Fandom Persona 5: The Meta War CLOSED

[Maeve Valor]

Happy that Morgana didn't seem all that fazed by this new information about herself, Masami made the slightest smile at how accepting he was. As Masami escorted the girl back and was just about to meet back up with the others, was when she received a text from Sougo. After looking at her surroundings, at first she was going to respond by saying that everything was clear, but that quickly changed when a suspicious masked person bumped into Gomi in a strange way that she was very familiar with. "Did he just?..." As Masami wondered if the man just pick-pocketed Gomi, this was when she checked her person for her wallet only to find it missing and Morgana jumped out of her arms. "Shit, he did do it!" She cursed aloud as she was angry with herself that she didn't trust her initial instinct that he just used a typical method to steal from someone.

As Masami was one of the first to give chase, she eventually noticed the others also chasing after the individual. Not having the time to text Sougo back, she instead called as she weaved through the crowd of people with ease and was able to keep an eye on where he went thanks to Morgana following him when he immediately took a few turns into crowds to lose them. "Come on, pick up, pick up," Masami said to herself as she waited for him to answer which in reality didn't take that long at all, but with all the commotion that was going on it seemed to take a while more than she would have liked for him to receive the call. As she saw the man run into a warehouse, she notified him of that as well when he spoke. "Sougo-san, we found the thief. We're tailing him now. He's heading into the warehouse nearby so we'll try to cut him off there. Try to get here as soon as you can," she said as it was evident from how she was speaking that she was running at the time. She then promptly hung up so she could focus on cornering the person along with the others.

Once they were all at the warehouse, it was no surprise that Imato launched into a full attack. As she saw him do this, it was only then that Masami was reminded that this was the real world and none of them were as strong as they were in the Metaverse. All of a sudden now she didn't feel as confident confronting this person. Judging from his earlier display of fighting off the two student she gathered that she would have a hard time facing him as she is now, so when Shiro tried to compromise with the stranger, Masami supported this gesture. Although when she mentioned him needing to deal with the group if he didn't heed her warning, Masami assumed that he wouldn't be too intimidated considering he'd be up against one guy, a cat, and a bunch of young girls. Masami too tried to be diplomatic about it as she took a few steps forward. Maybe if she got close enough she could steal some of the stuff back for her friends. "Please don't let this be more trouble than it's probably worth. I don't think any of us here has enough to make it worth your while. My friend is right, if you agree then we won't stand in your way."

Anthem Nellancholy That Weird girl TreasureSniper

 

[TreasureSniper]

After finishing up the preparations for the fireworks display, Sougo finally had some time to check on his phone only to find multiple alerts from both his student council members and his trusted apprentice, Masami. All of which was talking about a pickpocket who had managed to cause quite a bit of trouble over such a short amount of time. Wasting no time, he packed up his essential gear and replied to Masami's call. "I am on my way." He noted how she seemed to be running after the thief herself, indicating that she was in hot pursuit. If the culprit was who he thought he was, then they likely have their work cut out for them.

---

Imato's aggressive display of fisticuffs was impressive but ineffective. His onslaught was wild and quick, attacking quickly like a rabid animal. But this opponent wasn't the usual rabble that he was used to fighting. The hooded male danced around his attacks with efficient and minimal movement, dodging and weaving through each attack by sidestepping them or shifting his posture ever so slightly. Imato was essentially punching and kicking at air, until the hooded man decided to finally counterattack with a firm push from his arm, knocking him backward and into Shiro arm's who was already beginning to restrain him. "My my, I didn't think the students of Shujin were so..violent. That said, you've got talent, kid. Try kickboxing." The man began doing a few stretches in front of the group, acting like he was warming up for a fight, taking a few practice punches in the air. He listened to what the girls had to say about situation, offering to let him take a portion of the money instead of the entire lump sum, prompting mocking laughter from him. Who did these kids think they were?

" Interesting propositions, yes yes very interesting indeed. But here's my counteroffer! If you don't leave right now, I'll beat your faces in!" Cracking his knuckles in front of these teenagers, it was very clear to them that this person was not one to shy away from violence. His knuckles were covered in bandages and thick callouses, the mark of a veteran fighter that reveled in every opportunity to take part in violence. Thankfully, before he could enact whatever savagery he had in mind, his advance toward the team was interrupted by the loud and boisterous sound of a motorcycle engine until.....

The hooded took a step back, narrowly avoiding becoming a splatter on the ground as he dodged the oncoming motorcycle. The hooded seemed startled by this newcomer and immediately beeline towards the nearest exit only for the rider to quickly reposition himself in between the hooded man and the exit, becoming a blockade that prevent him from escaping. This newcomer had a jet black leader jacket which matched perfectly with their leader gloves but contrasted by the bike and helmet's matte black with magenta neon streaks that pulsated ever so slightly, looking like a character from a sci-fi movie. Seeing that a fight was inevitable, the hooded man prepared himself for the oncoming fight, getting into a fighter's stance. "All right buster, come on! Show me your face so that I can break it!" The hooded man taunted with a confident grin.

The rider seemed to be in no rush at all, slowly taking his helmet off, showing everyone the familiar visage of the blonde-haired blue-eyed individual. "Good to see you guys." Sougo greeted the group with his usual care-free attitude as he got off the bike, stomping a smiling mask present on the ground. Despite everything that was happening, Sougo seemed rather calm and composed considering the threat of violence that was in front of him. Turning off the engine of his bike, he put aside his helmet and gloves to take a better look at the culprit. There was no doubt in his mind, it was the same bastard he fought the other day.

The hooded also recognized this blonde boy as the kid who he had brutalized the day before, causing him to erupt in hysterical laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHA Really? You? And here I thought I was in for a fight. Was one beating not enough? Maybe this time I'll make sure you don't get back up." Whatever worries the hooded man had seemed to have all but faded away, as he realized this mysterious newcomer was just the guy from yesterday who had already beaten within an inch of their life. Despite this, Sougo himself seemed unfazed, as he took moment to see who was present right now. "Why don't you guys sit this one out? After all, taking care of all of you is also part of my job." Sougo gave the group a playful salute and cheeky wink, telling them to leave it to him.

"Wow! I must have really hit you pretty damn hard for you to think you can beat me!" The hooded man seemed pretty insulted by the boy's implication that he was able to take him on alone. If nothing else, it only fueled his desire to finish what he had started before. "Satori Makamou, age 27. Washed-up MMA fighter, disqualified for steroid-use. Shame that you chose to squander your talent." From just the small interaction he had with this person, he was already able to figure out who he was, going as far as to expose the misdeeds that had led him on his current path. "Oh am I supposed to be scared of you for knowing stuff like that? Come on then fuckface, don't be a coward. Tell me your name so that I can beat the crap out of you already." The hooded plan actually had very sinister plans on what he would do with such information, assuming this cocky boy survived this encounter of course.

Sougo sighed, finally deciding that it was time to drop this charade for both his opponent and his audience. "I am Sougo Agata, vice president of the Shujin student council, but today, you're not fighting him..." The young man, pulled back his leather jacket, revealing that he was wearing a smartwatch. And on that smartwatch, a crimson, and black eye icon began pulsating with power, sending waves of the same color through the area, pulling everyone close by into the metaverse, distorting the warehouse into a twisted version of it, looking significantly bigger and spacious than before. A large intricately designed clock materializes behind Sougo while metal rings that resembled metal watch straps circle around him. The objects around him eventually shattered into minuscule pieces before quickly reforming and reforging themselves into the armor and cloak that the phantom thieves were much familiar with. With his transformation complete, he finally decided to introduce himself properly. "Today...you're fighting me, the Baron of the mementos." Baron spoke through his modulated filter, a voice that the thieves should well-accustomed with by now. He wasted no time summoning his persona, manifesting it into the warehouse. The massive mechanical dragon entity roared with great fervor, tearing apart the nearby roofing with it's aura around as it slowly descended to the ground with loud thud. His size was impressive, easily dwarfing the persona's of all the phantom thieves.

The hooded man was taken aback by this sudden transformation but strangely enough, was undergoing some sort of a transformation of his own. Numerous small humanoid monkey-like beings began surrounding the man, as they leaped onto him, covering each and every part of his body before hardening themselves into stone like material. A few moments later, the stone cocoon shatters, revealing the man now clad in armor resembling that of the mythical Sun Wukong. "Well. Well. I guess this is my lucky day after all. Who would have thought I would find someone like you in this dump. Heck, maybe I'll finally get to join the mercs when you bring your head to them." While the monkey man was visibly shaken by the appearance of the large dragonic entity, he nonetheless believed that he had what it took to beat this man. "Come forth, Show that you know no fear! SUN WU KONG!" The man yelled, manifesting his own persona onto the scene.



Despite the large size difference between the two personas, Satori was confident in his ability as well as his persona to make quick work of the large dragon. Afterall, something that large had to be very slow and clumsy right? In his mind, he was certain that no matter how powerful Baron's persona was, there was no way something that large and bulky could keep up with the speed and nimbleness of his graceful monkey king. Since Satori had just bested him combat in real life, Baron's fighting prowess likekly did not exceed his own, leading him to believe that he did in fact have an advantage over him. The monkey persona began to circle the large dragon, summoning multiple copies of itself to join in on a group strike. The monkey and it copies were quick, looking a like blur to most of the people in the room. Using their staffs, the monkeys began attacking the dragon, swinging at large beast with all their might, causing audible sound of the clashing of metallic surfaces. It sounded like a melody violence, like someone was vandalizing a car. And yet, despite this attack, Aion stood still, simply taking the attacks, flinching ever so slightly with each strike.

"HAH! As I thought, big ass thing was just for show!" Satori taunted Sougo, laughing gleefully as he watched his persona and it's copies continue pummeling Aion. But second later, whatever movement the monkey made was eventually forcefully haulted as Aion extended his arm, grabbing hold of one of wukong's arms, forcfully stopping him mid-attack and immediately forcing the copies to disappear. Satori was in shock. He didn't even see Aion move, how was it possible that such a large bulky persona was able to outpace his nimbler monkey king. As Aion tightened it's grip around the monkey's arm, it's brief but terrifying laughter could be heard by everyone in the arena. The next moment, the monkey persona could be heard screeching loudly in distress, sounding like a monkey that was in great pain. Sun Wu Kong, in its desperation, began frantically striking at the dragon's hand, but no matter how hard he struck, the beast simply would not release it's vice-like grip, proceeding to become tighter and tighter with each passing second.

"But...how !? How is that possible..." Satori observed in pure shock and awe, seeing his persona not only be so easily outmatched, despite supposedly having the speed advantage. Satori attempted to recall his persona, but was unable to do so as with a small dismissive hand gesture, Sougo commanded the dragon to fly upwards, bringing the sad broken monkey skywards with him. He always found it rather amusing that people assume that something large couldn't be fast. Even without his time powers, his persona was among the fastest there was, apart from the top meta mercs. "No wonder the mercs didn't let you join them, you're a joke." Sougo spoke, finally breaking his silence as walked towards the older man, clearly not impressed by his supposed display of power.

Seeing Baron walking towards him quickly gave the Satori some hope that he would be able to beat him. After all, he had already done it once, so he can do it again! He knew that in the metaverse he would be stronger and faster than in the real world, so fighting him hear should be an easy task. With all those years of experience behind his back as a fighter, he was certain that there was no way he would lose in a fair fight. "Well...without your persona...you're still pretty helpless!" brandishing his brass knuckles at the young man, he took a fighter's stance and quickly closed the distance. His jabs and punches were deadly, quick, and precise, showcasing nearly a decade's worth of fighting experience in the way he moved and carried himself. But unfortunately for him, no amount of experience was going to ever compensate for the insurmountable gap between their strength. Despite his best efforts, Satori's wasn't able to land a single blow on Baron, not one strike. Baron's movements were swift, too swift. Satori thought that such movement was impossible to achieve at that speed, no human should be able to move like that. Having enough of this nonsense, Baron decided to strike back, performing a basic but powerful jab at his opponent. The strike hit its mark, prompting the man to immediately step back. While he remained silent, it was fairly obvious that he was in great pain from the strike. In his entire career in MMA, he had never felt anyone strike him with such force.

Sougo smiled, seeing that his opponent was slowly realizing the situation he was in. Relaxing his body, Sougo pointed at his own cheek, taunting to man to hit him. "Hear, I'll let you get one free hit. So you better make it count." The boy taunted him with an opportunity to strike him which he immediately took. Armed with his brass knuckle, Satori was finally able to hit the boy straight in the face. He was ecstatic, perhaps this would finally shut him up for good. Striking him with his strong arm, he was positive that such a strike was strong enough to dislocate his jaw. But much to his surprise, the strike seemed to do nothing to the boy, and only triggered a cocky smile from him along with his eyes of indifference. He began to feel pain in his punching arm, feeling like had just punched an incredibly hard material, so much so that the reactive force was causing his knuckles to bleed. In spite of putting everything into that punch, onto an opponent that made no effort to block it, he was the one that was injured. It was at this moment he realized that all his years of training, all his experience in fighting, the cumulation of his 27 years of existence....meant nothing to Baron.

Baron, seeing no further reason to prolong this fight, struck him in his chest, sending him flying across the floor. Blood was starting to seep out of his mouth, feeling a newfound difficulty in breathing. Struggling to stand back up, Satori remained on the ground, slowly backing away from Baron, trying his best to form a coherent sentence. "Wait wait...!" He spoke, struggling to speak while dealing with the pain in his chest. "Youre...you're part of the phantom thieves right!? The good guys!? Please!!! Mercy!!" He pleaded to Baron, with one arm behind his back. Baron merely sighed in disappointment, taking a few steps further toward him only for the crippled target to brandish a pistol at him. "..Yea bitch I...still win!" Satoshi started celebrating the fact that he was able to supposedly catch Baron off guard, or so he thought. "Tch. You're no MetaMerc." Baron simply muttered, unimpressed by his reliance on firearms. Before he could pull the trigger, the roof of the warehouse would come crashing down on Satori as the Dragon descended right on top of him, slamming his own persona right on top of him with great force, causing a massive shockwave around the area, as the ground shatters violently with his landing. "And I am no Phantom thief."

Finally recalling his persona, Baron walked towards the crash site, finding the great Sun Wu Kong, digging himself out of the rubble, still confused, and dazed from the attack. While it was in weak state, it was still alive. At least for now. Baron wasted no time and grabbed hold of the persona, his fingers digging into it's head. The monkey let out one last screech before being pulled apart in half by Baron's bare hands, forcing it to disintegrate, and return to its master. Finding the now defeated Satori lying on the ground, just barely breathing. Without a second thought, he plunged his fist into the merc wannabe's chest, ripping his heart out, and forcing him to revert to his "civilian" form. With the battle done, Sougo deactivated the Meta nav, reverting the place back to it's original state. Satori lay on the ground, his breathing was labored, but he was very much alive, looking like someone who had finished a few rounds of boxing. "And that is that." Sougo dusted his hands off before turning his attention to the rest of the team. "Everyone alright here? Hope you guys didn't get hurt by any shrapnel." Strangely enough, he seemed worried for the well-being of the fellow tricksters more than anything else.

 

[That Weird girl]

Well...that was certainly not expected. Morgana was expecting for them to have to fight this guy but a motorcycle crashed through and it was Sougo! The cat was confused on how he even got that motorcycle and knew where the thief was heading. He watched the two and it was clear that Sougo knew him and probably the two had bad history with each other. But before Morgana or anyone could act Sougo used his meta nav to transform them into the metaverse and started to fight this guy who had a persona of Sun Wu Kong just materialize. And the two had an epic battle with Sougo losing at first but then the dragon came out and now it was time for the fight to change up. "KICK HIS ASS SOUGO!" Morgana yelled in excitement.

Ann however crossed her arms watching the fight between the two males play out. She began to realize how much power Sougo had and felt lucky that he was on their team. She thought about helping but figured he had it covered. Morgana was enjoying the battle and thinking it was awesome, his eyes were wide with anticipation. "Just like I expected from you," Morgana said complimenting the Baron of Mementos. The cat then noticed the fight was coming to a close as the two were facing each other and Satori pulled out a pistol making him gasp. But the roof fell down on top of Satori and Aion slammed into him with full force. The debris and shrapnel would fly towards the thieves but Morgana would transform into a bus and try to shield the others getting most it stuck to the bus and his blood trickled down.

"ow," Morgana said as he transformed to his normal form and ate a devil fruit to regain some health. Then the real world came back into view and Morgana was a cat again, oh how he hated this form so much. The cat sighed and looked at the Baron and nodded, "I'm ok! Thanks for giving us a good show! I really like your style and excitation how did you do that?" Ann nodded to signify that she was ok and looked down at her feline friend and rolled her eyes at his behavior towards Sougo. She did admit it was cool but she was a little suspicious about him because of him being a lot of places at the right time.

"Alright Morgana," Ann said to him, "stop drooling over him...sorry about him Sougo he is weird."

"Says the airhead," Morgana shot back at her.

"Shut up you dumb cat!" Ann said, "you wanna walk home?" The two then started to argue and throw multiple insults at each other. Ann made fun of him for being a fanboy and Morgana made the point that she was not as cool and jealous.

Nellancholy Maeve Valor Anthem TreasureSniper

 

[Anthem]

Never expecting his assault to be completely useless against a foe, Imato was rather shocked when he was shoved by the masked man into Shiro who had restrained him from continuing the attack onto the man. A scoff came from the boy but he agreed to stopping and forcefully removed himself from his ally's grasp so he could move freely once more. Though the white haired teen's vow to act just was quickly broken as the masked man started to advance towards the group, violence basically emitting from him. "I'll beat you down before you even have the chance of touching them." Walking forward and mimicking the man by cracking his knuckles, Imato was ready to attempt another assault until hearing the roaring of an engine.

Watching the masked assailant back up narrowly dodge becoming a bloody mess on the ground, the boy took a few steps back and kept his eyes on both parties. Though he had gawked at the sight of the motorbike a bit, feeling a bit of envy towards whoever owned a ride like that until the masked rider took his helmet off. "Agata..." Mumbling under his breath, Imato shook his head and ignored the feeling to make a protest. Especially when Sougo had told them to sit this one out, normally he would go against something like this but for now he stayed silent. Either he would get to see the student council president receive a beatdown or see the thief get taken down. Both options were fine with the boy so there was no point of protest, he instead took a couple of more steps back so he could watch from a good angle.

Not expecting the sudden admittance into the Metaverse, Imato quickly place a hand on his ranged weapon just in case things got ugly quickly. But instead came knowledge, as Sougo transformed into Baron the white haired thief couldn't help but scoff. 'Well, I suppose that was one of my various guesses... Agata is Baron, not all that surprising when you actually put some thinking into it...' Thinking to himself, the boy would show no real reaction upon the summoning of Aion or Sun Wu Kong other than an observant glare. He was interested in the battle but had a decent idea of how things were going to go considering Satori's cocky attitude even upon seeing the might of Aion.

Surprisingly, Imato would actually pull his phone out and tap in a few notes before putting it away to keep an eye on the battle happening in front of the thieves. What did the notes contain? Info that was important in the eyes of the beholder, nothing to be shown to the others without good reasoning. For the rest of the battle, the boy didn't show much reaction as he instead focused observing every detail he possibly could at the time. The only reaction came from when Mona had taken a decent amount of damage after protecting the thieves from flying shrapnel due to Baron's recklessness when finishing the likes of Satori and Sun Wu Kong.

"Hmm." Ignoring the arguing between Mona and Ann, and the worry from Sougo, Imato would walk over to the passed out assailant whilst shaking his head. "Cocky bastard. Hopefully you'll learn to stay off the streets." Not wasting any more time, the boy then walked over to the stockpile Satori had accumulated from thieving the innocent folks enjoying the festivities. Grabbing his wallet, Imato ensured that all of his belongings were inside before pocketing his property. He would then grab the items belonging to the other people currently inside the warehouse, distributing it out to the correct people. As for the rest of the stolen goods, that was the police's problem, not theirs.

"And to deal with a fool..." Walking back to the group, Imato would grab Mona by the scruff and lift him up. The annoyed expression on the boy's face was now visible due to the lack of a mask hiding his facial features. "Just shut up already. Ann a word of advice, it's best not to argue with stupid felines such as this little shit." Joking a tad, Imato shook Mona lightly while speaking to Ann before putting the faux cat down on the ground. "Well then, hopefully that's all the drama this damned event has to offer." Still ignoring Sougo's presense basically, he would await the input from others on the situation before deciding if it was time to leave or not.

TreasureSniper Maeve Valor Nellancholy That Weird girl

 

[Nellancholy]

"Ugh." After that overly dramatic display, Shiro could only shake her head and let out an expression of annoyance. "Baron...so it was you all along." She didn't like it one bit, knowing that Sougo had been making use of them in both realms, withholding the most essential bit of information from them. But he had also materially helped them, in battles they undertook on their own initiative. And besides, she had reaffirmed her trust to Baron as well, considering how he had assisted her in taking the first step to improving the chances of her sisters.

"You should have given him a few more lumps." She remarked to the incapacitated Satori. Sure, she still trusted Baron, but whether she would extend it to Sougo as well was another story.

The magnitude of the incident and her own annoyance at having her evening disturbed certainly ended up distracted her from a few important details, nonetheless. Such as...the fact that Baron and his adversary had a fair bit of history, despite Satori apparently not being a meta merc. Just how many Persona users were out there still...?

"Whoa!" The sound of footsteps rang out again as the rest of the group caught up. Or perhaps they were waiting outside for the commotion to die down... "Really did a number on that guy, huh?" Gomi frowned. Sure, he was attacking people, and he started it by robbing multiple victims...but seeing him hurt so badly he didn't seem to be able to walk would bother most people.

"Sh, don't worry about him." Shiro muttered, gathering up only their share of the money. Some of the other students had made their way to the scene as well, more than happy to reclaim what was taken from them. "He'll be fine."

"We don't call the police, do we?" Yui nodded.

"No, we let him pick himself up and walk away. If he can." There wasn't much left for the evening, but they could make the best of it together.

 

[Maeve Valor]

When the man declined their offer so brutishly, Masami started to strategize just how this problem can be resolved. As she looked around the empty wherehouse, she couldn't find anything that would give them the upper hand. No, if they were heading into a real fight against this person, Masami knew that they would need to use their numbers as an advantage against him. Even then, that would be taking a risk, but thankfully the element of another person showing up was added to the equation. At first when the person she thought was a stranger showed up, she thought it was perhaps an accomplice of the thief until they seemed to be blocking him from escaping.

Masami was fully expecting for Sougo to show up probably after everything was said and done for the most part. So it came as a shock when he showed up so quick and on a motorcycle no less. Though when it did settle in that he had showed up to help, she was still curious as to how he planned to assist. It wasn't until he essentially said that he would take care of the situation from here that Masami started to catch on that the wounds he currently got was from this person and thought to herself, "I get that he wouldn't want to be defeated by this asshole again but is he really going to unveil his identity here?" As much as Masami wanted to find another alternative to approaching this issue, violence seemed to be the best option unfortunately. Realizing this, she let the event unfold as she hoped Baron knew what he was doing and that the others were ready for the truth. She already knew some more than others already weren't too fond of Sougo and to connect him with Baron might just add fuel to the fire for those who weren't.

As the battle was underway, Masami found it such a coincidence that this stranger was really a persona user as well; and a strong one at that. To the average observer, they might not be able to tell compared to someone like Baron, but Masami watched carefully with the way he fought. Some of the meticulous attacks he performed made her come to the conclusion that he indeed would have been a tough person to go up against if it was someone like her, Morgana, or Ann (Elemental user/ long range attackers) that was his opponent. Yet Satori himself was blinded by his ignorance to see the difference in threat level before it was too late. The spectacle of the massive persona was already a sight to behold, but alongside the user bound to it, Baron, the pair was truly intimidating.

When the fight came to an end, Masami did not feel pity for the stranger but she was relieved to see that he was still breathing. Judging from the way he presented himself, he seemed like the kind of person that was probably using the metaverse for nefarious purposes anyhow. For all she knew he could been using it to continuously make clean getaways after stealing constantly. At this thought she gave a look of scorn as she looked to him. No one seemed too surprised by finding out who was Baron; in fact, Masami took note that Imato seemed to even be actively ignoring Sougo. So Masami didn't even bother to act the part of being taken too aback from it. "Agata huh? I am unscathed although... he should have gotten cleaned up and stuck to his original career. His method of stealing was third rate effective at best."

She then took a moment to adjust her obi belt after all the commotion to fix her outfit up a bit as she listened to the reactions of the rest of the group. "Police or not, we should still get out of here before we attract much more attention." Before beginning to walk out of the warehouse Masami look to Sougo. "Thank you for doing your job and taking care of us... Agata-san," Masami said with an appreciative nod and maintained a neutral look until she turned away towards the exit and smiled a bit to herself.

 

[TreasureSniper]

"I can never understand why all of you are always so mean to Mona-chan." Sougo bent down and bet the cat on its head once more, showing his love for such an animal. "I apologize for not telling you all sooner, I honestly wanted to but...Makage-san over here decided to leave early during the little talk session." It's funny how he intended to reveal himself a lot sooner, but thanks to Imato's brash actions, he had to do it a bit later.

Upon hearing Shiro remark that the unconscious Satori should have given him a few more lumps, Sougo couldn't help but snicker a bit. "Hey, he gave me quite a decent amount!" He replied to the girl in his usual carefree manner. Turning to Masami, he gave a playful wink and responded to her display of appreciation. "All part of my duty as a member of the student council and your investor. " He smiled at all of them, happy to see that they were safe from harm. "In any case, you guys should get out of here, I'll take care of things from here," Sougo told everyone in the group. He was especially worried for the Shiro's two friends who had just entered the area. "Come on guys, the show's over, the committee will have your wallet returned by the end of tonight." Mummurs of the fact Sougo was able to best this unknown thief began circulating among the small crowd. But the crowd would eventually fall silent and began running away as the man regained consciousness looking as confused as ever. "What...what happened?"

Sougo couldn't help but smile, and swiftly replied thief. "Oh you don't remember? Guess I must have knocked you out pretty hard then." The blonde made a snide remark onto the hooded man, prompting an angry glare from him. "Wha..what?! Thats impossible...I've never lost the damn fight before! Especially not to some punk-ass kid." This prompted a bit of a snicker from Sougo, who turned his head, making sure most of the civilians had already left. "Oh but you did...and nothing you ever do will ever change that..." There was so much venom and disdain in his words that the man immediately reached into his pocket, once more brandishing his firearm at the young man. "No! NO! You won't be such a smart ass when I put a bullet in your head!" The man spoke, threatening to put lead in between the boys eyes. His hands were pretty shaky at best, indicating that he was usually the type of person to do this, or he was just really angry. And despite being held at gunpoint. Sougo eyes were only filled with indifference in the supposedly life-threatening situation. "You could...but that still won't change the fact that lost.." The young man spoke, laughing off his threat as he turned his back on the hooded man. The hooded man for a moment seemed broken, lowering his gun. But in split second raised it up once more, pointing it at the source of his anger, Sougo.

Bang!

The warehouse went silent at first, before it was filled by the screams of pain. Whailings of physical suffering...from Satori. The gun had exploded in his hands due to a malfunction. He was now laying on the ground, with one of his hands having fingers twisted in ways that it should be twisted. Sougo gave a small devilish grin. Without turning to face the man, he had already known what happened. After all, he was the one who intentionally sabotaged said gun during his earlier onslaught. "Guess I better call the ambulance. You guys go on ahead. It seems I'll have a lot of paper work to do." Despite what had just happened, Sougo himself seemed largely unbothered by everything, treating it like it was just another small incident.

 

[Anthem]

"You could have told them and I would have found out eventually. So don't go blaming me for your shit Agata." Imato mumbled under his breath as he heard Sougo give reasoning as to why he didn't reveal his identity to the others sooner. The white-haired boy didn't take too kindly to being the scapegoat for all of this, especially since he couldn't care less about who Baron was. Either way, the boy stuck with the gut feeling he had about the student council member as it had never failed him in the past so why would it now? 'This guy is only going to get more annoying now, he's gonna be considered a hero in the school if word gets out about this. He doesn't need anything else inflating that damned ego of his.' While it was funny how Imato of all people talked about having an ego, but those thoughts of his faded as the crowd started to run.

"You've gotta be kidding me..." Cursing upon seeing Satori rising from the beatdown that left him shallow of breath even in reality. The boy was going to simply just kick this thug in the ribs or to the head to prompt another quick knock-out but the sight of a firearm caused someone even as lion-hearted as Imato to falter momentarily. As Sougo talked down to Satori, Imato had disassociated the voices completely as his eyes travelled at quick speeds as he tried to thing of some way to prevent a fatal disaster. As much as he hated Sougo, and envied the power Baron held, the brute knew that he was too good of an asset to allow a dishonorable death such as this one. But his quick thinking was quickly put to waste when a shot rang out.

"... How the fuck-"

His lexicon failing to shine through the shock of what had just happened, the boy simply muttered a simple phrase to represent just how he felt upon seeing Satori's firearm implode. Imato could tell that it wasn't caused by a backfire, but sabotage seemed out of question since there had been no time when someone could have messed with the weapon. There was the whole fight between the thug and Sougo, but surely the VP couldn't have done anything that intricate within a miniscule span of time right? Nonetheless, it put another sick feeling in the brute's stomach and he would add his skeptics to his notes later.

Clenching his fists tight, Imato would gulp down the sick feelings he felt as he started to walk away from the situation. If this was what could happen in reality, his future plans would need a real work over to ensure his fate isn't deathly.

 

[Maeve Valor]

Masami was about to heed the student council member's words about leaving the area while he wrapped things up there until she heard that his prior opponent had come to and became conscious. Aside from making sure that he didn't do anything else reckless, she was also curious about how a person acted initially after their persona is exterminated. As expected, the man was very confused with how he ended up there. She found it mildly entertaining how the cocky person becoming frustrated by Sougo catching him up to date vaguely on what happened. Thinking that this dispute would probably go on for a while until the authorities arrived, she turned around to leave but then he caught most people there off guard by taking out a real firearm.

Suddenly she froze when heard the screaming from various onlookers followed quickly by a gunshot. At first, she thought that her mentor had just been pierced by a bullet. "Sou-!" Masami would almost slip up and call him out by his first name in front of the others, but then when she put together that the yell in pain didn't sound like Sougo and turned around to see Satoshi clutching his hand, a wave of relief came to her that no harm came to him. Once the shock over the potential threat subsided, Masami began to wonder why the gun malfunctioned. Even in Satoshi's disoriented state, he still immediately knew that he wielded a gun on his own person. Which means this has been a common occurrence that he would conceal an equipped gun. Furthermore, he knew that this was a working gun that had ammo in it at all times. Why would such a person carry a weapon with the risk that it could defect like this? Her mind then went to the fight he just had with Sougo and taking out the gun during the fight then too. "Sougo would have known that he had a gun, so why would he let him keep it after the fight? Unless..." It then occurred to her that due to his strange ability, he could possibly have been the one to tamper with it. "But why? He could have just as easily confiscated it."

She too was about to leave along with the others, but Masami knew that this would be on her mind all night if she didn't say something to him. As her wooden sandals clicked on the warehouse floor, Masami approached Sougo. Satoshi was making a lot of noise mostly cursing as Masami spoke just loud enough to be heard by Sougo and yet others would have a hard time listening. "The guy probably deserved it, though was that really necessary? You may not be a Phantom Thief, but remember that you are no merc anymore either. You could have taken it from him instead, correct?" Even though Masami was trying to come off as slightly scolding him, she still was getting over the adrenaline of thinking that her friend had just been shot so added to the end of this statement as she scratched the back of her head and looked away saying, "But... I am glad that you were able to think ahead like that though... It could have gone real bad." With that, she also showed that she was genuinely worried for a moment there yet didn't want to explicitly say that she was.

TreasureSniper

 

[Azurian Dream]

Collab with Maeve Valor

~Two Days After Kamoshido's Confession ~

The night had been a lot more chaotic; the sudden elevation of trying to talk to the Phantom Thieves had turned into being dragged into their fight with the Meta-Mercs. Which upon completion had seen a rather well-earned scolding from Futaba, and a tone of bruises which thankfully the metaverse medicine cured for the most part. However, rather than rest Dascal powered through the fatigue to keep an agreed-upon appointment at the bus station.

With the chilly air, Dascal had chosen some mild warmer clothes in the form of thermal wear, and a scarf with a jacket tied around his waist in case he needed it later. He was a little earlier than needed, but it was best to escape early before Futaba tried to cage him in for the night. Shiro… that was the name the cat… car… persona user… shadow thing had yelled aloud to the one called Heartbreak. That had been a perplexing site to behold… the phantom thieves had a shadow as an ally. How was it able to travel though? Most shadows couldn’t leave their areas of existence so how did they move that one around?

“A night of mysteries… rather exciting,” Dascal chuckled to himself. The Shiro lead he would build on later, for now, was only half a name he would need more info to build on later.

...

Masami sighed as she stared down at her laundry that needed to be tended to. It was a long night and the last thing she wanted to do was go to the laundromat nearby, but she, unfortunately, had already been putting it off. More importantly, she needed clean clothes to change into for school the next day. After giving her inanimate clothing a sufficient amount of time consisting of stern glaring, she finally gave in and groaned before picking up her clothes hamper.

As she walked to the laundromat that was just across the alley she accidentally dropped one of her school coats. She sighed as she tucked the basket under one of her arms as reached down with her other arm, stopping to notice a piece of paper peeking out of a pocket. Curious, she first picked the piece of paper up. As soon as she began reading that it was a phone number, she remembered the strange foreign student that helped her decode her parent’s list and the agreement she made with him. She then put it in a pocket of what she currently was wearing before going back to picking up her coat and continuing on her way.

After starting to wash her clothes, she sat down as she waited, and took out her phone to play some ridiculous mobile game until along with her phone, she also took out the piece of paper. She looked at the form for a moment as she thought, “Well… I’m going to need to show him around sometime… It might as well be sooner rather than later to get it out of the way. At least he didn’t seem like a bad person to hang around with.”

She shrugged before beginning to text the stranger, “Hey, this is the vampire you met. Want to meet at Inokashira Park on Sunday to start your tour?”

...

Almost as if on cosmic cue unaware of either party Dascal’s phone buzzed with a text from another mystery of the night offering a hangout time at Inokashira Park. Chuckling at her reference he typed back, “Sure shall we make it a night date to protect your fair vampire hacker eyes from burning in the sun,” he teased lightly, starting to head towards a vending machine to catch something sour or sweet to drink.

Surprised to see an immediate response she found herself slightly smiling at his quip back to her even though he referred to this outing as a date. This was possibly something she would need to correct once they met, but until then she let him think as such. Either way, she needed to uphold her end of the deal. She texted back, “Hanging out during the daytime should be fine. I’ll make sure to put on plenty of strong sunscreens. I’ll be there at 9 AM, see you then.”

.................................................................
~The Next Day~

Near the entrance of the park, Masami sat at a bench having arrived a little earlier so that the foreigner didn’t have to wait too long. She wore casual clothing since it was a free day from school wearing a long-sleeved black shirt with low-riding white pants. The person she was to meet up with seemed pretty mysterious from their interaction the other day, so she didn’t really know what to expect when it came to how the day would go. Even so, she had a few places in mind that they would go to throughout the day. For the time being, she sat as she observed people as they walked past her and enjoyed the nature of the park like the lake. Naturally, even in this weather, there were a couple of people going on a romantic boat ride in the water nearby with the floating structures being in the shape of coincidentally enough Swans.

“You know I was joking when I said it was a date, but I am starting to think you took it literally,” Dascal spoke up teasingly from behind her casually appearing out of nowhere in the busy street watching as she was rather intently viewing the romantic swan rides out on the water.

“Didn’t know I made such an impression I would have worn better clothing,” he added with a laugh wearing a simple short sleeve black and purple shirt that said in cursive, “That's right… I am the one on your mind,” around his torso with a silhouette of Swingrowers on it at the bottom left. He also had some black jeans, a few chains, and a violin embroidered in silver on his left leg.

“Fun aside, hopefully, I didn't keep you waiting long, I had to get some directions,” he admitted with a soft smile leaning against the opposite side of the back of the bench from Masami. He was rather intrigued to see the scope of this place through her eyes. She was without a doubt interesting so she had to have some insightful concept of fun.

Masami was slightly taken aback when he showed up without her noticing. When he pointed out his clothing choice she assumed he was just an enthusiast about the music he liked and wondered if he was a violinist. Aside from that, she was mostly curious about how he knew so much about decoding and what his name was.

She then chuckled a bit at his cheeky remark, “No worries, I didn’t wait that long. I was only watching the boats because I was just thinking about how ridiculous it would be to be out there with the water still quite cold. And even if this was a date, such mortal things like that don’t really interest me.”

She stood up and approached him closer, slinging a light purse over her shoulder and placing her other hand in one of her pockets. “So would you like to know our first destination or would you rather have it be a surprise?”

“Well noted madame,” Dascal chuckled to her play along. Part of him temporarily remembered there was a Phantom Thief named Swan. This also pulled him into the memory of the swindler comment from the less-than-subtle risque Shadow Masami.

“One clearly must aim high, for high-quality fun it seems,” Dascal added with a mischievous smile as he listened to whether or not he wanted her plan in full or be enveloped by the surprise of it all.

“I’ll let you have free reign beside it's no fun if I know everything in advanced it's more exhilarating to build it piece by piece in my opinion,” he chimed following her in a suit with a curious look about wondering if there was truth to what had been expressed in Kamoshida's Palace.

“Okay, surprise it is. Let’s get going and not waste any more time. I have quite the lineup for you today, so you should feel lucky since I’m by no means no a tour guide. Even if I was, my price wouldn’t be cheap I’ll have you know,” she walked alongside him and led the way to the nearest station. From there, they would make idle chit-chat regarding life in Tokyo as she took him to the Sky Tower. While there were many skyscrapers in the area, this beautiful structure stuck out with its massive scale compared to the other buildings. As she approached the entrance she would look over at the foreigner with a challenging smile, “Hope you aren’t afraid of heights. We’re gonna go all the way to the top.”

Once she guided him to the highest floor of the building, there was a clear view around the area for miles and miles away. Any significant landmark within the area could be seen from this floor and was truly a sight to behold. “If you see any place you’d like to go to from here, just let me know. This is your day to sightsee after all,” Masami said as she looked out the window. In contrast to the kind offer, the way she said it seemed nonchalant as if she was asking someone to pass a condiment at a dinner table. It was evident that she wasn’t used to this type of interaction with someone else.

“Ah make sense first class in mystery, intrigue, ambitious coding, and tour guiding service who could ask for any more in a girl,” Dascal chuckled bowing to her almighty aura as he was led to the sky tower marveling at the beauty of it Dascal grinned lightly at Masami’s daunting challenge.

“Heh, if I was, trust me when I say I wouldn't be here to tell the tale. Though I must admit never had someone size me up with a building crawl before,” Dascal chimed, accepting her challenge as he remembered how he was flung around in the air by Fixer's attack. The higher octane rush of aerial combat. As the two got to enjoy the view that expanded further and further the more they climbed. Upon the top, the reason for choosing this place was made clear to Dascal as he got to witness a unique view of the city from high above in the clouds.

That was when Masami spoke, asking for him to chime in with anywhere he wanted to go… yet what he really heard was her lack of experience just doing something fun, or calm for that matter. At first, he thought about asking about the code, or what he had heard of her own experiences with Kamashido. Yet the part that spoke up was someone who was looking to be a friend.

“I believe the deal that was signed in Coder's blood was you would take me to where you would have fun and would be covered in expenses by yours truly. I thus am temporarily your higher in command and direct you to have fun, or suffer the consequences of terrible accented jokes,” Dascal spoke in a terrible french accent as he pointed a finger up as if he was a lord knighting Masami as his chosen champion.

“And be forewarned they are truly terrible for I the King of Tourists do not know the meaning of the word stop, or yield,” Dascal finished with an abysmally bad street sign line proving he would indeed torture her unless she yielded to having fun, or allow herself to go somewhere she wanted.

Masami raised an eyebrow as she laughed a little bit at his silly display of chivalry. Masami in response waved off his joke and teased, “Well your highness, you sure have an odd judge of character when it comes to who you allow to serve you. Are you sure a vampire is a wise decision to help lead you around? I could lead you to your demise, you know.” She then looked back out the window watching the many cars pass down the streets like little ants from where they were.

“True you could swindle me. Yet I can honestly say looking at your eyes that's not what you're out to do. I think you just need a breath of fresh air,” Dascal mellowly smiled, appreciative to see her ease up, but also swapped in a trigger word to see how she would handle it. It wasn’t his business but this prodding was different. He wasn't trying to claim anything only to get to know who he was spending time with.

Masami’s eyes shot a sudden yet subtle sharp look at him as the word “swindle” was used by him. It was only briefly, but to the trained eye on what to look for, it was a dead giveaway that the word meant something to her in some way. It only took a moment before she realized that he was only speaking metaphorically and laughed a little seemingly at his joke, but it was actually in relief that he didn’t really mean anything by the phrase… or so she thought.

After a while, in silence, she broke it by asking more about him. “So Tourist King, are you actually interested in joining a sports club at Shujin or do you just like to stick your nose in places to confirm gossip?”

By suddenly asking this she hoped to get an answer to one of the questions she had about him. She looked back to the raven-haired student and shifted to a tone less light-hearted, but was still entertained and interested in what he had to say. “Let’s be upfront, it is my understanding that we both were in the know about how Kamoshida was a person that liked to use his reputation to get what he wanted at the school. So why would a brand new foreigner like you be looking into a P.E. teacher in depth?”

“Heh, I have no desire to jump into a sports club. I do boxing and some MMA. Yet that is all in the name of self-defense,” Dascal answered honestly before smirking at the last bit of him putting his nose where it was unwanted, and she wasn’t wrong.

“Cause he used people like stepping stones, and even though there would be nothing I could do about it I had to know the truth. People aren't prizes to be used, and abused by others… there are consequences to such things,” at first Dascal’s words were laced with an upset nature, but at the end of the sentence seemed to be someone who knew a thing or two about the consequences of such actions potentially on both sides.

“So I make sure to know everything I can before gauging a situation and taking action. Cause once you take action… there is no going back,” Dascal expressed watching Masami to see her own interpretation of it all.

Using her own keen knowledge of reading people, she noticed the underlying reminiscent tone of someone that had experience on such a topic. If her suspicions were true, then she sympathized with him having to deal with being a fool and used, though she did not want to prod about it. She looked away in thought since her sympathy was mostly because she herself has been on both sides of the spectrum as well; By tricking countless people by either stealing money or important information from them and then being forced to do so by her parents. She looked back at him as she chose her words carefully.

“Well, it seems like he is now paying the price of going to such extremes. And while it is true that there is no going back, what a person does moving forward is just as, if not more important. There are steps that one can take to atone for what they have done, and if Kamoshida’s heart has truly changed then that would be a good place to start for his reformation. For example, let’s say that I just ditched you at some point today and later on I felt bad about it. I would make it up to you by then spending a whole week taking you places instead of just today. The initial memory of that sting might still hurt, but in turn, so much more memories would outweigh it… hopefully,” she smiled at him.

Her smile turned slightly solemn as she went on to say, “Sure my action might not be forgiven, but at least I would have tried to make amends and that would have to count for something right?”

“So what I should take from that is I should trick you into ditching me right,” Dascal smiled sincerely, but playfully as he turned to her finally removing his gaze from the view thinking over what she had said.

Whatever had happened in Masami’s past had clearly been a nightmare in her present day. While she used the name Kamoshida as a shield it was upon speculation he was sure she was talking of herself. Of course, he wasn’t certain about that by any means yet the solemn look that was opposite of what should have been a relief on the topic was evidence enough. Added to the fact if he didn’t have the info from the aforementioned palace he would have never had a clue about any of this. He felt a bit bad knowing something she wasn’t aware was available in the open in a world she wasn’t aware of.

“Sometimes we learn best from the stings. Like you said they hurt, and we can choose to dwell knowing what we did, but if we take action we might grow from crawling through the mud of our mistakes,” Dascal softly mulled as he then humorously added.

“Though as someone who gets himself stung quite often for being nosy, and relentless both terrible traits I am told I feel bad for those that try to crawl it alone not taking a chance to lean on others. Kamashido might have turned out differently had he done so himself,” he followed up wanting to comfort her, but not wanting to put her on the spot that he knew something without her saying it first. Thus just like her, he used the man's name to block what he was saying to avoid suspicion from her.

Hearing his own take on rectification made her happy to hear that his thoughts on the topic lined up with hers. Even though she thought that he didn’t know about her past and in the back of her mind wondered if he would still be saying such things if he knew, she was still satisfied with his answer feeling that she has already gotten to know him better. “I suppose he possibly could have…” She then turned away from the window and decided to change the subject. “Well enough about that jerk. You ready to go to the next destination, my liege?” she teased the self-proclaimed “King of Tourists”.

She wanted him to get the experience of going to a good Ramen restaurant she knew about in Shibuya beforehand. So they made a short stop there, before then going. to the Meiji Shrine. Luckily there weren't as many people there as there usually were when they approached the place. “I am unsure how familiar you are with Japanese culture but this is the Meiji Shrine. Many people mostly come here to get a blessing from the Gods and it’s usually around when the exams are that students show up,” she explained as they passed the Torii Gate and walked to the altar. “Would you like me to show you how to make an offering?”

“Lead the way, milady,” Dascal smiled, bowing to his guide as they headed off. It seemed his Answer had afforded her some relief only adding to the potential truth of what he now could move from theory to more likely true. Either way, her words made it clear she wanted to make up for something. However such thoughts were let go for now as Dascal, and Masami enjoyed the day with a great bowl of ramen followed by small talk about school, and cultural exchange.

A bit after Dascal found himself viewing up close, and personally the well-known Torri Gate, and in truth, pictures didn't do it justice. As a foreigner he was definitely astounded by it, looking over every inch of it with his eyes until being pulled back into reality by Masami’s words.

“Heard of it? Of course, I specifically chose Japan for its unique culture after all,” Dascal chimed rather excitedly pulling out a camera as he ran up to her pulling her by the hand before she could make it to the altar placing her right at the center of the gate before asking a passerby to take a picture of them.

“Have to have proof I came here, and maybe make some friends jealous with a mysterious pretty girl in the picture,” Dascal smiled, doing a hilarious curtsy to her for the picture before whispering something to her.

“You can put your firewall down with me, I won't delete your trust,” there was a strange feeling of promise to the words, but it was clear it was an offer of friendship from an equally mysterious fellow. Dascal couldn’t quite explain it, but he felt a similar kinship with the girl, and with that feeling, he expressed an offer of connection.

It was refreshing to see the bewilderment and excitement in the eyes of the foreigner. As being a local there her whole life, this place didn’t really give the same sense of being enthralled like it seemed to with him. Although she had to admit, she never took the time to fully enjoy the scenery so she too was happy to indulge in the historical aspects of the place as well. At least she was ready until she was pulled back by the very person she was escorting to take a picture with him.

Smiling a bit at his enthusiasm, she went along with it as she smiled at the camera but her facial expression quickly switched to one of shock when he joked about calling her pretty and wanting to make his friends back in the states envious of being with her. So among the string of pictures taken by the stranger, there would be a couple of pictures he would see where she would look taken aback and without context, it would prompt a good laugh. But she would realize that the person was already taking pictures so she would change back to smiling at the lens. In response to the young man she said, “Should have known that you were the boasting type; but alright, let’s make 'em’ more jealous with more pictures. The day isn’t over yet and I have one more place to take you to today. Also… I’ll be more inclined to ‘take my firewall down’ if you tell me your name.”

“Ah, you're right. Better to let this mystery meet its end. I am Dascal Marion.”

…………………………………………………………….

I am thou, thou art I

Thy will stands renewed in the pursuit of the truth,

In shattering the chains of doubt,

An unbreakable mysterious bond has been formed,

Between The Hierophant & The Tower

Thy paths have given new strength in meeting

………………………………………………………………​

After the random person finished taking pictures and gave the camera back to Dascal, Masami went on to say, “Marion-San eh? Well, it has been very interesting spending time with you so far. I’m glad our little deal has been satisfactory for both sides.” She then made an airy smile that really lent to the “mysterious” nature that he attributed her to and yet it seemed genuine somehow at the same time.

“Now then, would you like to take a few more pictures of the area before we make an offering? We can leave after that to the next and final destination.”

“Glad to hear tonight’s entertainment has been to your liking milady of the night,” Dascal chuckled in a humored turn around who was giving who a good time. As such as promised they took a few more pictures before Dascal was led to the offering shrine. He was taken off guard by her smile though… yet it seemed to lend to him having a genuine one himself as they kind of gave each other a calm peaceful look… it was definitely different from most interactions of fun that Dascal had had in his life… it felt… real.

“So then what are you going to wish for,” Dascal asked, waiting to see how it was properly done.

As Masami took out some yen from her purse she smiled a bit at Dascal. “My wish won’t come true if I tell you… but I’ll give you a hint. It’s something minuscule.” She then approached the shrine, placing 5 yen there, bowed twice, clapped twice, and afterward bowed once more. As she stepped to the side she continued, “For the bigger stuff, I don’t want to give the Gods credit if I accomplish something important. I want to be able to say I got there on my own.” She winked with a smug expression following that statement.

“A noble notion that no one can call wrong too,” Dascal mused, even clapping jovially and lightly to Masami’s words. She was definitely different from what he had expected… given how she acted the first time combined with what he had heard/seen in the metaverse he was caught off guard by this side of her.

Yet in truth, he was also being way more open than usual, and while he could say it was the sights of grandeur… he had to admit her willingness to be open was infecting him to do the same. As such it was his turn, and as he came up taking out 500 yen he tossed it in with an impressive coin flip before placing his hands together.

“Please let this outing end,” at first the line would come off extremely rude until no doubt one would put together what Masami had just said… that he was in fact trying to reverse fate by announcing his wish so that it wouldn’t come true. He was basically asking for this day to never end with Masami attempting to trick the gods to make it so.

Taken aback by this action, Masami wasn’t so sure at first how to respond. Flattered? She scratched the back of her head and looked away though she still looked charmed by this as she was only able to mutter, “Idiot… let’s hope the Gods have a sense of humor then.”

Embarrassed still by the notion, she began to walk away towards the exit at a slow pace so he could catch up. “I think you’ll like where we’re going last,” she said, trying to change the subject. The next place she had planned was a karaoke bar. Although she had never actually been to one before, she knew that many other people their age enjoyed hanging out at karaoke boxes. And if she were honest with herself, she was mildly interested in experiencing it for herself with someone so it might as well be with this foreigner. In her mind, if she were going to embarrass herself, it was better to do so in front of a person she had recently met rather than established friends she interacted with more often like the other Phantom Thieves.

As the two walked and were approaching the nearest station, Masami asked, “So, how have I done so far as your guide?”

“Well, it seems like they're letting you be tortured for fun. You must have committed quite the crime,” Dascal lightly teased, gently poking her shoulder with a lone finger as he caught up putting his hands above his head as they walked into a full stretch.

“Oh do tell what the Queen of Guides has in store for us on this holy of pilgrimages,” Dascal asked quite curious indeed with how lightly hyped she was starting to show for this apparent last stop. It must have been rather different from sightseeing he had to guess as she seemed to be building up some energy for it.

“It’ll be my last surprise of the day. So you’ll just have to wait till we get there to find out for yourself,” Masami teased back as she held onto one of the poles nearby to keep herself stationary for when the subway began to move. Although before it did, more people piled in making it somewhat uncomfortable for the two to continue speaking to each other with this many people packed in yet still tried her best to give Dascal his space. For the most part, Masami didn’t speak to him out of respect for the others around them. When they were approaching the stop that Masami thought was close to the correct one, she let go of the pole to take out her phone and confirm if this was the right stop.

With the doors of the subway still open and people still left, one person who was in a rush just so happened to harshly bump into Masami. Unprepared to take such force, she accidentally was knocked into Dascal, pushing him out of the subway right before the doors had just closed. Bewildered by what just happened, Masami looked out the window to briefly catch Dascal's line of sight before the subway took off without him. All Masami could think at this point was, “I suppose I have to keep my word now huh?” Masami smiled to herself as she remembered their conversation at the tower and how she would spend a week giving him a tour instead of a day to make up for ditching him. “Well… I guess the Gods do have a sense of humor…” Masami thought as she began to plan out the places she’d escort him to in her head for the week he’d want them to try this again.

“...,” Dascal stood there a bit stunned as the doors cosmically, and hilarious closed between him, and Masami after being suddenly rammed into by the well-stacked girl making it impossible to exactly halt, or regain bearing without committing a grievous crime. The speed at which the doors closed was also astronomically fast giving the two bewildered teens only one moment to lock confused eyes following Masmai as she became completely out of sight out of mind.

“Thank you, gods?” Dascal spoke with confusion as he looked up into the sky potentially half expecting some deity to give him a thumbs up in the strange turn of events before he hilariously texted her.

Well, then when shall we start the grand tour miss-informer?​

Chuckling to the odds of it all Dascal simply found he was unable to not smile at the situation as he hummed a soft tune shaking his head in disbelief as he started to walk home.
………………………………………………………….

As the train would continue on its merry way carting off Masami the TVs above would play a soft little melody until popping to life with a scene from a well-known tv channel hosted by an engaged couple.

“On today’s show, we have a grand special appearance from none other than the Captain of the Japanese film industry from Kongo Burst. Ms.Yua Sakura,” the lady reporter cheered as quite a bit of the audience got riled up, and some of the train goers as well as quite a few were now watching the report.

“Hello, hello I am so honored to be here. I rarely get the chance to address my fans so I appreciate the opportunity,” a rather graceful woman who honestly could probably be more seen as an actress at first glance came in with a very polite serene demeanor that could pull mostly anyone in without much resistance. She appeared and acted so politely that it was hard to not give her attention.

“Ms. Sakura you spoil us with your kindness. So why exactly have you chosen Aoyama-Itchome as your final screening grounds for the excited up, and coming final film “Otohime Rouge”,” the male reporter asked.

“Most don’t know it yet, but this is where the script for Sea’s of Onba was in fact conceptualized.”

“Oh wow, I would have never guessed.

“Indeed which is why I want to finish here I want to give back to the birthplace of my career before heading out into the international film world….,” the session would go on for a little while longer mostly stuff Masami would have probably already heard of or was to be expected in an interview like this.

Masami was never one for cinema trivia so when the discussion went on to discuss more movie magic, Masami for the most part tuned it out. She instead averted her attention to the text message she just got from Dascal's number. The number that was now showing still did not have a name assigned to it, so she took the time to enter in "Dascal" before responding back, "The Gods seem to be in favor so it should probably be soon if we want to keep them on their good side. Next week should be open for me, but I’ll let you know if something comes up.” Masami chuckled a bit after sending the message, feeling like she was finally beginning to feel like a normal teenager by being able to joke around with someone like this. She then looked back at the monitor with the current interview going on with the well-known director. For some strange reason, something seemed off to Masami about her, but then again most celebrities wore a facade for the public that Masami felt she could see through. Masami reasoned cynically that this was probably no different than the rest of them as she brushed the thought away and waited for the next stop.

 

[TreasureSniper]

Sougo didn't think too much about his little stunt, clearly, someone who has done it a few times before. He was..surprised by the reactions of the few phantom thieves. Masami's reaction was understandable, showing that she did indeed care for his well-being. However, Imato seemed very ready to jump to his defense despite having been openly hostile to him thus far. "Interesting.." He thought to himself as he continued to walk away from the scene, the crowd was all but dispersed. However he could leave, he could hear Masami's voice her disapproval of what just happened.

Sougo sighed, preferring not to break his cover, but respected the fact that Masami deserved an answer. "Relax, Masami. I had it under control. And you're right, I am not a merc, but I know how they operate. I am we're just sending a message." He spoke to her, now more openly as the crowd of civilians had already left. "Yes I could have, but it's dangerous for me to possess firearms. Trust me, this guy has gotten far worse injuries in the ring." Placing a hand on her shoulder he would give the girl one more smile to calm her down. "I apologize to have worried you. I sometimes forget that all of you are still new to all this." Sougo seemed quite understanding towards their strong reaction to these "shocking events". "Don't worry, I'll see to it he gets the care he needs." Sougo replied as he dialed for the ambulance.

Once an ambulance along with the appropriate authorities arrive, Sougo and the rest of the committee did their best to lock the area down, preventing any students or curious passersby from even entering the vicinity of the area. Sougo had come up with a very convincing argument on how had only happened upon this pickpocket by chance and was merely trying to get away from him. When some other students arrive scaring the thief, leading him to brandish his gun. Luckily it misfired, leading to the injury. The rest of the night was a bit awkward for most of the students, though fortunately, the festival finale was allowed to continue without further interruptions.

After discussing it with the other student council members, and settling any unrest among the student body, Sougo finally had some free time to himself and decided to call his apprentice, to provide a debrief of the situation. The young man requested her to meet him at the school rooftops, where they could discuss things in private. Upon her arrival, Sougo would give her a brief overview of what happened after the arrival of the authorities. After finishing recounting the cover story to Masami, Sougo finally sighed and relaxed, sitting down on one of desks on the rooftops. "So what do you think of my performance? I've actually been practicing for a moment like that for a while now." The young snickered a little, revealing a bit of his goofy nature to the green-haired girl. "I honestly don't blame them if they don't like me. After all, I am a bit of an acquired taste. " Sougo spoke candidly, having some self-awareness about the situation. "Regardless if they like me, as long as they fulfill their duties, I will continue protecting them." At last, Sougo decided to smile a bit as the fireworks show began. "Oh and nice Yukata." He added just as the fireworks ended, showing that he did like what she was wearing. The fireworks display was a lot grander than expected, but then again they did triple the budget for pyrotechnics. "Well, at least the increase in funding paid off. Do you need a ride home? " He offered his partner a ride on his motorcycle from before. It was a good feeling, to have a crew, to have people you can depend on.

 

[Azurian Dream]

"Marion-san are you sure your okay with watching Asahi-san for us its the school festival tonight isn't it," Mr. Beppu asked thankfully to the purple waves yukata wearing Dascal. The young man had definitely planned to go, but once Mrs. Beppu saw him pleading for help so they could clean up Asahi's room he felt he couldn't say no to their plight besides he had more than enough time to make it.

"No worries I'll make it. Do what you need to I find this more important in earnest," Dascal spoke with a smile to assure Mr. Beppu that it was alright causing the man to grumble a bit in guilt over it all mumbling how a child was supposed to be a child clearly a bit of an attack on his wife for grabbing someone heading out somewhere yet he could tell the man understood his wife on the matter as well... clearly, they were good parents. More than enough said by how much they gave in an effort to recover their boy. Even more so how much they had given up to financially keep up with the medical costs. Once they were gone Dascal turned to the wheel-bound Asahi who was just sitting there staring at a glass of water.

"So I heard you were a writer Asahi anything I know," Dascal asked a bit chipper to someone who wouldn't respond, but he wasn't going to treat Asahi any less than another human being. Yet no answer came as one would expect in fact while Dascal waited for an answer that would never come he thought about texting Masami, or Imato to see how the festival was or if they could take him pictures. Quite a few minutes passed as he sighed solemnly deciding to do just that.

"Ishibiki... its... okay," Dascal froze in place having just taken out his phone barely turning it on before Asahi finally spoke. Dascal lowered his phone down as he turned rather perplexed to the male.

"I thought Ishibiki was a bad person didn't they steal something," Dascal asked finding his manner this time drastically different from when he ranted, and seemingly cursed this person's name last they spoke of them.

"Sometimes... it.... takes time... to...," Asahi halted whatever he was about to say as he reached out for the glass of water to simply push it lightly causing it to ripple. The effect seemed to have his full attention causing Dascal to pull his seat closer to Asahi watching the same effect attempting to understand the damaged writer. The waves in the cup tilted and curled like that of an ocean tide entrancing the wheel-bound occupant.

"I couldn't breathe... you could have left me to the abyss... but you still came... like an angel in the sea," his words were starting to form better, but he was losing more and more sense to structure as all Dascal could do was listen, and watch Asahi bring his hand back to his lap. Why was he talking so much now... from what his parents had told him it was near impossible to just get a word. Dascal himself having visited a few times never heard him utter a word until the first... it was Dascal...

"Wakaba's research did say the potential of just mere existence of someone who travels the plain of the mind could trigger things just being around a broken psyche long enough... is my persona giving the essence of structure to your broken shadow," Dascal silently mumbled to Asahi seeing if he could get a response from the male.

"Dascal we're nearly done you can head out if you want we don't want to prolong your nightly plans my husband says I am holding you from a romantic night my apologies I wasn't aware," Mrs. Beppu could be heard from upstairs making her way down.

"No worries Mrs. Beppu I had no such thing pla...."

"I just wanted to save you Oniko... from your bottled-up envy... just one more time on that port...."

"Oniko... Envy... Port... palace located."​

"???," Dascal froze up from the moment his phone sounded off the time his metaverse app's activation was clicking. With a sudden fever, he bolted away from Asahi yet noticed something odd. Asahi was reaching out to him as if attempting... to reach out to save him? Dascal was confused by the very sight, but he wouldn't let the 30-year-old get pulled into the metaverse with a few precious seconds he ran straight to the house gate before disappearing from existence.

"Dascal be safe," Mrs. Beppu called out having barely seen his foot past her house as she was confused by the sudden urgency of his situation.

"Told you he had plans with a girl," Mr. Beppu laughed feeling bad for the boy being held up so long as they walked up to a silent Asahi unaware of what had just transpired.
.............................................................................................................................................................

Metaverse - Palace of Envy - ???

In the tense warping of placement, Dascal was flung into the deep red night sky flying far from the ground the tense feeling of air enveloping him as his transformation into Prophet began. Upon completion, Prophet mid-air flipped to recover control as the ground came fast.

"RASPUTIN," the mad monk appears mid-air underneath Prophet in a flash of black clouds forming into a dark entity. As he fell Rasputin formed just in time to catch him with his sheathed saber giving Prophet enough time to springboard off it towards a downhill spot. While deaccelerating some of the impacts Prophet still came para trooping down hard causing the green meta user to create a flurry of sparks upon sliding impact as his metallic shoes skated down against the cemented hill. Prophet's very feet felt like they were on fire as he could see a road coming up.

While picking up moment again Prophet had little time to do much else but to jutt out a bufu grenade from his hidden arm device creating an ice block a little away as he came careening into it sliding off of it back into the air giving his persona just enough time to catch him before slamming into the ground taking all of the Impact saving Prophet from any further harm. As Rasputin disappeared Prophet dropped into an immediate kneeling position feeling the intensity of energy drained from all that had just transpired.

Once he could catch his breath he realized that he was just a bit off from Shibuya on the back roads if he remembered correctly with that hill being behind him there should be a massive lot... as he turned to the left to get his bearings straight they got further out of wack as where a massive lot studio was supposed to be now stood a massive imposing black cube fenced off by an iron-wrought gate just as tall as the cube itself reaching an easy 120 yards high. It didn't take long for him to realize he was looking at a palace that Asahi had triggered.

"Whatever happened to Asahi was not so self-inflicted was it," Prophet mulled with a small flare of temper. Some form of foul play had revealed itself... the only question was how, and to what effect. there was no concrete evidence of anything exact, but from the words, Asahi had spoken mixed with the sight of this Palace alone spoke that whoever this Ishibiki or Oniko was had a hand in his attempt to take his life. Yet as Prophet followed the gate he would from a distance see the entrance before taking a few steps back upon sight of something he was not ready for... Meta-Mercs.

"Oh Ho Ho. I see you got added to the final line up Arachnee. Finally joining the big "legs" little spider," a massive literal whale of a man asked laughing at his own dad joke decked out in a muscular build of Blue/White armor sporting a deep bellowing voice that couldn't be missed. On his back was a massive harpoon that oddly enough seemed to have a handle much more fitting of an axe in design.

​

"Ke ke ke WarSong gave me the eight-star rating so I have finally been freed from watching duty, and ready to shiver the enemies timbers as Syren would say," the red-dressed mechanical limbed spider girl disturbingly smiled saluting the massive man with a left-sided tilt causing him to laugh with her own terrible pun. It was a very weird wholesome scene to see these meta-mercs acting... rather normal. As Prophet got lower grabbing onto a bar he suddenly realized... it was loose? Pulling it back a bit he was able to sneak onto the site grounds quickly becoming a blur within shadow hoping between the crates lying all about the sight as he close in to better hear them. Yet before much else could be heard a large flash of flames came in halting a bit away from the two meta-mercs revealing someone Prophet did recognize... Phoenix.

"That disturbance you reported seemed to be just some well-leveled shadows that obliterated each other. Found a bufu chunk out on the hill, and a well-sized crater a bit further down along with an irregular shadow wiped it just to be safe Abyss," Phoenix reported keeping his flames going to stay mid-air. If Prophet wasn't assured by the other two armored appearances Phoenix's presence alone confirmed

"Hmm was worried about that. Even with the blockers the irregular shadows are starting to get allured to a nearly fully blossomed palace," Prophet came curious to the info spoken out. What did a fully blossomed palace mean, palaces always attracted shadows yet it seemed they meant more unusually powered ones. Yet what of these bloc.... Prophets' next question was answered by the sight of a strange pinned-to-the-ground TUG-looking device not too far from him at one of the edges of the cube. Taking a quick photo from a disposable non-flashing light camera he turned back to the conversation at hand. Yet about now Prophet could feel the damage from before sneaking up as he took a sudden knee accidentally pushing in his pain a small crate causing it to scratch against a bigger one the sound signaled the meta-merc's pretty immediately.

"AH SO YOUR BUDDY DIDNT KILL... you," Phoenix was over to the spot with a burst of hellfire ready to incinerate what he thought would be the other shadow yet upon visual there was nothing there except for a fallen crate. With a bit of a scowl, and mumble having been ready to show off in front of a lady merc Phoenix returned to the other two.

"Oh ho ho ho, where's the fire Phoenix? I mean don't get me wrong that was a hell of "ashened" display of response time," Abyss bellowed applauding the younger merc's response time with a loud hardy laugh though the fire user simply moaned at the dad jokes given even if he was aware that the big man meant the compliment. Most knew the whale of the man much like Fixer he was a long timer having joined around when the meta-mercs had first joined. Yet much like Fixer old age was clearly starting to show yet the man's physique stated unlike Fixer he was still a juggernaut of an opponent.

Hidden back near the broken iron post Prophet continued to watch gaining any intel he could. Yet with his current injuries even as a persona user, he knew staying any longer would see him ended... or worse for that matter. Watching as Phoenix blasted off he watched Abyss, and Arachnee walk up to a shadow guarding the entrance.... was that a pirate? No doubt the shadow guarding the entrance was indeed a legit pirate sitting on a barrel. Prophet watched as out of view Abyss, and Arachnee showed the guard something before disappearing right in front of his eyes. No reveal as to where they went or if they had even entered the persona user snuck over one last time after a few minutes to make sure the scene was clear nearing the shadow before it halted him.

"Show proof of your allegiance to Captain HoSaOn," the shadow drunkenly demanded with a small hiccup.

"How does one show allegiance," Prophet grimaced feeling his legs try to cave like jello he was pushing it.

"Ha, that's simple join her crew... hic," the shadow mumbled falling asleep more than likely naught having completely forgotten about Prophet even being there. As such Prophet snuck out of the iron gated area before clicking his meta verse app on to send him back to the real world. As things started to change Dascal found himself in front of a bus stop of all places when he turned around though he was met with the sight of a production studio rather active, and lively. With a particular duo carrying a massive crate labeled Kongo Burst: “Otohime Rouge” Dascal found himself with a frown as he was reminded that Asahi was in fact a scriptwriter.

"That... can't be good... dammit," looking at his phone he realized that time had flown by given the current timeframe the buses were done for the night, and if he walked he would barely even be there as they finished cleanup for the hospital. Yet as everything was about to go sour a cab stopped right next to him.

"Hey the buses are done tonight... and quite frankly imma about to clock out however if you're going in the direction I am heading I'll drop you off," a rather grizzled-looking man with a barely shaven face asked clearly not happy with giving the offer, but having some genuine sense of unwillingness to leave a teenager out in the open in a yukata.

"Shujin Academy," Dascal nonchalantly asked.

"Ahhh alright get in," the man groaned as if all of the bleeding hearts in the world united against him as it was not on his route home. taking one last look at the production sight Dascal knew the next few days he would need to start prepping for something big.
...........................................................................................................................................

(Shujin Academy Near The End of the Festival)

Though still in much pain the car ride to the festival gave Dascal enough time to regain normal movement as he thanked his new buddy cab driver a good by as the grouchy man drove off. As Dascal turned around he could see things were wrapping up with an impressive display of fireworks... with a sigh of defeat having been robbed of a one-time experience. Dascal found importance to surrendering the moment as well taking it in stride as he walked forward seeing what had been set up, and enjoying the view as the impressive display went off.

"Man I can't a student council member survived that guy pulling a gun... such luck," Dascal raised an eyebrow at that very out-of-place sequence as he deviated towards the student who had spoken such.

"I am sorry what happen," Dascal asked. To which he was quickly informed how the student council vice president Sougo Arata had in fact been nearly shot to death if not for a lucky misfired crippling the pocket thief's hand. That was indeed an astronomical chance of luck one had to admit.

"Ya even before that I saw Akiyama chasing the guy apparently he had snatched one of her "Sisters" wallets. She ran straight into the warehouse without a second thought. There were a few others, but I didn't see them," the other student spoke triggering a name to come quickly to Dascal's mind.

"You mean Shirome Akiyama... doesn't she go by a nickname," Dascal asked nonchalantly.

"Uh huh I think her friends call her Shiro," the student answered.

"Sounds right... where did this happen again," within a few minutes Dascal found himself around the building where the sequence of evidence earlier had taken place for the apparent pickpocketer. No doubt at all as there were still some police around finding, and distributing the last of the stolen wallets. However, Dascal was aware he wouldn't get anywhere near where the police were on the matter. Thus with a bit of sneaking around Dascal entered through the back before once more triggering his Metaverse app. What came to his eyes as his body was clocked by his preacher's green outfit was something to behold. the building the events had taken place in had in fact been ripped into as if something gigantic had come to life inside the building. Whereas Prophet had simply used the metaverse to sneak around to see what had happened in the real world it was now damn clear that something had taken place in the metaverse as well. Some large form of combat for sure, and as Prophet was now looking for any sign of evidence of what had happened, and who had been here.

Unbeknownst to him someone was watching him scour about a shadow taking form as a horse roared into the night Prophet turned around to see a knight from hell coming straight for him Eligor the 15th demonic spirit of the Ars Goetia and a fallen angel. With a quick but unstable reflex Prophet jumped away barely being missed by the poisoned-tipped spear as he skidded back feeling immense pain in his legs. The physicality of the night caught quickly back up... he had no physical strength to throw about this time around.

"A wounded fool I will make quick work of you," the night bellow as his horse reared up for another charge.

"True, but in the mind, I am plenty able," Prophet chuckled as his masked burned blue as Rasputin came from above delivering a heavy sword strike pushing the knight, and horse completely back with unexpected fever. The knight was left ajar by the display of strength given the user seemed like a sitting duck. Dascal directed a hand signal at Eligor causing a strange sequence of muttering about escaping and oozing out of Rasputin's lips forming a haze around Eligor and the horse.

"Ominous words once spoken cannot be taken back," Prophet spoke as Eligor was thrown off his horse at it went into a panic running away as the knight dropped his spear holding his hands to his helmet in panicked fear. As the prophet neared him slowly he started to push away to get any distance until Rasputin grabbed him by the scuff of his chest armor with Dascal now pointing a gun at his head. This had now become a hold-up.

"Did you see what happen here," Dascal asked with a soft preacher-like request.

"... yes I saw a dragon, fight a mythical monkey," Eligor spoke after breathing heavily with eyes locked onto Prophet who to him appeared more like a demon than the demon himself at the moment. Though having not been the answer Prophet expected the night had been so bizarre that honestly maybe he should have. Eligor then want to express what had happened quickly revealing that Baron had been here by design alone... made sense Prophet had seen Baron's persona Aeon already it matched up. Eligor spoke of what he saw and had seen no one else but one other female persona user which made Prophet curious. Pulling out his phone he showed Eligor a picture of Heartbreak.

"Was this the maiden you saw," Prophet quipped.

"Yes... please let me go I swear never to pick my spear up again," Eligor pleaded as this hold-up happen Prophet could see more shadows forming all of which had no doubt seen what had taken place... that was a problem. From what Eligor had heard of the words spoken between Baron, and the Monkey King user there was a potential hand that the Meta-mercs would realize this guy was gone, and though not a member it was clear they had an eye on him... had Baron messed with the gun to send a message... or protect the late arrival Sougo... or was something else at play here. Regardless these hostile shadows had seen everything, and just like Prophet the Meta Mercs would get them to talk.

"You are free to return back to the conscious you pooled from," before Eligor could resist Rasputin cleaved him in half as the shadows watching took form into their physical being. If there was one thing Prophet had to learn from helping the Phantom Thieves against Fixer was a flow of melee, items, and persona usage needed to be at level with each other. At that time Prophets' ability to use Rasputin had been lacking in comparison to his physicality and item usage... since then he had been training to correct that... and this was as good a place as any to test that. Pulling out an extendable baton his new melee weapon he directed his tri-barrel shotgun to those coming forth a band of Eligor's.

"Let flight take those ready to pass on."

...

When all was said and done with Prophet down on one knee, the surrounding mists of fading shadows signaled he had barely won... yet... again... he had unnecessarily pushed himself to the brink. Breathing heavily with a baton keeping his other knee from collapsing a rather intensely appeased Rasputin was fading out of existence returning to Prophet his mask. He could feel the massive headache mixing with the signals of physical pain in his brain trying to overwhelm him. The gap between him, and Baron was much clearer with this exchange. These shadows though lower level than Prophet had still a desire to attack regardless if he was at full strength yet the fear they clearly had for Baron spoke volumes.

"Hmm makes one wonder how long has he's been at this... or what he did prior to meeting the thieves," he mulled. Prophet had a working theory now on Baron now a full one, but one in the works nonetheless. there was something more to this than wanting to take down the Meta-Mercs... this came off way more personal than originally thought. Something had happened between the two Baron was still alive and the meta-mercs seemed nary a response to it, and yet he kept sending them his wraith without a response... why were the Meta-mercs okay with that?

If he was that dangerous why not squash him out, if he was not that dangerous why not be rid of him altogether? Though there were many questions naught was there an answer in site. With one last heavy sigh Prophet pulled himself up having erased the shadows that could be identified what had happened here... but no doubt the message Baron had sent would still make it to the Meta-mercs... yet this incident would be clean of the Phantom Thieves' hands at least until... they did what he needed them to do. Until then Baron had set the bar of what was expected by the Phantom Thieves... if he was to be helpful he needed to aim for that level of ability. As his mind raced, he noticed the spear from the first Eligor still was there... finding this rather odd he walked up to it as a sudden red glow overtook it transforming it into a pair of Chakrams... baffling was this sight but it made sense the mind was power, and power could take many forms.

Collecting the chakram as someone actually came to mind amongst the thieves who used such a weapon he pulled out his phone using the app's unique warp function returning him not to the inside of the warehouse, but unseen amongst a collection of stands unused, but more importantly making his reappearance unnoticeable. When he had arrived at the festival he had been in a tired state now he simply looked like he had physically, and mentally ran through the wringer. With his phone still in hand he made a call.

"Oracle prep up were going to have a busy three days ahead of us. We have a palace to handle and the Phantom Thieve Heartbreak... I believe I know who she is," Dascal closed his phone sitting down on a crate to allow himself some time to regain his footing before he would eventually limp home.

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

(Three days after the festival...)

While the students of Shujin were strolling about during a free period Masami, Ann, Imato, Shiro, and even Sougo would suddenly hear a faint ringing from their phones.... Yet, it wasn't the normal ring, but one from the metaverse app. Upon checking their phones a new message line had been started however it was who it was from that would catch them all off guard more than likely.

Prophet: Hello Phantom Thieves, & Baron I know we haven't officially met under normal circumstances yet, and I was informed Baron would talk to you on a regulated meeting, but I have run into something rather concerning that I would like your thoughts on... A palace I ran into a few nights ago.
​

The metaverse app would fill up with pictures of the massive Black Cube, the tugs that baron would no doubt recognize as a device to hide an almost complete Palace, and a picture of the iron gate where the Phantom Thieves could sneak in through. A second message would follow.

Prophet: I understand that you have a knack for toppling these down, and have a penance to see those that form them punished. I would like to aid you in this if you're willing. If so meet me tomorrow at this disclosed address. I was also able to catch some meta-merc names of those that frequent this palace. Abyss, Arachnee, and Phoenix. I could not tell you if there are more inside as there seems to be a unique trick to entering.

In best regards Prophet.
​

From there the messages ended yet the line was left open to the Thieves if they wished to respond.

 

[Maeve Valor]

"Fine, if you say so..." With Sougo's words of reassuring her, Masami's worries were alleviated somewhat yet not dissipated. He was correct in that the team was not used to real life issues such as this, but the fact that he seemed so nonchalant about it was cause for concern to her. Would she too become just as accustomed to such dangerous dealings after a while of being a metaverse user? For now, Masami decided to discontinue this kind of introspective speculation. It really made no difference to how she would respond to things as they unfolded and she knew this. For now all she could do was accept and observe. "I'll let you get back to your duties. It probably has doubled after that exchange. I'm sure the authorities will have many questions, hopefully there won't be any issues there. Let me know later on how everything was resolved," Masami requested before leaving.

After that dramatic encounter, Masami went back to hanging out with the rest of the group for a little while longer before everyone slowly dispersed for one reason or another. Masami herself broke away from what few was left of the group to walk around the stands and shop for a gift with her uncle, Isurugi, in mind. She finally came across a suitable simple gift which was a silver stirring spoon that had an intricate filigree curvature design going throughout it. After she bought the trinket, her phone vibrated and when she looked to see who had messaged her she was surprised to see that it was Sougo inviting her to the school's rooftop. She knew she requested for him to let her know how things went, but she didn't expect him to do so that night right after the fact. As she walked passed the next stall a mirror caught her eye as she looked in it to make sure she looked presentable, but soon stopped herself and thought, "Wait what am I doing? It's just Sougo." She then continued onward, thankful that no one watched her right then.

Once she joined Sougo on the rooftop she too leaned on one of the desks as their discussion went about as any normal debrief had and she was surprised that his story was accepted as seamlessly as it was. Then again, his fellow council members were probably sympathetic to his situation as well so that might have played a part in it. The conversation then transitioned to the big reveal and he wanted to know her opinion of it. Masami laughed with him when he had asked and responded, "Well you do have a fondness for theatrics so I'm not shocked that you went over it in your head." It was pleasant in times like this where they joked. In the most recent conversations she's had with him, there had a been a few moments where this side of him slipped out which made him seem almost... normal at times.

Sougo then went on to mention how he knew that some of the others didn't take kindly to him. It can't be easy to protect people that disapproved of you, yet he still did. Masami did not know his reasoning for doing so, so diligently though she found it commendable. She figured that he knew what others most likely thought of him, so hearing him openly speak of it now made Masami respect him a bit more. But... there it was again, another strange emotion mixed in as he smiled at her. It didn't help that soon after that is when the fireworks started to go off and she turned away from to avert her attention to the spectacular fireworks show and keep from blushing. "I think things like this just take time. They'll get more accustomed to you. Plus, while that all may be true, just know that not all of us dislike you... I don't count though. We're partners, so I have no choice but to get along with you," she quipped with a smile of her own as the fireworks went on. It seemed that she was able to keep herself from blushing all the way up until he complimented her yukata. With that all her effort was in vain as her face heated up slightly as she mumbled, "thank you." Thankfully, he moved on to asking her if she needed a ride home in which she gratefully accepted. "I'd love to. I'll need to stop by my locker to change into something else first though. A yukata isn't the best outfit to ride on." She got up as they continued chatting casually amongst one another.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Three days after the festival...)

A lot has been on her mind over the past couple of days. Most of these concerning thoughts consisted of a particular Metamerc that had ambushed her out of the blue.

Spoiler: Vengeful Ambush

Today was just like any other day for Masami, no more quota’s to worry about, no important phantom thief meetings or even special reports planned for the day. However, throughout her time travelling in the metro station, she would soon notice someone was following her. As luck would have it, it was raining heavily as well. Even when she reached her stop, it was difficult for her to gain a decent distance between her and the mysterious stalker.

Thankfully for her, the place was fairly crowded and safety in the numbers was a common belief. Unfortunately for her, this preconceived notion of safety would quickly be shattered. Her phone would begin buzzing violently, accompanied by a warning message from the MetaNav which wrote “INCOMING METADUEL”. Seconds later, the all too familiar wave of red and black began pulsing from her phone. Slowly but surely, the crowd of people around her began to fade away as she was transported into the Metaverse.

It didn’t take long for her to notice she wasn’t alone in this area of the Metaverse. The metallic MetaMerc wasted no time in making his presence known, immediately swinging a lance-like weapon which resembled a rhino head. He struck the girl in the head first with a bludgeoning strike before following it up with a knee to her gut.

Masami doubled over in pain momentarily to catch her breath, but she knew that faltering like this could be detrimental. So she sucked back in the pain and quickly drew her chakrams, swiping a few times before jumping back. “What the hell is even a metaduel? How did I get here without using the app? And more importantly, how did he know that I was a metaverse user?”

“Usually when you dipshits attack us, it’s because we’re making you guys look bad on a job. So state your business!” She then spoke aloud, taunting and making sure to keep a close eye on the person before her as she stayed defensive. Even though her words were in a challenging manner, she knew that as it stood, she wasn’t at a level yet to take on a Metamerc solo. Even with Haze, it took more than one person to weaken him. With her taunting him like this, she was only buying herself time to think of a plan to get out of this predicament.

“YOU SCUM!” The armored merc simply replied, parrying her charkrams with his own weapon, before allowing her to back off. “You….you ruined my life…I am simply returning the favor…” he spoke in a more quiet voice as he placed his hand on his mask. “Karkadan! Crush her!” The young man announced, finally tearing off his mask, and revealing who was behind it. It was none other then Jun Shibaura, the former volleyball player that had recently been kicked off the team due to drug abuse allegations.

Masami froze in utter shock, finding out that the very person and the very act that started her on this journey with the Phantom Thieves stood before her now as an enemy. While she felt guilt for swindling many victims in that past, his case had hurt her the most due the mental wound being so fresh in her head in recent events. This was truly cruel irony.

But he wasn’t alone, alongside him was a metallic humanoid beast that resembled a rhino. The beast let out an intimidating roar, scaring away any nearby shadows before making a beeline towards Masami. It was fast, trampling the poor green-haired girl in a fury before disappearing in a plume of blue fire. “Why… Why did you do it!? I don’t even know you! I’ve never done anything bad against you! SO WHY!?” Jun yelled in an agitated voice. He didn't know much about the girl. All he knew was she was the one responsible for the downward spiral of his life. But what could possibly warrant such punishment such as this? The MetaMerc slowly walked towards the girl demanding an answer from her. “TELL ME DAMN IT!” Jun struck on the pillars of the subway, instantly shattering to pieces with his brute strength. If Masami were to check her current information on this Metamerc, she would notice that his level was 45, with an unusually strong strength and defense stat.

Masami felt her knees buckle beneath her as she attempted to get back up. She found that trying to fight back against him was proving to be more wrenching to face than even when she was fighting against her own parents. To her, seeing Jun represented the pain and misery she had caused for all the people she had wronged in her life finally coming after her. She couldn’t find the words at first to explain herself, but she knew she had to say something, anything to him. The boy deserved to have an answer, although she knew already that it probably wouldn’t be a good enough answer for him with how angry he was and for good reason. “I-I wish I could give you a direct answer, really, but I can’t. The short version is that I was raised by no good parents that forced me to do things for some of their scams to make money. If I didn’t, they would… abuse me in some way.”

She then stood up, not even bothering to get into a stance, or put up a layer of defensive barrier around herself. She knew that whatever he had in store for her, she had it coming. She decided to refuse to fight Jun Shibaura “That probably isn’t that answer you were hoping for, but it’s the truth. The instructors for your rehab sessions were the ones who set you up and they made me plant the needle for them.”

“You say that it's you parents fault..” Jun stayed silent for a while, contemplating on what to do next while also digesting Masami’s reasoning. “But did you even try to do the right thing?!” Whether what Masami said was true or not didn’t matter to Jun. All he knew was she was a swindler that would do and say anything to get out of trouble. Hearing her openly admit that it was her while simultaneously trying to minimize her blame was even more enraging.

The armored merc raised his weapon once more, his arm was visibly shaking, a small sign of hesitation on his part. Despite what he looked like now, deep down, he still wasn’t a full-fledged metamerc yet. At least not all the way through. Fortunately for Masami, her fate did not hinge on this boy’s hesitancy.

A few bullets flew past Masami and struck the armored Merc on his chest, pushing him back while also injecting him with an all too familiar purple venom. “Yo~!” The cobra merc greeted them with a casual wave while carrying his rifle on his other arm. “Didn’t the boss tell us NOT to fight these guys?” The merc spoke in his usual cavalier tone while putting his hand on his hip, clearly disappointed by the actions of his peer. Taking out a bead from his belt, he would crush it, releasing energy which would flow to Masami, restoring her back to full health. Jun on the other hand was on his fours, breathing heavily, clearly affected by the poison. “You doing alright, Ms green?” the cobra merc spoke, seemingly out of concern for the girl.

Masami took a step back, clearly skeptical of the “savior’s” actions as she placed one hand on one of her chakrams and the other over the Swansong gun at her hip. Being in the presence of now two metamercs alone was understandably putting her on edge. “Well Mr. Red, aside from being attacked and dragged into the metaverse against my will, I’d say I’m doing dandy thanks to you. Your comrade over there has been following me, but what business do you have to deal with? I’m assuming there is a catch to your hospitality.”

Masami spotted a pillar with a crack going down it and all the way to the other side of the room across from where Jun had previously destroyed one of the other ones. If she wanted to make a getaway, she knew that shooting at the weakened area of the foundation was her best bet at the moment. She then averted her attention carefully at the man to observe him. “Also, please address me as Swan.”

She decided not to bring attention to Jun being in pain still since she figured that he wouldn’t just let the kid die at his hands and face possible punishment from his superiors. Aside from that, he was obviously the veteran which meant he was of a higher threat to her. Taking her eyes off him would be absolutely more of a risk than if she focused on Jun.

"Like I said kiddo, the boss just wants all of you to be alive…well at least for now." The red merc leaned on the while playfully twirling his rifle. "This guy apparently didn't get the memo…." He added, shaking his finger like he was a disappointed parent.

Jun mustered whatever strength he could, pushed himself off the ground and began limping towards Masami. "This… doesn't concern you.." Jun managed to mutter, as advanced forward towards the person who took everything from him. Despite the pain, he was clearly willing to endure it to get what he wanted.

"Oh but it does! More than you know actually! Besides… you should be thankful for her! Your life now has infinitely more meaning than all the other faceless masses." He splayed his arms wide open to emphasize his point in a jovial tone. "But I guess you need some discipline!!" He ended his sentence by smacking Jun across his face with the butt of his rifle, knocking the boy to the ground. The red merc then followed it up with a cruel kick to the face, sending the boy rolling across the floor.

"Nice to meet you, Swan. The name is Veno" the merc answered the girl putting his foot on top of the poisoned boy. Clearly he is not only the more experienced merc, but a cruel one as well. "Oh don't mind me, you can go now." Once again, the red man waved the girl off as a non-threat while turning his attention. "This won't kill you…it's just gonna hurt you…a lot.." disassembling his rifle into a pistol-like device, he would spray a purple mist towards the boy on the ground, prompting him to scream in great pain while violently writhing.

And just like that Masami was given a cruel choice. Swallow her morals and leave, without risking anything to herself. Or attempt to fight an opponent that she had no hopes of winning. Either way, it is likely no one but the metamerc would find out about this, unless of course she informed the others of this event. Essentially, it was the perfect opportunity to turn a blind eye and run. The old Masami would have done so without hesitation. But has she changed that much since then?

Masami looked down at Jun, letting his current state seeth itself into her memory before she reluctantly turned around to obediently leave in response to Veno’s suggestion. As she began walking away she heard the painful torture continue. The familiar feeling of guilt ate away at her as she began to think, “Is this really my fault? He’s the one that chose to join the infamous group so he should take responsibility for doing so, right?”

She winced slightly with each new sound she heard, practically digging her nails into her palms to steel herself from doing something stupid. “Everyone should take responsibility for their actions. I made a decision to join the Phantom Thieves just as Shibaura-san made his decision by joining the Metamercs. I joined for atonement, he joined probably for revenge. We each have our own reasons so who am I to interrupt these proceedings?” She told herself, reasoning that if she went back she would be essentially letting her team down by potentially causing even more problems for them. It seemed that Jun refused to listen to anything she said, so even if she did try to stand up for him, it would probably be for an empty cause. She was not willing to risk her life for potentially nothing in return. For now, not interfering would be best. In the meantime, she would figure out how best to deal with him in the future. But in the very back of her mind, a small voice said, “Even after everything you’ve been through, you’re still a coward.”

Veno took a step back and turned towards Masami to see where she was headed. He was silently happy that she had made the right choice of turning her back. This was a cruel world they lived in, any amount of kindness could be taken advantage of. He let out a soft chuckle while holstering his gun. “She has the makings of a good merc….” he thought to himself while leaning against the remaining pillar.

The screams from Jun were otherworldly, the amount of pain being endured by the boy was astonishing. And yet, somehow, the boy managed to eventually force himself to stand up. His legs were shaky, but there was no doubt about it, something had triggered within him. Some-sort of ability that was previously hidden, much to the surprise of Veno. The red merc seemed to amuse to intervene, looking forward to where this would go.

“Karkadan! Give me everything you got! Tear this body apart if you must!” Jun shouted, ripping off his mask and summoning the rhino humanoid behind him. He was willing to give everything into this attack. With his remaining strength, Jun leapt upwards, allowing Karkadan to charge forward, pushing the armored merc forward at tremendous speed with his rhino head weapon pointed forward. This was it, his most desperate attempt at exacting justice. Masami would soon feel the rumbling of the ground beneath her, as both persona and merc surged forward towards her.

Fortunately for her, Veno would decide to intervene at the last second, shooting a piercing purple shot that punctured through the armored merc while also narrowly missing Masami’s face. The projectile was strong enough to destabilize his charge and have him skidding across the floor. His body laid there motionless with multiple streaks of black liquid leaking from it. “Oops! Sorry about that! It should be safe for you to leave now!” Veno added while giving her an oddly friendly wave.

She glanced back at Cobra thinking, “What the hell is with this guy?” Before she looked back at Jun with an emotionless stare. She then walked to him across the floor to where she was only a couple of feet away from him and raised a hand in his direction. “Recarm” A light green glow circled around him while Masami knew she didn’t have any items on her to cure Jun, but she wanted to at least have him be conscious of what she was going to say as she let the continued pain fuel him more.

She knelt down on one knee so she could be at eye level with Jun and said, “Next time, I won’t hold back and I’ll be ready for you. Just because I know I deserve to be persecuted, it doesn’t mean I will make it easy for you. So come after me Shibaura Jun, I will be awaiting the day of reckoning for myself.”

Masami then stood up and called out to the other mercenary, “As for you Veno, you should make sure he keeps up with his training." She turned around and finished off by saying, "Cause your new guy has given me a damn good reason to get stronger now."

Despite being revived, Jun was way too weak to continue the fight, simply laying on the group, accepting his apparent defeat. Though hearing Masami’s word did make the merc’s blood boil. The only reason she was still standing was due to Veno’s intervention, and now she had the audacity to claim he wasn’t worthy of claiming his justice. Eventually, due the poison being in his system for a prolonged period, he would eventually pass out.

Veno approached the green haired girl with a card in his hand. “I like your style kiddo! Here!” He handed her the card with a reassuring nod that he wasn’t trying to do anything fishy. “If you ever want a chance to leave those Phantom losers, to pursue a more…profitable career, the door is always open…for now at least…” Veno chuckled as he walked towards Jun’s body to drag it back to base. “Until then…Seeya Swan! Ciao~!” And with that, the merc dragged the unconscious ally back to their home base, disappearing into the distance.

Swan looked down at the card that was given and scoffed. “As if I would ever join their despicable organization… But still… keeping this card in my back pocket might come in hand one day.” she thought as she put away the card, finally able to leave the metaverse. While she continued back onto her intended path, thoughts of Jun flooded her mind and the more she thought about it, the more she became troubled with this event that has taken place. “He knows who Swan is now. He could potentially pass this information to the other mercenaries. And this Metaduel… can just anyone challenge me now that they know who I am? This could become an issue for the others as well. Too many things are in the air that I can’t account for everything on.” Masami slumped over her shoulders with a defeated sigh. “Looks like I’m going to need to go to Baron for his opinion. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled about this new development,” Masami said sarcastically as if predicting she was about to be scolded by a superior.

Masami still felt that her actions weren't right by just leaving him there, but what could she do? Facing off against Veno would have been suicide at her current level. Back and forth in her mind, Masami would think that she had a responsibility to her friends to stay alive if for no other reason than for their sake as well as to try and right many of the wrongs she has done in her lifetime. If defeating him was what it took to do more good in the world then wouldn't it be worth it? On the other hand, was this just her way of using an excuse to not atone for what she has done? She reasoned that she challenged him to get stronger while she does the same so that he earned his revenge and as such it was probably fate if she were to be defeated, but again was she just prolonging her fate this way and trying to run away from it?

The day prior to this afternoon, Masami started taking her training very seriously and went to the gym. Today she planned to the same and maybe ask one of the others if they could join her in Mementos for training there as well. But her thoughts on planning a new training regimen was interrupted by a strange message. From the mysterious persona user that previously helped the thieves: Prophet. Judging from the way he was messaging them, he didn't seem like a threat and even said that he has met with Baron. Though just the fact that he was able to message them all like this somehow really set her on edge with this character. All the questions she had, likely wouldn't be able to be answered until he meets with them, so making sure not to give anything away just yet Masami didn't bother to message back anything else besides, "Understood." Masami then thought, "This week really isn't shaping up to be a nice one."

TreasureSniper Azurian Dream

 

[Nellancholy]

(Three days after the festival...)​

"So, this is it..." Shiro murmured as she looked over the remains of the warehouse. Whoever used to own it had long written it off, and the little arson attempt that happened weeks ago still had yet to draw any attention from the law, thanks in part to the fact that the gang had been here to contain it. What little possessions they had had mostly been cleaned up and taken with them, mostly old but intact clothes, and maybe a couple of photos from the time Koyuki had "found" a Polaroid camera in the possession of a tourist and they'd spent the week using up the film before pawning it off.

"Hey." Gomi gently nudged her shoulder. "Thanks for uh, everything." It was difficult to find the words to say in a situation like this, and Shiro got the feeling she was mostly saying it as a cliche. Still, she could tell she was sincere. There were few secrets between them, after all. With this done, however...Shiro didn't have to worry about keeping secrets from them anymore. "Wish Koyuki was here too." Gomi considered adding, but didn't.

"Take care of yourself." Shiro smiled slightly. "That's an order."

"I don't take orders from you anymore." Gomi laughed back, giving her another push. "...But I'm going, yeah?"

"..." Yui gave Shiro a one-armed hug. "We'll meet again, right?"

"You can count on it." Shiro wasn't quite smiling then. Sure, maybe one day, fate would make them cross paths again, but...

Eventually, all the members of the gang were packed into the van the Department of Welfare had sent. They'd probably be enrolled back into public school, split up in dorms somewhere until, by some stroke of luck, each of them found a new family.

"So...this is it." The young woman from the Director's office nodded, echoing Shiro's statement while looking over her clipboard. She couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years older than Shiro. Maybe someday she'd find herself in the same position, the same uniform too. "I must say this is very out of character for the Director, but I don't ask questions even if he tells me to cut deals with...the legally displaced." She finished diplomatically. "If it were up to me, you'd be on there too. So...what are you going to do now?"

"I wasn't aware I was under questioning here, Ms. Iwanaga." Shiro frowned thinly. "But to answer your question...I'm going to spend the first quiet night I've had in a while. On a bench, in a tree. It matters not."

---

And so it was that no longer tied to one place, backpack behind her and a single duffel bag in her hand, Shirome Akiyama found herself lounging on a bench under Tsukishima's cloudy afternoon sky, drinking from a disposable plastic bottle that had long been refilled with tap water. Quite unfortunately, her phone rang.

Prophet: I understand that you have a knack for toppling these down, and have a penance to see those that form them punished. I would like to aid you in this if you're willing. If so meet me tomorrow at this disclosed address. I was also able to catch some meta-merc names of those that frequent this palace. Abyss, Arachnee, and Phoenix. I could not tell you if there are more inside as there seems to be a unique trick to entering.

In best regards Prophet.

Nothing was ever easy before, and it wasn't now. If only the chaos in the Metaverse, stoked by the mercs as much as the vicious ambitions of humans, would cease. But it hadn't. And as weary as Shiro was, she still wouldn't back down from a fight.

With a wave of her hand, she flipped the empty bottle into a trash can before sighing and writing her own reply.

Heartbreak: I hardly think that Baron would be so presumptuous as to speak for you. But we are not unused to alliances of convenience. You may rely on my assistance in confronting this new fount of our adversaries, and I trust my allies to offer the same as well. I will be there, Prophet. This I promise.

 

[Anthem]

Silence filled Imato's ears as he rested upon the school's rooftop, while students weren't allowed atop the school for safety reasons and restrictions placed upon them by the Student Council that didn't stop the brute from finding a way into the restricted area. The silence was sadly interrupted as the free period had began, causing a groan to come from the boy in a rather annoyed manner. "Can't get any effing rest when I actually need it..." Mumbling to no one other than himself, the thief would rub his eyes as he swore he could feel the bags under his eyes at this point. Sleep eluded him for a multitude of nights now, and the effects were starting to become more apparent as fatigue was all he felt throughout the day. The last time he had been able to rest was a few days after Kamoshida's confession, Imato took a moment to recall all that happened to possibly pin a reason to this feeling.

Spoiler: Yin and Yang

Imato found himself wandering down the street, looking through his phone with discontent before putting it away with a singular sigh. Not really in the mood to attempt interactions with the other thieves at the moment, he instead was on his own as he continued to walk. ‘My psyche is already in a bad enough position, I shouldn’t be just letting my frustration brew for a long time.’ Thinking to himself, he remained rather unaware of his surroundings until his eyes locked onto one of the numerous buildings.

The building seemed to be some sort of facility that supported martial arts, boxing, and other forms of fighting. Taking only a moment to think of his next movement, Imato entered and started to sign up for a membership to the gym / dojo. While it had been a while since he found himself within the ring or learning new methods of fighting, he was nowhere close to being rusty.

After finalizing the start of his membership he would walk over to one of the punching bags and place his bag off to the side. While his clothing wasn’t the best for training or fighting… he couldn’t give a damn in all honesty. Taking a moment to stretch and crack his knuckles, Imato started to wail on the punching bag with relentless force. He imagined the poor training tool was one of the numerous foe’s the thieves had already faced off against. Kamoshida, the Matriarch, the various meta mercs (excluding Countess) were just a few of the faces he imagined on the punching bag. It definitely fueled his movements, as his attacks on the punching bag slowly became more wild and unpredictable.

“Oye, you, wildebeest on the punching bag your new right,” someone would randomly yell out to Imato probably bringing his attention straight to the boxing ring where Dascal was watching him from leaning against the ropes. Dasal had been running some leg exercises himself in the ring working up an equal sweat to what Imato had going on with his demolition man routine. Dascal waved at him with boxing gloves on while wearing a blue mesh shirt and dark purple shorts.

“In my experience nothing makes a better outlet than a legit fight between two living foes… you interested,” Dascal smiled slyly, holding up a pair of gloves, and a boxing mask on offer to Imato. Dascal had been a member of the gym since he had first moved in with Futaba. With everything he did in the metaverse he needed a place to keep accelerating his physicality, and with what he felt was a poor showing against Slayer & a barely able to win victory over Fixer had caused him to come in a lot more often at least once every five days.

“Besides you look like you can actually take a hit maybe with how you can belt them out,” Dascal taunted in a friendly rivalry type of way watching to see how Imato would react to properly start sizing him up.

Imato would stop his vicious assault on the punching bag, taking a few breaths to regain his stamina before looking over to see who had the gall to call him a ‘wildebeest’ of all things. He would take a good look at Dascal, taking note that the guy seemed to be close to a similar age, he probably was in high school too. Imato’s eyes then drifted to the gear that Dascal held up, taking a few more moments before walking forwards and grabbing it with a simple nod.

His knuckles had already started to get damaged from rapidly punching the bag without any tape or covering to protect himself. Ignoring the stinging, he would slip on the gloves before looking at Dascal once again. “I suppose I’ll take your offer then.” The supposed newbie would then enter the ring, finally putting the mask on as well. “Though I do recommend that you take this little fight seriously, as I’m a little bit too pissed off to be holding my punches.”

Moving to his starting position, Imato stretched out a little bit before putting himself in a more battle-oriented stance. Putting both hands up near his head, he waited for Dascal to give some sort of countdown or throw the first punch, either one would be good enough for him.

Dascal smirked as Imato took the gear suiting up the gloves to prepare for the fight. Dascal had to admit the white hair boy did in fact present an animalistic aura of confidence. So much so that once the gloves were on, and he took his stance Dascal could tell he was an experienced fighter, and that this would be by no means an easy bout.

“Interesting words, but…,” Dascal without warning threw a straight right punch for Imato face barely missing as his opponents instincts would probably kick in rather impressively that was until Imato would feel an aggressive delivery of a wide swing left punch into his right side. Dascal had opened with a feint immediately to show Imato one thing, taking two steps back to give his opponent a moment to realize how serious he was already taking it..

“You might want to follow your own advice,” Dascal smirked tauntingly revealing he was no such slouch in a bout himself to his willing opponent… the fighting bell had been rung.

As predicted, Imato's battle instinct kicked in almost instantly which allowed him a quick dodge of the initial attack. Though a small pained noise came from him as he realized it was a feint and the real hit had already happened. 'Damn, that was an impressive hit. If I hadn't taken the proper stance that would have certainly made me stumble…'

This realization that this would be a challenge, left Imato smirking rather than becoming mad that he was hit. The white haired boy nodded a bit before lowering his initial stance, and entering one that seemed to have a much better sense of being fluid, instead of having a strong defense.

"Well then, I suppose I should… Let's see how you keep up then." With that, Imato dashed forwards and started with a rapid assault. His movements were fast and held much more strength than it looked like his body could output. The assault consisted of quick jabs and hooks, but he also threw in his own feints to ensure that his opponent would have trouble keeping track of what attack would be real, or false.

“By all means. Let's test that mettle of yours against mine,” Dascal smiled rather viciously as if he was actually finding this sudden tension fun. Imato took it up a notch fluidly moving right back at him causing the american boy to drop down into a defense stance taking a step back as he was unable to calculate the bull charge Imato mad dashed into.

The sudden turn to all out assault saw Dascal being forced to duck, and weaving while being forced backwards. Hit’s were dodged, weaved past, but quite a few were surprisingly making contact on the outline of Dascal’s body. This fellow teen was no joke, Dascal had been stunned lock by the unexpected attention to form Imato had to fight with costing the jet black hair boy control of flow. With the feints included there was no real sign of opening to take advantage, really adding into the wild style Dascal had expected, but with proper control making it impossible to quickly predict at point blank range..

Except right as Imato would have him pinned to the railing Dascal weaved directly on purpose into a left hook pushing straight into Imato, negating his use of the left half of his body as Dascal squinted at the pain from the prior flurry mixed with the tanked hit. However, with a twist to the left of his own Dascal swung in a wide Haymaker laying it hard onto Imato’s face as he ducked down taking the moment of disorientation to deliver an uppercut in the exact same left spot of Imatos body as the very first punch of the fight.

Imato grew confident as his flurry of attacks made Dascal unable to do much for a short period of time, but that confidence was quickly challenged as the black haired boy seemed to intentionally take a heavy hook. Quickly realizing that this maneuver of Dascal’s was indeed intentional, the wild fighter tried to move back but failed as the haymaker landed. The blow was heavy enough as is, but with the added uppercut to an already weakened point, he stumbled back in pain.

It was growing clear just what type of fighter Imato is, and it was just like how he is in the Metaverse. A fast, unpredictable fighter that can dish out heavy hits but when it comes to receiving damage, he falters rather easily. The white haired boy took some heavy breaths as his grimace turned to a grin. It had been a long time since he had a decent challenge in the ring, so this fight just continued to grow all the more exciting.

“You’re good, I’ll admit that. Definitely better than a lot of the fools I’ve gotten into schoolyard brawls with.” It was hard for Imato to admit to such a thing, but he didn’t mind in this situation since he was genuinely having fun at this point. He then put his fists back up, rushing in once again going in for a quick jab to make an opening for a right hook. If this was successful, he would attempt continuing the assault with simple but effective techniques such as that.

Dascal listened to his target's words, but his eyes were completely locked on the white haired boy's torso waiting for any muscle twitch that would indicate what he would do this time. A muscle spasm in Imato’s guard signaled he would be using his right fist as he rushed towards Dascal. The jet black haired teen leaned into a standing ground pose a complete swap up to what Imato had grown accustomed to from Dascals’s shown style in this one moment Imato would get a full understanding on what Dascal’s style was fighting someone who could switch without warning and more dangerously did not stay to a pattern.

As Imato charged he would get a good land in between Dascal’s defense as the two clashed for only a moment Dascal’s guard opened up forcing Imato forward in an unexpected pullin with his fist hitting the jet black haired teen’s shoulder before being forced up negating his ability to go on the assault. However the wild look in Dascal’s eyes told Imato had fallen hard into a trap set.

“I appreciate the compliment. You're more a lion than the wildebeest I mistook you for I have to admit,” Though the response itself was strange the compliment was definitely there. Dascal usually had a good read on people by a glance with those words followed by another heavy hit into Imato's left side in a short burst straight shot. Once delivered Dascal pushed off Imato forcing the two distance as he started to circle slowly around Imato. A heavy breath could be seen escaping Dascal’s lips showing that both boys were fully feeling this fight now.

“Dascal,” the jet black haired American spoke, offering his name up.

“How about we make this interesting? The next person to take a hit has to pay for lunch,” he offered with a smile.

Not expecting the sudden change in fighting style, Imato was of course surprised by this sudden change and realized reading Dascal was becoming slowly impossible. How many other styles of combat did the American know? Probably enough to make it hard for someone to completely read or understand with confidence. The inability to continue his planned assault threw the white-haired boy off, and seeing the wild look his opponent had just pushed his shock even further than previously.

‘This… this is gonna hurt-’ Bracing himself for impact, Imato barely paid mind to the compliment as the counterattack from Dascal dealt decent damage. Grunting as he was shoved to the middle of the ring, Imato gripped the spot that was hit with his left hand as his eyes stayed dead-focused on Dascal. Then came the offer of who was to buy lunch depended on the outcome of the next clash. Taking only a moment to think, the boy nodded in agreement.

“Imato. And yeah, you’ve got a deal.” Standing up straight once again and cracking his neck, the unorthodox brawler kept eyes on Dascal as the American circled around the ring. Not wanting to be predictable, Imato changed his stance to a more loose one as he started to almost bounce.

‘This guy is going to see right through another mindless charge. I’ll have to be fast and use my longer reach.’ Making up another plan on the spot, Imato started to close the distance between himself and Dascal. The plan was to get just close enough to land a hit on the chest and lead with his right, only to fake with his left. Speed was the focus of this attack, fast enough to simply win this little wager with minimal issue.

Silence took over both fighters as Dascal took a final standing pose, halting his momentum as Imato started to bounce. Keeping his guard up he was not planning to move this time, and instead finished this with a classic straight forward strike at his opponent. This time however Imato hid his feint flawlessly to the second moment where Dascal only caught it as the thuggish boy closed in.

In this moment Dascal realized to this wager there was no winning tactic. However there was a way to avoid losing… in a most bizarre situation Dascal stepped forward straight into the feint taking the hit chest on. Yet right as Imato would feel the victorious impact he would suddenly feel at the same moment a Haymaker from the left digging right into his face as well. The two had collided at the same moment making for an impressive impact of cheers, and roars from the crowd that had formed to watch their match.

As Dascal felt himself pushed back by the impact with the wind knocked out of him he clenched his teeth with squinted eyes giving Imato a devilish respectable smile feeling like he had known the glass cannon personified more than most within one exchange of fists. It was almost like…

…………………………………………………………….

I am thou, thou art I

Thy raging spirits clash in pursuit to stand up for the truth,

In shattering the chains of doubt,

A relentless brotherhood of arms bonding has been formed,

Between The Fool & The Hierophant

Thy paths have given new strength in meeting

………………………………………………………………​

"No, that couldn't be it. While that moment felt like a hit of Deja Vu, I doubt that's causing this..." Shaking his head, Imato was annoyed as he couldn't think of a proper reason to his loss of sleep. Past problems were starting to brew within his mind and the poor fool didn't know such a thing was happening but for now he continued on with his attempted relaxation. He thought it was better to rest without worrying about the Metaverse, the Thieves, and the links he had established for more than a few moments.

Bzz Bzz!

Just like the silence, the thought of having some peaceful time to rest was quickly wiped away by some foreign entity. This time it was his phone but specifically the ping from the Meta Nav, he wondered who could have messaged at this time before his eyes finally rested upon just who had reached out to them. Prophet. Imato knew little of the mysterious meta-warrior as he had only seen what he was capable of within Kamoshida's palace, the odd fellow having taken out a meta merc, Fixer to be exact. The feat impressed the brute and made him start to wonder how strong Prophet really was but luckily for the boy, it seemed a potential ally was what Prophet wished to be as a new palace was making it's presence in the Metaverse.

While not completely trusting Prophet, Imato didn't have that same irksome gut feeling while watching the fellow fight off Fixer as he had whilst watching Baron give the beatdown on previous foes. So for now, the white-haired boy stayed neutral to this potential ally as he typed out his response.

Tragedy: "While a proper meeting to discuss this would have been nice, time isn't on our side if a new palace is forming so this exception is needed at this point. So while I may still be wary, I'll be there alongside my fellow thieves."

Making himself clear in the response, a yawn rose from Imato as he stretched back with tired eyes looking to the sky. Thinking that he wouldn't be bothered any further he would close his eyes and start attempting sleep at least.

 

[TreasureSniper]

Sougo was not particularly happy with how Prophet attempted to bypass him as the middleman to the thieves. Then again, this message of his did seem particularly desperate, or was this devious player attempting to lay a trap? There was only so much one can decipher from a text message alone. Without delay, Sougo quickly typed out a group message on their own private chat that had only the thieves. "Careful, when dealing with this one. Listen to his proposition with an open mind, but know that all of you are well within your right to refuse it as you see fit." Sougo reminded the team that from they were largely free to make whatever decision they wanted to at this point, as all the boy cared about was for the team to get stronger.

"Very well. I shall see all of you at the Metaverse Leblanc." Baron replied to the mutual conversation, between the third party and the Phantom thieves, seemingly agreeing to provide this mysterious person an audience with the team. There was no telling how this meeting would go, but all the same, he felt that it was important that he was there to witness it. As always, Baron came early to the meeting point, however. Something seemed strange today about the metaverse. The skies were a lot cloudier than usual with some lightning and thunder being heard every so often. While thunderstorms were not out of the ordinary, something about this one made Baron feel uneasy.

Pretty soon, rain began pouring onto the Shibuya. The sound of water droplets impacting the roof began increasing steadily accompanied by a few flashes of lightning. Baron remained seated as he checked his guns, preparing for the arrival of the Prophet along with thieves. His thoughts go back to Prophet's banishment of Fixer. He knew that it was only a matter of time before a few mercs would lose their patience. He would need to think of a way to buy them some more time. And now, he silently waited for the arrival of the parties involved.

 

[That Weird girl]

Cafe Leblanc was pretty busy at this moment so Futaba had to work fast at making coffee. Sojiro had told her how to make coffee properly. Of course he went on his rant about how the world needed good coffee and such. Meanwhile it seemed Dascal had been having WAY more fun than her, although her version of fun was staying inside and on her computer. She much rather play some Overwatch or watch Kamen Rider Ouja. But she had promised Sojiro that she would help him out with his coffee shop and plus Dascal always wanted her to be a little social and this was pushing it. Futaba was looking forward to meeting the phantom thieves and it seemed like every phone she tapped into was just some popular kid or someone and no super cool code names yet.

"Futuba whats taking so long?" Sojiro asked glancing at her trying to make some good ol Leblanc style coffee. She was trying her best but she might have something wrong that caused Sojiro to sigh and walk over to help. "Always on that darn computer," Sojiro commented while dumping her cup into the trash because it was not even close to his standards. Futaba watched as her father remade the coffee and sighed knowing that he would probably bore her to death with this explanation on how to brew coffee.

Oracle prep up were going to have a busy three days ahead of us. We have a palace to handle and the Phantom Thieve Heartbreak... I believe I know who she is,"

Futaba decided to check her phone while Sojiro was brewing coffee and read the text Dascal sent her. A palace to handle? Oh boy now she was excited and especially that she would get to meet the phantom thieves. This heartbreak girl was the first thief that Dascal was mentioning he might know and Futaba wondered how? But she decided to not question her brother right now and get ready for some shadow killing and hacking. She assumed the thieves would be meeting in cafe Leblanc since Dascal and her often met there a lot. She wondered if the guy with the big dragon would be there too, he would probably be mad at Futaba for the hack that she did but Futaba thought she was helping.

--------------------------

Prophet: I understand that you have a knack for toppling these down, and have a penance to see those that form them punished. I would like to aid you in this if you're willing. If so meet me tomorrow at this disclosed address. I was also able to catch some meta-merc names of those that frequent this palace. Abyss, Arachnee, and Phoenix. I could not tell you if there are more inside as there seems to be a unique trick to entering.

Ann checked her phone while sucking on a lollipop and raised an eyebrow. She wasn't sure who this guy was but he seemed to know the Phantom Thieves which was troubling to her. But he also told them about a palace to break into and about the names of the Meta Mercs so he could not be a merc right? So far it has only been Baron who had texted the thieves about these things and now it was some guy called prophet? What was going on?

"Careful, when dealing with this one. Listen to his proposition with an open mind, but know that all of you are well within your right to refuse it as you see fit."

Ann then saw Baron's text and was debating if she wanted to go to the meeting with Prophet. But that would make her not a true phantom thief if she declined to attend and she bet her friends were doing so as well. "What should I do Morgana?" Ann asked the cat showing him the texts, "we have a guy who might be a meta merc taking the role of Baron telling us what to do...now Baron has shown to be trustworthy to an extent but this Prophet character has no reason for us to trust him." For all she knew he was leading them into an ambush to be killed by Meta mercs.

"I mean whats the worst that could happen?" Morgana said to her, "we can just kill him if he betrays us or I mean banishment." The cat was yet again overconfident of their abilities as a team and thought they could beat everyone. This was not the case as countess Mercs has beaten them before but Morgana did not pay attention to that or think about the times they needed Baron to help them.

With a lot of hesitation, Ann and Morgana appeared in Metaverse Leblanc waiting for this supposed ally. For some reason the metaverse seemed strange today and it was thundering. Morgana was a little scared of that but he would never admit it! Ann spotted Sougo/Baron and walked over to meet with him while she waited for the others to arrive.

TreasureSniper Nellancholy Maeve Valor Anthem

 

[Nellancholy]

There was a certain sense of relief that had settled over Shiro for the past few days, knowing that she would need only to be concerned with her own survival for the time being. Though it came with a certain sense of emptiness as well. Now they were someone else's responsibility, and she could only hope that her protection and care (such that it was) for those kids would have had a positive impact on them.

Heartbreak's helmet and jacket felt heavier as she walked through the swirling, ever-shifting passageways of the Metaverse, a faint humming like electricity pervading her being. Thrud's "voice" seemed tense in her head, almost like it was a pipe building up to burst. A change in her nature was nigh, at this vital junction in her life. There was something like...fear in Heartbreak's being, something fundamentally unsettled. And only she could clear it aside and take hold of it. But would she prove able to, when it really mattered?

The Cafe Leblanc that existed in the Metaverse was strange as always, orderly and quiet in stark contrast to the chaotic nature of the realm.

"Baron." She gave their secretive guide a nod as she sat, but little more. Even if he was in bad shape after the little altercation at the festival, he'd still show up. What admirable devotion. Or perhaps there was some kind of obligation that forced him to haul himself into the Metaverse besides. Maybe even...guilt. She couldn't answer.

"You are so swift to propose violence upon those who inconvenience you, Morgana." To the cat, she was condescending as always. "I trust you do not need a reminder of who fights your battles and shoulders your burdens?"

TreasureSniper That Weird girl

 

[Azurian Dream]

As the Phantom Thieves would start rolling in to LeBlanc it was rather noticeable two missing elements were not at hand... Tragedy, and Prophet himself. While this could be weighed in as simply running late the TV in Leblanc would provide a different answer suddenly going static creating enough noise to catch everyone's attention as it came back on with extremely high definition graphics even with the current weather taking place showing the very Palace they had come to speak of. While this would all be very confusing at first a sudden camera view screen would pop up at the right corner showing Prophet, and in the back the hard at work Oracle clearly hacking into the TV, and feeding it the live views of both them, and the palace.

"Hello Phantom Thieves, and Investor Baron. Sorry this first legit meets not in person. We have been rather busy setting up for infiltration and surveillance of this palace. Currently there has been no new arrivals, nor any leaves. I assume, however, once you can gain access you can probably exit, and go as you like directly in with the Meta App. Thus I am not able to procure any further info of who could be on guard inside," Prophet explained giving half the reason as to the why he hadn't shown up in person. Item procurement, setup of small equipment, an preparation very much showed Prophet was serious about hitting this palace.

"My own partner in crime will introduce herself soon once she's fully prepped on her end of surveillance set up. The weather slowed us a little down as you can imagine. From what little chat I have caught between passing by shadows, and from the meta merc's I did see I believe this palace has been around for quite sometime simply hoping between locations. In truth it seems to follow the productions crew from the movie company called Kongo Burst," upon that sentence Oracle a woman with long purple hair dressed up in somewhat of a frog like suit with a intense set of googles was hard at a masterful pace of computer work with her UFO persona up above circling around. Seeming to emit some sort of mist around them, and their equipment. Upon the trigger words she could be seen pushing a button in the back that would send files to all their phones about the film company Kongo Burst that about ten years ago wasn't much noticed until their first extreme success "Sea's of Onba" directed & written by Yua Sakura, produced by Obito Taki, and overseen by Kongo Bursts Cinema approved randomly by the owner Komiko Hoto hit the scene. After such a real world projection picture of the location popped up showcasing the well talked about studio that was being used by said film crew to finish the last of the practical effects shots for the movie a bit away from Shibuya.

"This palace seems to be dead set to someone involved with the crew. The code words are Oniko... Envy... Port...," upon stating the words to them allowed their phones would ring off accepting the information showing a new palace location on the meta verse app. Though since they were already in the metaverse they were not pull, or teleported to it.

"I only gain access to be aware of it by running into a victim of it a reported suicide attempter named Asahi Beppu... I have reason to believe such was staged, and he was in fact a victim of the palaces owner. As I am sure you all noticed their is a problem within the name of the code itself. There is no one on the crew or affiliated with it with the surname Oniko. Even more daunting since being founded by Yua Sakura there has never been a member changed out or added in to the crew," Prophet expressed his findings as he gave them time to review everything, and catch up on all what they had on the matter. Giving them literally everything he had currently on the matter he moved on.

"It seems access can only be given if you are seen as a member of the palace owner Captain HoSaOn's crew. Thus that will be the most current hill of issues on infiltration however if a way can be found to be seen as such I have a direct route to the door to get us in," once he was done the screen fully showcased Prophet, and Oracle in the back as the talk now turned to the most important part of all this.

"Now I am not saying all this cause I believe your on board already. Your Investor has made it clear my actions have been seen as extremely detrimental damaging to what you have going on with this clash with the Meta-Mercs faction. This is the other half of why I am not in person... my first visit into the den of the lion very much showed me his opinion on the matter. thus I have no desire to return to a den when the whole pack is home. While you don't know me I also don't know you or your own sentiments on the matter," Prophet pointed out in honest as Barons words had indeed made it clear there was a ire pointed at Prophet. Also given Barons personality of action, and albeit controlling nature it was clear it was not best to be in a place he had full control for now until he knew how the rest felt, or acted in their own personalities they were a group, and he was one person.

"I will not apologize for protecting myself from Fixer nor for his banishment I acted within the means given to me, and Fixer did as well. What I did was in pursue to help you, and I feel I did just that to make sure nothing worse could have happen at that time. I will apologize for what this may bring your way as the meta-mercs from what Baron tells me will refuse to see me as not part of your group," Prophet spoke in apology to them while giving his side of things. The green garbed persona user was clearly in understanding of what Baron had said the last they spoke. Having coming to terms while he had helped, and deterred a potential lose of numbers on the PT's side of things he had apparently brought a tyrannical unswayable ired eye to them for it. Yet their was multiple ways to look at it, and he wanted the PT's to have a understanding of what he was like along with how he viewed things.

"Yet if all anyone does is pursue a blind eye to the truth for something to keep them on the easier path... is that path worth walking? I offer what I can not in a sign of dues to you, but because what you have done mesmerizes me... a change of heart for the better... you all aim to do good rather than abuse a system that few have access to. The Phantom Thieves you are, are just as mysterious to the world as the metaverse itself, and I want to learn what I can from your unique stance," he made it directly clear he wanted to help them to learn about them while the why itself was also a mystery it was evident he believed his own convictions on the matter.

"For this palace though I am asking for your help, and if you'll grant me that I will admit to a debt between me to the Phantom Thieves that I will see paid in full if it means to save someone who didn't deserve to be a stepping stone potential have their own truth, and life back in their hands."

 

[Anthem]

When the time came to meet at the Metaverse's Leblanc, Imato was... not prepared. He instead was fast asleep at his home, his phone alarm going off for the fifth time which was just enough to annoy his little sister to break into his room. "Onii-san! Wake up! Your dang alarm keeps going off and I can't focus on my homework! Wake up!!!" After failing to wake him up by shaking his shoulder, the girl would punch his gut which caused the poor guy to roll to the ground, holding his stomach in pain. "Ughhhhh, I'm awake... I'm awake..." Scoffing as she looked at her older brother, Imato's little sister left the room as he then checked the time. His eyes widened as he noticed he was late to the meeting, so after making sure no one was in range other than himself, the boy entered the Metaverse from his current location instead of going somewhat close to reality's Leblanc.

"I've been all around the 'verse, I can find my way there for sure! No problem for me, not one bit!" Pepping himself up a bit, Tragedy started to run down the route he thought to be the best way to the Leblanc. The thief had minimal problems as the most troubling thing on his small journey were a few hostile shadows, but they were simply dealt with and nothing more than extra experience at this point to hopefully add to his threat level. Well, that was the primary physical threat since the greatest challenge was actually finding his way around the twists and turns the Metaverse had to offer for those simply just carrying their way through. 'Maybe I should have just done the annoying way of travel in reality... This sucks...' Complaints circled round in his mind as the thief considered leaving the Metaverse and just walking the normal way until he heard someone talking.

Who could be out here... a lone meta-merc potentially? Baron being a spying bastard? Probably not the latter one considering the investor was most likely in attendance of the meeting, so Tragedy would prepare his ranged weapon before moving to a more elevated point to observe whoever he had stumbled upon. Instead of finding a foe, the white-haired thief found himself looking at the person that had called a meeting with the Phantom Thieves, Prophet. Wondering what the person clad in green was doing out here, Tragedy would take a seat and start to listen as the stranger continued to speak to a camera.

"Oniko... Envy... Port...,"

Upon hearing the use of a Meta-Nav code and some of the other words Prophet was using, Tragedy finally deduced that in order to avoid any potential conflict the green-wearing fellow decided to speak to the others via the use of camera and broadcast instead. A smirk came upon his lips as he decided to mess around a little bit, sure this was a serious situation considering it was info of a new palace, but this chance was all too good to miss! So after taking a deep breath, Tragedy would jump down and land behind Prophet and his "partner in crime".

"Calling us a pack of lions..? Now I have to say that's the first time I heard that one. But let me ask you, should you fear the pack within the den... Or the one who dares to stray away?" No longer hiding his presence, Tragedy had a evil-looking grin as he looked directly at Prophet. His façade didn't last long as he then burst out into laughter, obviously showing that he was just faking being a "threat". "Nah, I'm just pulling your leg. So I assume your talking to the rest of the lot?" Walking over rather casually, Tragedy propped himself up by placing his arm on Prophet's shoulder as he flicked the camera lens before waving, still grinning a bit. Was he even trying to be professional at this point?

"Sorry for kind of dropping in, looks like I made a wrong turn in the right direction!" Tragedy joked with a small chuckle, seemingly not caring at all about the fact that Baron warned about Prophet.

 

[Maeve Valor]

After reading the responses from the rest of the group, it was her understanding that they would all meet at LeBlanc regardless of the coordinates that Prophet had sent. She assumed that Baron changed the location in order to set the meeting in a neutral zone where it would be a confined space to prevent an ambush. The last thing she needed this week was to be caught by surprise in the Metaverse yet again. At this thought, Swan shook her head and momentarily grit her teeth; Willing the problem to be nonexistent to no avail as she approached the entrance to the cafe for the said meeting to take place. This was a totally different situation where she got the feeling that she would need to be on her toes and required her full attention. As such, this was no time for her to be distracted with her ruminating over her personal feud.

As she walked in, she saw that a few of them were already present yet there was still no sign of Prophet. Deciding not to wait around doing nothing and noticing that the owner wasn't present for some reason, Swan took it upon herself to walk behind the bar and started to gather ingredients to make everyone some coffee. "Does anyone want something in the mean time? Since it's the Metaverse I doubt it would an issue to use their stuff." Using the skills she has been taught thus far in how to brew, Swan ended up picking Hawaiian Kona coffee grounds as the main ingredient knowing that it had a moderate amount of acidity to it just the way she likes it. After setting a few cups down at the counter for if anyone wanted to have it, Swan leaned on a table boredly and barely took a drink before the television screen came on.

Swan straightened up as she listened intently to Prophet's explanation for wanting their help. Once there was a pause and it seemed that he was finished she was about to say something until she heard Tragedy in the background which made her press her palm into the forehead of her mask in disbelief. She then said with a sigh, "It's fine Tragedy, at least you can keep a better eye on our ally here. Prophet, you flatter us with your compliments but I wonder if you get anything out of this. Seeing as your threat level is obviously higher than most of ours, then you understand by now just how most Metaverse users have something to gain from doing anything here. I'm sure you get our skepticism, can't be too careful. But for now, I trust your words. I'll even break it down as to why." Swan then set her cup calmly down before continuing on with her assessment, "First of all, there is the obvious point that taking on a palace ruler is large task and since you banished Fixer, they wouldn't want to help you therefore this most likely isn't a trap. Secondly, this Asahi Beppu person... you mentioned that you believe their attempt was 'staged' so that must mean something is preventing him from speaking the truth. Some mental trauma possibly? Either way, if you truly want to take this person down because of Asahi Beppu and not for some sort of vain self benefit that must mean that you care about him to some degree and you have a strong sense of justice. A trait worthy of certitude in my opinion. And lastly..." Swan tilted her head down slightly as her eyes pierced through her skeletal mask and into the screen at the image of Prophet. "A large component for why I believe you has to do with those messages you sent to us. You see, I may not be as talented of a hacker as your friend there, but I know a thing or two about it. And I know that in order to invade our group chat like that you would need have a source to base your interception on. In other words... you know who one of us is and you used their phone IP as a source."

She took a bit to let that sink in before chuckling, "but we don't need to be too worried about that now do we? The thing about using one of us as a source, is that it works both ways. You can scramble the pathway and through trial and error I could probably triangulate the device used to send the message on. So trust would need to come from both sides. Furthermore, since you know who one of us is, you could have easily targeted them by now; but you didn't." Masami then turned to the rest of the team present. Her purpose for going down the list of reasons why she has come to the conclusion that she did would hopefully give them a broader perspective on what and who they will be dealing with."My vote is that we help infiltrate this palace. But what do the rest you of all say?" Masami then pointed to the screen and added in a slightly irritated tone that he didn't seem to be taking this too seriously, "You too Tragedy."

 

[TreasureSniper]

Baron gave Heartbreak a nod of acknowledgment before turning his attention to Morgana. While his line of thought was understandable, he would prefer a phantom thief to have a much more diplomatic way of resolving things. "Calm yourself, Mona. We need not resort to such uncivilized methods." Baron spoke as he gave the cat caring pat on the head before sitting back down in front of the counter.

As per usual, Baron remained silent throughout this web of interactions among the other teammates. Unlike the other thieves, Baron's mask covered his entire face, something he often used fully to his advantage, keeping his reactions and emotions hidden from anyone. Placing his hands together, the investor of the Phantom thieves quietly listened to Prophet's explanation. Just as he had expected, he was a crafty one, someone who chooses their words very carefully to fit a certain image and agenda. Baron had no doubts that this was definitely a case worthy of the escapades of the Phantom Thieves. Whether it was a mob boss or a corrupt director, Baron couldn't care less who the thieves went after, as long as it would raise their threat levels. Though he did have a preference for making nasty people their target.

Based on the Prophet's description of the palace, it seemed much more well-developed compared to the others that Phantom Thieves had infiltrated thus far. It was a place that had been allowed to grow and fester for some time now, a truly worthy endeavor for the thieves to pursue, especially at their current level. Baron shifted his posture, moving one of his hands to rest on the temple of his titled head. His body language conveyed that he was somewhat interested in what Prophet had just shared. But behind that mask hid a slight hint of annoyance at the audacity of this player. One who had not only completely disregarded his meeting venue but also immediately presented a request right after "apologizing". Baron thought it was a show of poor business etiquette, clearly, someone who is not well-versed in working with other parties, at least not respectfully. If Baron was any more petty, he would take tampering with the neutral ground of Leblanc as a declaration of hostile intent.

But the more Prophet spoke, the more he found this character to be amusing more than anything else. He had guts, that was for sure. But once again, he a lot of assumptions with his refusal to appear in person in the supposed guise of his personal safety. Despite all that has happened, he still had the audacity to view himself as an equal party. But little did he know, If Baron wished it, no place in the metaverse would be able to keep him safe short of him hiding in the MetaMerc's stronghold. Personal feelings aside, any interaction with Prophet is still part of a sunk cost, but if nothing else, the benefits he would bring to the team would at least alleviate some of the liabilities he had incurred. Whether this mysterious third party acknowledges it or not, he already had a debt to the thieves.

Later on, Baron was pleasantly surprised to see, how easily Tragedy was able to find Prophet's location, showcasing just how "safe" he truly was in deciding not to appear in person. He didn't mind too much about his apparent friendliness towards this party, after, from what he can see in their previous interaction at least, despite his rough exterior, he does care about the Phantom Thieves and would likely not hesitate to fight anyone to becomes a threat to them. Swan, on the other hand, was something else. As per her usual style, she would use her wit to gain favorable leverage on her opponents. While her bluff was a good one, this Prophet didn't seem like the type of person that was easily tricked by simple verbal threats. In fact, he would go as far as to say threats don't work on him at all considering how he completely lacks any sense of self-preservation with the way had treated both thieves and the mercs.
Baron smiled a bit beneath his mask, noting how lucky Prophet was to not run into the mercs that would not take too kindly to his cocky attitude.

Seems like Swan still had a lot to learn when it comes to playing her hand correctly. Nonetheless, he decided to speak to her about this matter some other time. For now, this third party was more useful to him as an ally rather than another banished soul. So for now, he will tolerate his involvement. Even if he doesn't fully comprehend it, one way or the other, the Prophet was paying off his debt, regardless of which direction he went.

"This palace appears to be a lot more mature compared to the ones all of you have faced thus far. It is likely that the only way either of us is able to traverse this palace is by cooperating with one another. If you do agree to this operation, we'll take this opportunity to see if our parties are a good fit for each other. " Baron spoke, returning to his usual professional demeanor. He was somewhat familiar with the story behind the palace, though he wasn't directly involved in it, his past colleagues were the ones in charge of this particular palace. He still had second thoughts about working with a loose canon like him, but even people like him would have their uses. As long as he operated in a more reasonable manner, befitting the standards of Phantom thief, Baron will continue tolerating third party, in spite of insolence. "As usual, I will be sitting in the backline, giving all of you covering fire as needed. While doable, your threat levels are lower than what I would recommend when entering a palace of such caliber. As such, you will need all the experience you can get. However..." Baron's tone shifted for a moment, disappearing completely from sight.

The next second, Prophet, Oracle and Tragedy will notice the wind beginning to pick up around the area, feeling like something large had just entered the area with great force. "...should you perform any action that would unnecessarily endanger any member of the thieves...." The brief shadow of large dragon loomed over them for a split second before Baron's voice could be heard coming from right behind the trio. There was no warning, no indication at all of how had arrived. Did he travel here through some shortcut? Or was he just that fast? It was very difficult to tell. Either way, Baron had managed to appear right in the blind spot of these metaverse users. "..I will consider that as the termination of our joint venture..." This was not an attempt at intimidation, it was laying out the terms of the agreement while also showing these two amateurs that there were indeed rules they needed to follow, regardless of where they were from. While his body language remained neutral, Baron was indeed very serious about this one condition. There were a lot of things he was willing to accept and tolerate from the Prophet, this wasn't something he could compromise on. " Is that clear, Prophet?" At this point, replying with a coy or smart-alec comment would likely rupture any hope of future alliances. Baron needed to know that this Prophet could be trusted to make reasonable choices.

 

[Azurian Dream]

Collab with That Weird girl
.........................................................

"Ah Sir Tragedy you finally join us," Prophet gave out a hearty chuckle as the fellow persona user dropped in even going the extra mile, and giving a well earned round of applause to the bruisers entrance. Of course this would come off as rather odd as shouldn't he have been terrified someone had found them so easily, or even that one of them had popped out of the blue? Prophet took it all rather well even having no adhered reaction to Tragedy resting a hand on his shoulder before playfully flicking the metaverse camera.

"That's one," Oracles snickered typing more as her area of work started to expand with more information, and she herself had also not been phased by Tragedies arrival showcased by her continued tempo of typing rising as her Person Necronomicon started to spin a little faster extending out the mist it was producing further. Anyone paying attention to the background would notice something else was off their were shadows off in the distance, and yet... they were ignoring the meta users?

Not aiming to confuse them with some nefarious aura of plotting Prophet pointed a finger to guide Tragedy and the rest to Oracle's screen which would in fact reveal that every route that the boy had taken to get here had been followed by the mad lass. While this fact might have soured Barons original appeasement in thinking they had been easily found it was starting to paint a picture of something more value in turn from the duo to the Phantom Thieves. These two operated via surveillance control, and stealth. It made sense if there to think back to the Kamoshido palace Prophet had in fact been unknown in the palace until he chose to jump in, and help. Which they had just purposely showcased to sell themselves to the Phantom Thieves a proper show of faith in contrast to business one might say.

"Indeed were happy you made it here safely from your wrong turn on Albuquerque," Prophet responded to Tragedy's rather humorous line with a humorous reference of his own. However suddenly a well aimed orange juice box would snip Tragedy softly in the head.

"Oye hands off the merchandise miserable navigator," Oracle hiss having not been a fan of Tragedy placing a hand around her partner. Clearly she was a bit protective showing a rather solid bond between the two. From there though Swan gave in her input, and it was all rather impress to say least what her breakdown of both how she saw it her eyes as well as the sharp eye of skill she had on hacking. Though what impressed him most was how she had got onto the biggest piece most never would even notice. She was aware that he knew one of their true identities via a skill very few would think to use in the metaverse or be able to do for that matter. Hacking the Metaverse or the meta app for that matter would rarely cross someone's mind... but she pierced through common thought, and went beyond that. Yet there was also something else rather familiar with this conversation yet he couldn't place a finger on it.

"Miss Swan you are a woman of many talents I see. I am thoroughly impressed, and must commend a fellow of the same talent. Yes I want to study you all, and that is what I am after form you. Yet right now my priorities are shifted to this palace," as bizarre, and estranged as it had come out it was without a doubt as Prophet humored tone with Tragedy died out that he was a quite serious with his strange goal. Yet it was also evident he saw this as important enough to put his own wants on hold for now.

Around this time the winds would change as a rather impressively, and dauntingly with a massive very familiar presence dragon. So it was like it had been rumored before Barons persona had some form of unique movement ability. While Baron had indeed appeared behind them this had also been when Prophet directed Tragedy's eyes to Oracle meaning for one moment where there had looked there was nothing between them all, and than suddenly their was Baron... now that was... very curious. However already having experience the sight of Aeon once, and even seeing its wraith in play it didn't really have the same effect a second go around.

"Base it off that persona Oracle," Prophet would call out as baron would give his own detrimental expectations. As Baron talked their would be a noticeable change in the environment that the mist had been flowing to within a few second a sudden translucent cube was created all around them using Aeon's height as maxing point and keeping length, and width to a well sized meeting room.

"Its a checkity check CHECK OH COOL A MASKED FIGHTERS REFERENCE. How obscure, and well learned you are dragon rider," right as Oracle was done creating the cube all around them now with Baron inside as well before her reaction to the dragon could come about it was instantly wiped away by Baron's design in person. Clicking immediately with what it was base don she did hwoever have some aesthetic pieces of opinion.

"Though if I am being honest the color choice is rather bland shoulda went with purple and green like me and my man," she smiled before doing a few silly arm waves in reference to the stance the Mask Fighters took.

"By the way don't freak misery but you got your leg in a shadow," she snickered as if Tragedy looked down his leg was literally in a shadow blob passing by while there would for one moment be tension it would be noticed immediately by Baron, and tragedy that their was no sense, or sound of it to them.. further more it had literally just phased through Tragedy's leg heading towards Oracle who it completely phased through as well not noticing they were even there.

"Prooooophet if you will darling," Oracle chimed in taking a stance atop her chair clearing expecting to be presented by the green meta user as she poised in her greatness.

"No need for hostilities Investor Baron this matters just as much to me as it does to them, and if it comes down to it I will lay down my life for them. That I promise, and having done once before to that I prove my words or later pay in my existence," Prophet spoke probably not in the way Baron had expected this Prophet was much more laid back, calm, collective, and respective much like he had been with Fixer. If Baron took a moment to think on it he would probably realize in sequence that his snarkiness with Slayer was a understanding of being at deaths door, and that the snarkiness form their first meeting... had simply been to get a full read of him before bringing in Oracle... basically a level of equal trust was being established. Prophet used it as tool a unusual one but effective in its own right.

"Now let me properly introduce the one and only Oracle," Prophet directed them all to as he walked past Tragedy, and Baron to take a butlers bow directed at Oracle as she grinned widely.

"What you see is the masterfully crafted work of my own persona, and myself simply labeled the Safe Room. It allows me full surveillance control of the area, and any palace Prophet gains entry into around it. You will also noticed that it acts double as a safe place for all I choose to enter removing you from the existence of the Meta verse in a sort a of bubble dimension. And anything outside I can deny ANY senses to unless I choose to," she laughed evilly as she jumped off her chair as she used Prophets extended hand to spin around taking another pose as if she was the primrose model of the cat walk.

"Case, and point you didn't find use I guided you with the lulling sounds of our voices miserable pile of bones who gets lost in the metaverse your damn phone has a map in it," Oracle slapped the open palm of her other hand taunting Tragedy for his blunder, and than trying to act like he had cool catted his way here.

"The mist version you saw before is a temporary tent, you could equate this square to the actual base of her ability. if she lets you in your safe no matter what from anything she doesn't allow," Prophet added helping it make a bit more sense he though returned his look to the Phantom Thieves.

"We want to do right here, but were not foolish we need help. Yet the choice is yours to raise or let fall," Prophet spoke awaiting their final verdict as he said this a secondary warp point appear in all their phones with the icon of a rabbit with Oracles goggles on it as a invitation if they chose yes.

 

[That Weird girl]

"Alright alright," Morgana said to Sougo as he gave him a nice pat, making the cat purr a little. He would play nice for now but if that prophet proved to be a traitor then he would not hesitate to take action. Shiro was right, he did often threaten violence against those who inconvenienced him but that was because he was a shadow and shadows weren't known for their diplomatic skills. Personally, all he really cared about was the treasure of this palace and how nice it would be, the team was beginning to be a priority for him. The thieves had a use for him and in turn they had a use for Mona. Not to mention Sougo and Masami were really nice to him and actually cared about him. Even though Morgana was sometimes a difficult cat to deal with because of his cocky and arrogant behavior. Admitting he was wrong was not something he wanted to do so he just gave her a half hearted response.

"As long as we get the treasure I'll remember," Morgana said to Shiro and his tone was snarky. The cat knew what he wanted from the palace and raising his threat level along with the others would be good. He was willing to help out Baron with whatever he needed because Baron would provide him with weapons and a palace to invade for treasure in the process. Not to mention he was quite fond of Baron. He wasn't a complete idiot though and knew that Baron was preparing them for something, he could only hope they could be ready for it.

Ann however was a lot different than Morgana. She was more willing to help her friends out in a palace and did not really care about the treasure or some material. Her intentions were good coming into this meeting with Prophet and Oracle. She listened to Prophet and Oracle speak, she assumed that they were close friends or something by the way Oracle threw a juice box at Imato to get him from placing a hand on Prophet. Morgana laughed at Imato getting hit by a juice box finding it to be the funniest thing ever.

"I don't see why not," Ann said to Prophet, she clicked the accept invitation from her phone, "I mean, we get stronger and take out a bad person so that is a win win to me." Ann wanted to fight these meta mercs as well thinking that they could have a better chance now with more people on deck to help them.

"Whats the treasure like?" Morgana asked Prophet and Oracle, "did you get a infiltration route to it yet?" Morgana was wondering if that weird frog girl had managed to find a route since she seemed so knowledgeable about the meta verse and this palace in particular.

Nellancholy TreasureSniper Maeve Valor Anthem Azurian Dream

 

[Nellancholy]

"Our fellowship needs little from an outsider." Which was true: as they strove and struggled together, the Phantom Thieves had become something like a close-knit team, facing many challenges as one. And while there was a certain altruistic core to their actions, they couldn't necessarily trust just anyone who came to them, hat in hand asking for aid. The Metaverse was a mysterious place, with not even the Metamercs being the only prominent threat within it. If they were betrayed...there would be no escape. And even so...

"On account of Oracle's honesty..." She chose not to address Prophet directly. "...and the agreement of my allies, I will go as well. Baron knows well: we are not dogs to be set upon whoever another person wishes to eliminate. But neither do we turn a blind eye to injustice. You may rely on our sword. Be sure that we can trust you as well."

While she didn't quite appreciate Morgana's dismissive attitude towards the idea of fighting and "killing" someone in the Metaverse, she had considered much the same: if their new contacts proved less than trustworthy, they had to be ready for anything. "So, what do you know?"