Gravitational Force
Dark Lord of Creativity
The three Phantom Thieves Oni, Jet, and Spider stared at the door leading to the Treasure they'd come to steal and reflected on what had brought them to this moment.
Deckard Chase, Cloe Tobias, and August Jean-Pierre III hadn't known each other before, each of them finding their own way to a jail cell awaiting trial in front of Court of Common Pleas Judge Mitchell Giles. He was known to be "Tough on crime" by sentencing anyone who ended up in front of him to lengthy imprisonment in juvenile detention centers.
Their belongings had been taken from them, but one of the teens had managed to smuggle in their smart phone. As they hopelessly searched through their Apps in an attempt to ward off their rising panic, they discovered the Meta-Nav App. Clicking it pulled up the image of an eye. Hearing the guards returning, the teen hid their phone. The phone's voice recognition software still heard "Mitchell Giles" "court house" and "train."
The teenagers vanished, whisked into the Metaverse. There they found themselves inside a horrifying-looking train. Children with coal instead of heads (the Judge's Cognitions of the defendants who appeared in front of him) clutching tickets marched up one by one, had their tickets stamped by living Shadows in the uniforms of train attendants, and then continued marching to the front of the train. The real world teens were caught by the Shadow attendants who demanded that they produce their tickets to be stamped. Since they had no tickets they were dragged to the train's Conductor, only to find themselves in front of a distorted version of Mitchell Giles in a golden conductors uniform.
The Judge's Shadow laughed in their faces, gloating that it didn't matter whether they were innocent or guilty or if they deserved imprisonment. The fact that they were in front of him meant they were worthless except as fuel to propel society's worthy to more glorious destinations. He gleefully explained that he got a kickback for every child he sent to a detention facility and was using the money to fuel his luxurious lifestyle. The teens watched in horror as the coal-headed children were fed into the train's furnace to keep it steaming on.
As the teens tried to figure out what to do, a small figure burst into the room. She resembled a anthropomorphic crow and after firing a slingshot into one of the Shadow attendants, decapitated the other with a curved sword.
As the teens gaped, their animal savior called out to them.
"Come on, are you going to let this stand?!"
Each of the teens clutched their face as a personal voice echoed in their head:
A grinning demon mask formed over Deckard's face as he heard a deep jovial voice boom: "I am thou... Thou art I... They'll always judge you for your violence. If they've blackened your name then paint over it and show them the Devil is coming for their heart! Raise a pirate's flag and plunder them all with fire and brimstone!"
A white cloth mask formed over Cloe's face as she heard a proud carefree voice proclaim. "I am thou... Thou art I... Religion binds and restricts you and the systems of men call your love evil. Free yourself from all earthly shackles and show them the wrath of a free woman who will not be tamed! Men call what they cannot control witchcraft so a witch you shall be!"
A mask made of the top half of a skull with fingerbone cheeks appeared over August's face as he heard a snickering whisper in his ear: "Are you going to let fools like these tell your stories for you? Strong or smart, rich or poor, all can be tricked. Show the people that living or dead nobody gets to bury the truth!"
As they ripped off their masks costumes appeared on them and strange beings came into being behind them. The masked crow did the same, summoning a hurricane holding a hammer she called Gideon. Seeing that he was outnumbered and overpowered, Judge Giles's Shadow used an emergency lever to blast them to the last train car before detaching it. This left the three teens and crow stuck on the train tracks.
Introducing herself as Eliza, the crow explained the nature of the Meta-verse (Shadows, Personas, Palaces, stealing hearts etc.) to the teens. Hardened by their determination to right the wrongs they had experienced and that were spread throughout society, they banded together as the Phantom Thieves.
Appearing back in their jail cell, the teens learned that their cases had been postponed a week due to the judge being sick and nobody being able to fill in. Using that time to infiltrate the Judge's Palace and find his Treasure, the Phantom Thieves only had one thing left to do: send a Calling Card and steal the Judge's Treasure.
The local paper reported the letter that had been mailed to the judge and attached to every surface near the courthouse not watched by security cameras.
Written on red and black paper with cut out letters from magazines, the letter read:
"Two-faced Sinner of Avarice Mitchell, your corruption ends here. You sell kids like property and rob them of their future with no regard for them as people. We, the Phantom Thieves will steal your heart and make you confess your crimes."
While it didn't get much attention outside the city, it did get enough attention to be a topic on social media right when the Phantom Thieves broke into the Palace to break out with the Treasure.
Finding themselves in the engine car (an opulent space easily the size of a courtroom with tacky expensive furnishings and the Judge's seat on top of the massive furnace), the Phantom Thieves went to seize the Treasure (a conductor's cap) when it was snatched out of their hands by Judge Giles's Shadow.
"You little shits don't get it, do you? You're society's waste, only good to fuel the truly deserving like me along the fast track to riches! Accept your fate and feed the furnace! I DECIDE ALL THE DESTINATIONS! GET OFF MY TRAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The Judge slams his fist down on a button on his podium, and the Phantom Thieves are sent flying out of the compartment and watch as the train twists itself into a new shape that towers over them with murderous intent.
The furnace pumps steam through pistons with a sound like a mechanical heart in the middle of the monster's chest. Train cars make up the limbs with shadows oozing to form hands and black sludge flowing from the 'feet'. Where the head would be is the engine car, with the Judge's Shadow inside piloting the mecha. At its feet the coal-children are still being pushed forward by the Shadow ticket takers in a coal-cart.
The Judge's voice booms out over the train mecha's speakers: "FEEL THE POWER OF THE PRISON-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX! BE UTTERLY CONSUMED!"
(Moloch Giles Boss fight)
Eliza calls out to the other Phantom Thieves: "We've got to take that thing down. The furnace looks like the weak point, but we've got to take out his fuel first and it's covered by the other limbs. Take out the coal carts, cripple the limbs, and then shut down that furnace! Let's go! Blow them away Gideon!"
Eliza's Persona appears and blasts the coal cart with a mini tornado, mildly damaging it.
Deckard Chase, Cloe Tobias, and August Jean-Pierre III hadn't known each other before, each of them finding their own way to a jail cell awaiting trial in front of Court of Common Pleas Judge Mitchell Giles. He was known to be "Tough on crime" by sentencing anyone who ended up in front of him to lengthy imprisonment in juvenile detention centers.
Their belongings had been taken from them, but one of the teens had managed to smuggle in their smart phone. As they hopelessly searched through their Apps in an attempt to ward off their rising panic, they discovered the Meta-Nav App. Clicking it pulled up the image of an eye. Hearing the guards returning, the teen hid their phone. The phone's voice recognition software still heard "Mitchell Giles" "court house" and "train."
The teenagers vanished, whisked into the Metaverse. There they found themselves inside a horrifying-looking train. Children with coal instead of heads (the Judge's Cognitions of the defendants who appeared in front of him) clutching tickets marched up one by one, had their tickets stamped by living Shadows in the uniforms of train attendants, and then continued marching to the front of the train. The real world teens were caught by the Shadow attendants who demanded that they produce their tickets to be stamped. Since they had no tickets they were dragged to the train's Conductor, only to find themselves in front of a distorted version of Mitchell Giles in a golden conductors uniform.
The Judge's Shadow laughed in their faces, gloating that it didn't matter whether they were innocent or guilty or if they deserved imprisonment. The fact that they were in front of him meant they were worthless except as fuel to propel society's worthy to more glorious destinations. He gleefully explained that he got a kickback for every child he sent to a detention facility and was using the money to fuel his luxurious lifestyle. The teens watched in horror as the coal-headed children were fed into the train's furnace to keep it steaming on.
As the teens tried to figure out what to do, a small figure burst into the room. She resembled a anthropomorphic crow and after firing a slingshot into one of the Shadow attendants, decapitated the other with a curved sword.
As the teens gaped, their animal savior called out to them.
"Come on, are you going to let this stand?!"
Each of the teens clutched their face as a personal voice echoed in their head:
A grinning demon mask formed over Deckard's face as he heard a deep jovial voice boom: "I am thou... Thou art I... They'll always judge you for your violence. If they've blackened your name then paint over it and show them the Devil is coming for their heart! Raise a pirate's flag and plunder them all with fire and brimstone!"
A white cloth mask formed over Cloe's face as she heard a proud carefree voice proclaim. "I am thou... Thou art I... Religion binds and restricts you and the systems of men call your love evil. Free yourself from all earthly shackles and show them the wrath of a free woman who will not be tamed! Men call what they cannot control witchcraft so a witch you shall be!"
A mask made of the top half of a skull with fingerbone cheeks appeared over August's face as he heard a snickering whisper in his ear: "Are you going to let fools like these tell your stories for you? Strong or smart, rich or poor, all can be tricked. Show the people that living or dead nobody gets to bury the truth!"
As they ripped off their masks costumes appeared on them and strange beings came into being behind them. The masked crow did the same, summoning a hurricane holding a hammer she called Gideon. Seeing that he was outnumbered and overpowered, Judge Giles's Shadow used an emergency lever to blast them to the last train car before detaching it. This left the three teens and crow stuck on the train tracks.
Introducing herself as Eliza, the crow explained the nature of the Meta-verse (Shadows, Personas, Palaces, stealing hearts etc.) to the teens. Hardened by their determination to right the wrongs they had experienced and that were spread throughout society, they banded together as the Phantom Thieves.
Appearing back in their jail cell, the teens learned that their cases had been postponed a week due to the judge being sick and nobody being able to fill in. Using that time to infiltrate the Judge's Palace and find his Treasure, the Phantom Thieves only had one thing left to do: send a Calling Card and steal the Judge's Treasure.
The local paper reported the letter that had been mailed to the judge and attached to every surface near the courthouse not watched by security cameras.
Written on red and black paper with cut out letters from magazines, the letter read:
"Two-faced Sinner of Avarice Mitchell, your corruption ends here. You sell kids like property and rob them of their future with no regard for them as people. We, the Phantom Thieves will steal your heart and make you confess your crimes."
While it didn't get much attention outside the city, it did get enough attention to be a topic on social media right when the Phantom Thieves broke into the Palace to break out with the Treasure.
Finding themselves in the engine car (an opulent space easily the size of a courtroom with tacky expensive furnishings and the Judge's seat on top of the massive furnace), the Phantom Thieves went to seize the Treasure (a conductor's cap) when it was snatched out of their hands by Judge Giles's Shadow.
"You little shits don't get it, do you? You're society's waste, only good to fuel the truly deserving like me along the fast track to riches! Accept your fate and feed the furnace! I DECIDE ALL THE DESTINATIONS! GET OFF MY TRAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The Judge slams his fist down on a button on his podium, and the Phantom Thieves are sent flying out of the compartment and watch as the train twists itself into a new shape that towers over them with murderous intent.
The furnace pumps steam through pistons with a sound like a mechanical heart in the middle of the monster's chest. Train cars make up the limbs with shadows oozing to form hands and black sludge flowing from the 'feet'. Where the head would be is the engine car, with the Judge's Shadow inside piloting the mecha. At its feet the coal-children are still being pushed forward by the Shadow ticket takers in a coal-cart.
The Judge's voice booms out over the train mecha's speakers: "FEEL THE POWER OF THE PRISON-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX! BE UTTERLY CONSUMED!"
(Moloch Giles Boss fight)
Eliza calls out to the other Phantom Thieves: "We've got to take that thing down. The furnace looks like the weak point, but we've got to take out his fuel first and it's covered by the other limbs. Take out the coal carts, cripple the limbs, and then shut down that furnace! Let's go! Blow them away Gideon!"
Eliza's Persona appears and blasts the coal cart with a mini tornado, mildly damaging it.
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