first two mercs were individuals that the phantom were already familiar with, Rex who entered the scene holding his trusty sword, and Phoenix who seemed more quiet than usual. And then came the third and last merc, someone who thus far has alone been seen once by the thieves but has yet to be named.

Spoiler: Frostbite

A chill in the air could be felt within the area, with the temperature continuously dropping to the point where icicles began to form on the ceiling of the gate room. I wasn't just cold anymore, it was absolutely freezing. The third merc finally step forward, revealing his snow-tiger-themed armor and a hatchet to match. While not much is known about this merc, Baron has mentioned him in passing before, only giving away his name, Frostbite.


"I admit, you guys are pretty ballsy to come this far. Its a shame really.... to think I finally found some worthwhile antagonist..." The merc was quite relaxed in the way he talked, focusing more on the shine on his axe rather than the members of thieves that were in front of him. That said, his tone did sound like he was genuinely disappointed about what was to come. "I still say we should return the favor for what they did to Fixer." Phoenix spoke, finally breaking his silence, making no attempt to mask his anger that rivaled only by flaming aura. "We have our orders. So pipe down....and just enjoy the show." Rex, as always being the voice of reason, reminded the group of their purpose here, sheathing his blade and remaining neutral. "Wait...wasn't there suppose to be more of you?...oh well, I guess they will take what they can get." Frostbite rested the hatchet against his shoulder, stroking his chin, confused on the reduction in numbers, but in the long he guessed it wouldn't make that much of difference.

Without warning, the gates of mementos would suddenly open, revealing a few dozen individuals that were lying in wait behind the gate. There were around 50 of them, all of which wear a strang3 armor bearing strong resemblance to the metaverse gear used by the cultist group not so long ago. Among the group was one that had a much more regal appearance compared to the rest, wielding what appear to be a modified cattle prod as their weapon.

Spoiler: Cultists & Cultist Champion

"Stand proud, my brothers and sisters! Do not falter! Do not waver! For today is the day we avenge our Matriach!" the regal one shouted, full of pride and vigor, raising his weapon high in the air, earning roars and cheers from his companions. "Rocketeers!" Their champion shouted a command, causing five of his subordinates that were wielding rocket launchers to step forward in front of the group. This small team of explosive wielders wasted no time in taking aim at the thieves, concentrating their hatred towards the individuals that were responsible for their great Matriach's downfall. "FIRE!" The champion shouted, prompting all five rocketeers to pull the trigger, sending a rocket-propelled explosive toward the thieves.

Fortunately for the team, the Rockets would not find their mark as they were intercepted by a third party, one with which they were familiar. While at first, it seemed like the explosives had detonated prematurely, as the smoke cleared as would soon be obvious that something had stood in between the explosives and their intended target. Baron would emerge from the smoke, none worse for wear, shocking both the Mercs and cultists alike. "Its.....its him...the clockfaced demon!" One of the cultist murmured, sending a wave of panic and uncertainty among his teammates. Their leader however remained steadfast, immediately relaying his troops behind him. "Do not fear this..demon! The Matriarch protects! We are the last of the Matriarchs devoted! Within us exists all of those who have fallen before this demon!" The champion proudly pointed his weapon towards the "demon" prompting all the other members to raise riot shields, forming a barricade. And yet, despite outnumbering him greatly, not one of them dared to step forward. "Today will be the day we fight this demon!"

Baron at first said nothing, simply walking forward towards them. With each step forward, the cultists would take a step back, showing that despite all the bravado shown they were still indeed very much afraid of this demonic being. And then came Baron laughter, an unsettling chuckle that eventually transitioned to a full-on cackle of amusement. "Yes..indeed. That much is true...this will be the last time you see me." Eventually, the entire cultist force was back into the entrance, with Baron going through the gate before it closed shut, leaving the mercs and thieves alone again.

"Phew...and here I thought we needed to fight him.." Frostbite sounded relieved that he did share the same fate as the cultist. The other two mercs seemed to share his sense of relief as well as they collected themselves and slowed their breath back to an acceptable pace. "But honestly...I should thank him.." the tiger-themed merc took one look at his axe before turning his attention to thieves. "Now that that cult folk aren't here anymore....guess we can have our fun now...." The other two mercs turned to him and simply gave him a nod of agreement, both of them were also happy that they would get an opportunity to duel with thieves again for their own reasons.

Spoiler: Battle Music

"Rex, set the stage for me would you..." The temperature of the area began to drop drastically once again, making it extremely uncomfortable for anyone without thick clothing to even stand. Rex mere nodded at his fellow merc, summoning king midas to his side, planting his cursed hand onto the floor and turning it into gold. Accompanied by the rapid transformation of the floor to gold was a wave of electric shock. And with that floor was essentially electrified, constantly zapping anyone that was standing on it without any protection. As both the mercs anticipated this, Phoenix activated his hover jet boots, making sure he never really touches the ground, whereas Frostbite, would make makeshift ice blades, onto his shoes, allowing him to skate over the floor unharmed.

As phoenix floated upwards, the red merc would shoot a few of his feathers towards numerous icicles above the thieves, sending the jagged pieces of ice falling towards them. Having distracted them with a wave of icicles, Phoenix would send a few fire balls towards Shiro, identifying her as one of the ones that seemed really desperate to protect swan from the previous encounter. "Where's the ugly duckling? Is she too afraid to fight her own battles? Or has she abandoned you?" Phoenix taunted the girl, raining fireballs from above with glee.
Meanwhile, Frosbite would skate towards Imato and Dascal, circling around them with ease and finesse, clearly a person who is fairly confident with his skills. "So.... what are your gimmicks? You're a monk?? and the other guy just has horns...? While the merc has not made any direct offensive moves towards the duo, they would feel a cold sensation in their skin as he got closer as if his presence alone saps the from them. "Interesting antagonists have to have interesting gimmicks." Rex remained stationary, stabbing his sword onto the ground to continuously electrify it, giving his team an edge in this arena. The two shadow soldiers stood beside him, ready to intercept whoever was foolish enough to disrupt his strategy.

Azurian Dream Nellancholy Anthem