5/3

Akira does another circuit through the front of Rafflesia, checking to ensure all the flowers look purchasable. Hanasaki is particular about all the variants in the storefront. "The customer," she always says, "should be drawn to us from across all of Shibuya's Underground. Before they see us, they should smell us, and before they smell us, they should have heard of us." Akira isn't quite sure what she was talking about - probably something to do with marketing - but the task allows him to spend a lot of his shift in the storefront, which enables him to sweep the mall's crowds with his eyes again and again.

While he has a very set task, Akira cannot help but think about Yukio Kan's death. The conflicting story had thoroughly stumped the Phantom Thieves. However, to their credit, no one questioned whether Akira had seen Yukio Kan dying in the manner Akira described. Akira’s brain flashes with the potentialities of Morgana's Mementos description, as well as the unresolved questions regarding Igor and the Velvet Room.

"Um, Akira?"

He turns from the jasmines to find Haru; her hat pulled low over her face, overalls dusted with dirt. "What's up?"

Hanasaki is by the register, ringing up a customer.

Haru nods towards the flowers Akira stands before. "I think they're as hydrated as they're going to get."

Akira glances down at the spray bottle in his hand. "Right," he says. "Sorry."

She shakes her head. "Oh, no. It's fine. I just wanted to know if you were alright. You seem a bit distracted today."

Phantom Thieves. Yukio Kan. Nakanohara Natsuhiko. The PhanSite. Mishima. Ryuji. Shiho. Ann. Igor. Kamoshida. Makoto. Mementos. My family.

He shrugs. "I've just got a lot on my mind."

"I see," she replies and collapses into a short silence. "I, um, don't see Mona-chan anywhere. Did you not bring him today?"

"He's out with friends," Akira replies.

Haru smiles. "Cat friends?"

"Nope. Regular human ones."

"O-oh," she says. Akira sets the spray bottle down on the nearest stool and rolls his shoulders. When he yawns, she asks, "Tired?"

"Very."

"Good thing we're on break then," she says. "Are you doing anything for Golden Week?"

Just crime fighting. Or crime, depending on your perspective. "Not really," Akira replies. "You?"

She shakes her head. "To be honest, I didn't do much this morning." She giggles. "I haven't been lazy for a long time, but my father was out at a meeting, and there was no one at the house, so I figured I could just sleep in."

Akira smiles and nods. "Must've been nice."

"It was." Haru glances around, and Akira looks back out at the crowd.

Come on, he thinks. Haru is just trying to talk with you. Say someth-

"So," Haru says, a mischievous lilt in her voice. "Have you talked with Mako-chan lately?"

Akira turns his attention back to her.

Her face is the very picture of innocence. Her eyes are directed upward at the ceiling. Her hands are clasped behind her back, and she rocks back and forth on her heels.

"Just, uh, the other day, in fact," Akira says, turning back to the flowers and grabbing the spray bottle once more.

"Any plans?" She asks, stretching out the last word.

"Not really," Akira says, hating that he can feel the red in his face. "We're just-"

"Excuse me?" Comes a nervous, shaky voice.

Akira turns around and stiffens when he sees a young woman standing beside them in her early twenties. She wears an ankle-length brown skirt and a red blouse. Her eyes dart about, and she cannot seem to stop moving her hands.

"Oh," Haru says, disengaging from the conversation and moving over to her. "May I help you, ma'am?"

The woman clears her throat and says, as if she has rehearsed it, "I would like to buy eleven red roses, please."

Haru blinks. "Eleven?" She glances back at Akira, who says nothing. "Are you sure," she says, turning her gaze back to the woman, "that you don't want a dozen?"

The woman shakes her head. "Eleven, please."

"Alright, then." Haru turns back to Akira and says, "Shall we?"

"Would you mind starting?" Akira asks and steps back towards the storage room. "I'll be right back."

"Oh," Haru replies, frowning. "Okay."

Akira ducks into the storage room, withdraws his phone and sends a group text.

AKIRA: Here. Watch the front.

It doesn't take long before the response comes in.

RYUJI: Awesome! We'll take it from here!

#

Nakanohara waits for her to ascend to the street level and then follows her up the steps. It is so easy to track her, thanks to the flowers she bought in the Underground.

Still, it eats at him.

For who could she be buying flowers? Had she taken another lover? Already? It's absurd. She was his. It was for reasons like these that he kept tabs on her. Nakanohara couldn’t trust her. She was a snake.

Nakanohara peers into the growing night and spies her walking towards the crosswalk, straight-backed, the roses clutched against her chest. It's as if she hasn't a care in the world. He works his jaw soundlessly, and the familiar grating of his teeth rubbing into each other keeps him grounded. He sets off across the crosswalk, following in her wake.

She takes off down Central Street, her head straight ahead. From his perspective, she doesn't appear to be looking anywhere except directly in front of her.

For what feels like the hundredth time, he reaches across the void between them to convey his feelings so she will understand. He knows it is a childish impulse, a fantasy, but it brings him some kind of comfort.

Well, no. Comfort isn't the right word. He hasn't felt comfort for a long time.

But to open up his heart, to vomit his emotions into the ether of the universe? It almost makes him feel like an artist again. Not that he ever was one. He had only been a trusting fool. He had buried his skepticism during his 'apprenticeship' in favor of promised returns. And then he had been tossed out.

He shakes her head as his one true love turns at an intersection. Can't she understand? He's not doing this because he hates her. He's doing this because he needs her. She'd been the one thing in his life that hadn't been a disappointment. She had to bear that responsibility. They had to bear it together.

He turns to follow her down the intersection and sees her running. "Huh?" He says before he can catch himself. Why would she take off like that?

He starts to pick up his pace, but then he realizes that she's full-on sprinting, and he hisses out a curse and speeds up too. He was never an athlete, but neither was she. If he can close the distance, he can keep up his watch.

She drops the roses and vanishes into a side alley. Nakanohara is a block away, and he snarls at anyone in his path before shoving his way past them. He is panting by the time he reaches the mouth of the alley, and he spins into it and-

He collides with someone, rears back, and falls flat on his ass.

"Gah!" He shouts when he lands.

"Ow!" Comes a voice.

Nakanohara blinks and looks into the wincing face of a young, blonde boy wearing a purple sweatshirt and jeans, sitting on the ground just like him.

A young girl, also blonde, stands over the boy, hands clapped over her mouth. "Oh no! Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," the boy groans. "I'm fine."

The girt swats him on his head. "Not you!" She steps over him and crouches next to Nakanohara. "You! Are you okay?"

"Fine," Nakanohara groans and starts to push himself to his feet.

"Wait, wait," the girl says and puts her hands on his shoulders. "You should stay down. You might be hurt."

"Don't worry about me," the blonde boy, an angry undercurrent to his voice. "I'm perfectly fine."

The girl frowns. "Oh please, your skull is thick enough to take a brick." She looks back at Nakanohara and winks. "I should know. I've thrown a few at him."

"Really," Nakanohara says, sliding himself away from the girl. "I'm alright. I need to get moving."

"Oh?" The girl asks, blinking. "Are you in a rush to get somewhere?"

"I have business, yes."

"Like, what do you do?"

He shoves himself to his feet. "Is that relevant?" He growls.

The girl looks appropriately cowed, but the boy stands up. "Hey, man! My girlfriend just asked you a simple question. You don't have to be a dick."

"Excuse me?" Nakanohara asks, rounding on the boy.

"No, come on," the girl says, tugging at the boy's sleeve. "It's fine."

"Like hell it is," the boy says. He jabs a finger in Nakanohara's direction. "You collided into me, man! Now, I don't really care, but don't you go lookin' down on her and talking that way to her. Freakin' rude is what it is."

The girl continues to pull on his sleeve. "Seriously, let's just go."

Nakanohara narrows his eyes. "You should listen to your girlfriend. I'm not one you should cross."

"Oh yeah?" The boy asks, stepping up to him. "What's so special about you, jerkwad?"

A sudden, clear thought pierces its way into his mind. Why am I wasting time here? He turns back towards the alley, but his ex is long gone. He does not know which direction she turned at the other end, but given how winding Shibuya's streets and alleys are, she could be anywhere. If she hadn't stopped running, she might've even made it back to the station and boarded a train.

"Dammit," he spits, glares at the two teens, and stomps off.

"Yeah, keep walking, asshole," the boy shouts at him.

"Oh, fuck off!" Nakanohara shouts and doesn't look back. He reaches the end of the alley and glances around. As he suspected, she's gone.

#

Once Nakanohara turns the corner and vanishes from sight, Ryuji spins on Ann and lifts his hand. Ann, grinning, gives him a high-five. "That was awesome!" She shouts.

"Totally! Did you see how pissed he was?" Ryuji laughs, then sobers. "I hope she managed to get away."

"I bet she did," Ann says, nodding. "We stalled him long enough."

Ryuji looks back down the alley. "So he really was stalkin' her, huh?"

"Looked like it to me." She squints into the alley. "I don't see Morgana hiding by that can anymore, so he probably thinks so too." Ann frowns and raises an eyebrow at Ryuji.

"What?" He asks when he sees her look.

She shrugs. "Nothing. I was just surprised by your acting skills. You got into your role," and she snaps her fingers, "like that."

Ryuji rolls his eyes. "Right. Because bein' a loudmouth is something I have no experience in."

Ann throws back her head and laughs. "You're right. It's the role you were born to play."

Ryuji smiles and shakes his head. "We should get back to Akira, let him know we've got all the evidence we need."

Ann nods and follows him as he starts to walk away. "It's all on Mona now. I hope he'll be alright."

Ryuji waves her worries away with a single hand. "He'll be fine."

#

Nakanohara slams the door to his apartment shut.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

He stands in the darkness, his breath heavy and his shoulders quaking. He can't stop picturing the faces of those two blonde delinquents. Can't stop hearing the words that one boy had said to him. What's so special about you? They didn't know. He very nearly was someone, once.

And then that fucking Madarame...

And that woman! She had made everything better, and now she wanted to be rid of him? Impossible. Impossible.

His apartment smells of yesterday's garbage, but his nostrils adjust quickly. He is used to the stench. He stomps across the floor to the mat and drops down onto it.

In the end, it doesn't matter that he couldn't find her again. He knows where she lives. If he has to, he'll go there directly. Give her an ultimatum. Either she takes him back, or he'll...

He'll...

The doorbell rings.

"Who's there?" He shouts, his voice cracking.

No response.

Nakanohara pushes himself back to his feet and makes his way back to the door, grumbling the whole way. "I'm not interested in whatever you're selling," he shouts through the door.

No response.

With a growl, Nakanohara throws the door open and looks out. There's no one there. He sticks his head out into the hall and sees what looks like a black cat dashing around a far corner. It probably belongs to that old hag that lives upstairs.

He is about to go back inside when he notices something on his welcome mat. It is a small card, written in red and black characters. He bends down and picks it up.

Dear Nakanohara Natsuhiko: We know what you're doing. Stalking your ex-girlfriend will not bring her back to you. Your actions and obsessions are ruining both her life and your own. That is why we have decided to change your heart. We will steal the corruption out of you, and you will amend your ways before you do something you can't take back. This will happen tomorrow. Prepare yourself.

Sincerely, The Phantom Thieves of Hearts

Nakanohara stares at the small card in his hands. "Wh-what the fuck is this?" He shouts. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts? He feels as if he's heard the name before; he cannot remember where. "No," he says and slams the door shut. He retreats further into the darkness, his only assailant the thin line of light from the hall that shines beneath his door. "No, she's mine!" He knows what they're talking about, what they're really saying. That bitch was buying flowers for them! They're just trying to keep him away from her. He begins to laugh, and it grows until it hurts his throat, but he cannot stop. "She's mine! She's mine! And if I can't have her, no one can."

#

"We need to talk," Akira says.

Morgana looks down at Akira from the windowsill. "It's getting late. We're going into Mementos tomorrow. You should get some rest."

"I know, and I will," Akira replies. "But I want to know a few things first." He sits down on his bed and stares up at the cat. "We've talked about this before, but I don't think I ever got a clear answer. If we're going to continue dealing with the Metaverse, then I want to know."

"Alright," Morgana says, turning to face Akira fully. "Go ahead."

"What were you doing in Kamoshida's Palace?" Akira asks.

Morgana smirks. "Heh. You're lucky I was there. You and Bonehead would've bought the dust if I hadn't-"

"Morgana," Akira cuts him off. "What were you doing in Kamoshida's Palace?"

Morgana rolls his eyes. "I don't need the app. I'm just that skilled. I can enter any Palace and-"

"Morgana," Akira insists. "Answer the question. What were you doing in Kamoshida's Palace?"

"Infiltrating, duh. I was going to steal the Treasure and-"

"But why?" Akira asks. "You didn't know Kamoshida. You didn't know us. You had no connection to Shujin. If there are more Palaces out there, why that one? I've asked you this, again and again, Morgana, but you never actually answer. What were you doing in Kamoshida's Palace?"

Morgana blinks. "Can we just drop this? It's not relevant to the Nakanohara operation and what's done is-"

"Morgana," Akira snaps. "What were you-"

"I don't know!" Morgana yowls. Akira jerks away from the sudden noise. He's heard Morgana get angry and lash out, but not like this. He's never heard this horrified, absolute panic come from the cat. Some of the hairs on Morgana's back have raised themselves. "I don't know why I was in Kamoshida's Palace. Are you happy now?"

Akira is quiet for a moment. Then, "I didn't mean to upset you, Morgana. I just wanted to know. The more I thought about it, the less sense it made. Obviously, I'm glad you were there. I'm glad you're here now too. I just don't understand why you would've been in that Palace in the first place."

"Yeah, well, I don't either." Morgana sighs, and then leaps off the sill to land alongside Akira on his bed. "And that worries me, Akira. Just now, when you were asking that question, over and over, I felt... almost compelled to shift away from the real answer. It's the same as before. It's like, I have to push myself to straight-up tell you that I don't know the answer. I don't know what that is either, but it freaks me out."

"Can you tell me what you do remember?" Akira asks.

"The truth is, everything is a blur. I remember bits and pieces of Mementos. I remember pieces of Tokyo. I remember the outside of Shujin, and knowing I could enter its Palace. But do you want to know the first clear memory I have?"

"Yes," Akira replies.

"It's saving you and Ryuji from Kamoshida. I remember seeing you summon Arsene and then, just, I don't know. Everything snapped into place. Akira, I can't even remember talking to anyone before our first conversation. I have no idea why I spoke to you the way I did, and I have no idea why I was after Kamoshida's Treasure. Because you're right. I didn't need to steal anything from Kamoshida."

"Your first memory is meeting us?" Akira asks, stunned.

"The first clear one. And that's a memory of an event. All this knowledge I have about the Metaverse, about Palaces and Mementos and Shadows? I don't know where it comes from. The only thing I know is that the answer lies in Mementos."

"Can I ask something else?" Akira asks. Morgana nods. "How do you know you're human?"

Morgana takes a deep breath, then lets it out. "I don't know, Akira. I just hope I am. Because otherwise, I'm just a talking cat."

#

Akira wakes in the Velvet Room.

"Trickster," Igor whispers. Akira sits up and looks out the bars. "You'll recall our last conversation."

Akira stands and moves to the cell's door. "You said there was a way you could prove you were real to me. Is that what this is?"

The desk and its sole occupant shimmers and then vanishes. Akira blinks at the now empty Velvet Room. Igor's voice booms from everywhere. "The power of Persona is the strength of your heart. You possess the Wild Card, which grants the use of multiple Personae. By combining those masks, by breaking them apart and stitching them together, you could craft even more distinct, powerful Personae."

He feels the drifting presence of Justine floating just before his face. "Our Master presents you with this gift."

Two guillotines snap into reality, constructed of white, maggoty wood, and scratched, rusted blades.

"Some gift," Akira mumbles.

YOURFLIPPANCYISUNWARRANTEDANDFOOLISHINMATETREADLIGHTLY Caroline roars.

Akira puts one hand to his head and groans. "Right. Sorry."

"Think of two of your Personae," Igor says.

He does it without a moment's hesitation. Agathion and Andras appear in the cell before him, hovering there, eyes wide and white. "What's going-"

"Observe."

The two Personae convulse and collapse to the floor. They are lifted into the air by something unseen and moved, as if by many limbs to the guillotines.

"Hey, wait," Akira says.

The heads of the two struggling Personae are shoved into the round holes of the guillotines.

"Seriously, wait!"

They are secured, and the two stop struggling.

"Stop!" Akira shouts.

The blades fall. The heads are struck.

Akira feels himself lurch. A sharp, stabbing pain races through his abdomen, and just like that, it is gone. The two bodies condense into blue light, float towards the center of the room, and slam into each other. Another shape takes form.

It is a turtle, green-eyed and shelled. From its back rises a long red tail that ends with a dragon's face. The thing looks at him, and snarling, says, "I am Genbu. I shall be your new mask." Then it condenses into a blue flame and snaps across the room and onto Akira's face.

It feels as if ice slushes through his veins. He doubles over. This is not the same as capturing a Persona in a Palace or Mementos. This is very different.

"I-" Akira starts. His mind feels muddied, like it's coated in a sheen of something sticky.

"In this way," Igor continues. "You will craft yourself new powers. New Personae. The stronger your bonds, the stronger these will become." Akira can almost hear the smile in the thing's voice. "From now on, whenever you wish to make use of this gift, merely proceed to sleep with thoughts of this room, and we shall hear them."

Akira tries to demand answers to his questions, but his head hurts too much.

"Your coming trials will be all the more difficult, inmate," Justine says. "Perhaps you find this method distasteful, but it is the only way to craft more powerful weapons to use against the enemies you will face."

Akira retreats to the bed and sits back down. As he begins to rub his temples, the horrid ringing strikes out into the cell. "And now we have reached the end," Igor says. The two machines vanish and are replaced by the desk once more. He smiles over at Akira. "We'll see you soon, Trickster."

“Wait,” Akira yells. “I need more answers. If you’re real, can you tell me about Morgana?”

He sees Igor’s head tilt to one side as his vision starts to go blank. “Who?” To Akira’s shock, the thing looks almost surprised.

5/4

"Yeah, so this is the creepiest thing I've ever seen," Skull says.

Joker cannot disagree. Where before had existed one of many entrances to the Shibuya Underground, now there is a gaping maw of rust-red veins strangling the familiar. They pulse and cling to the escalators, the walls, the signs - scrawled upon with a collection of unsettling gibberish - everything.

"Mementos," Mona says. "Humanity's Palace."

Skull shakes his head. "If this is Humanity's Palace, then humanity is pretty messed up."

Joker steps up to the escalator and peers down into the depths. It is a black throat.

Mona hops up onto his shoulder and leans against his head, forelegs crossed over his chest. "You're not scared, are you, Joker?" The cat asks, smirking.

Joker smiles. "Natsuhiko's Shadow is down there?" He asks.

Mona nods, turning serious. "He is. I'm sure of it." The cat's eyes narrow. "And so is..." He trails off.

Joker knows what his friend is thinking. He had apologized earlier for upsetting him the previous night. Mona had shed details after that, about his lost memories, about the distortion affecting him—the key to unlocking the first and undoing the second lay in the depths of this dungeon. Nonetheless, whenever Joker gently pressed him on how he knew anything he claimed he knew, Mona’s answer was always, “I don’t know.” Joker had – this morning – even explained about Igor’s apparent ignorance towards him, but Morgana knew even less about the Velvet Room and Igor than about the Metaverse and himself.

Skull lets out a groan. "You're not gonna be all sad again, are you Mona?" He asks.

The cat turns his head, and Joker can almost hear the bitter rebuke on his friend's tongue, but Skull is smiling.

"We already told you that we're gonna help you get your memories back."

Mona blinks.

"Yeah," Panther says, joining them. "No matter how deep it gets. So stop looking so down every time you talk about them."

Mona averts his eyes. "Thanks, you guys." Then, he shakes his head and shouts. "Okay! Let's do this." He leaps off Joker's shoulder and lands on the first step of the escalator. "Our target isn't even that deep. This will be a great introduction to this place."

Skull pumps his fist in the air and hefts his pipe. "Let's rock!"

Panther grins at Joker, and their leader nods.

The four thieves rush down the escalator, their weapons drawn.

And then, at the bottom of the escalator, Mona turns into a bus.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Skull screams, falling back as the smoke from Mona's transformation drifts up into the air.

"Mona!" Panther scream. "Oh my god! Mona!"

"Huh?" The bus asks. "What's wrong?"

Joker stands there, knife held in limp fingers, the terrifying environment surrounding him forgotten. "Uh... you just turned into a bus."

"And?" The cat bus asks.

"And?" Skull shouts, standing. "What'd you mean, 'and?' You just turned into a freakin' bus!"

Panther peers into the windows. "Are you, like, okay?"

"Are you worried about me, Lady Ann?"

"Stop messing around, Mona! Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay."

Joker frowns. "So, maybe we should take a second, so you can walk us through how this works."

In the form of a bus, Mona proceeds with a rundown of the relationship between cats, buses, and cognition.

At the end of the explanation, Joker shakes his head. "Wait, so, because people sometimes think about cats turning into buses, it lets you actually turn into a bus?"

"Only in the Metaverse," Mona says, his engine whirring like a purr.

Joker looks over at Panther and shrugs. "I don't understand any of this shit."

Skull scratches his head. "Can you turn into a plane?"

"No."

His eyes widen. "Oh! What about a badass car, like a Mustang or Corvette or somethin'?"

"No," Mona shouts.

"How about a submarine?"

"No!" Mona yowls. "I can only turn into a bus. This is it!"

Skull frowns. "Lame."

"Lame?" Mona replies. "Do you have any idea how big this place is? You guys would be screwed if I couldn't do this!"

Joker pushes up his mask and rubs his eyes with gloved fingers. "Okay. So, Mona can turn into a bus. Fine." He slides his mask back into place. "This doesn't change anything. We're still hunting Natusuhiko's Shadow." He smiles. "Mona's ability just lets us get to him faster, right?"

The front radiator of the bus expands in what Joker could almost swear is a grin. "Exactly."

"But, you can change back, right?" Panther asks.

"I can change any time I'd like," Mona replies. "Obviously, I'll do it before any battles."

She nods. "Well, in that case, I guess it's all aboard the Mona-Mobile!"

Skull looks at Joker as Panther opens one of Mona's doors. "We're not seriously calling it that, right?"

"I kind of like it," Joker says, opening a door on the other side and sliding in. Skull sighs and follows him, and the three thieves sit in the middle row of seats.

"Um," Mona says after a few seconds. "You do realize that one of you is going to have to drive me, right?"

#

"She's mine, she's mine, she's mine, she's mine." he chants.

Beneath the rat-colored girders, burrowed into the ruins of the Palace of Everyman, he paces.

Eyes aflame in gold, an angry smile on its face, hands running around themselves, again and again, the Shadow of Nakanohara Natsuhiko pushes itself along.

"She's mine, she's mine, she's mine."

A train rockets past on the track, but the Shadow ignores it. Its light bathes him as if in blood; the dark silhouettes of the shadows aboard play across his body like withered tendrils seeking purchase.

"She's mine, she's mine, she's mine."

As faint as its words are, they echo through the tunnel and become a booming mantra, reverberating through the thing's skull, the approximation it has of a brain. They are all it can think, all it can do. And then there is a moment, where a new thought, unbidden, escapes its lips.

"And if I can't have her, no one can."

And from the black that surrounds it, a voice calls out, "That's a selfish way of looking at it."

It halts. The voice had come from above, and the Shadow lifts its golden gaze to the rafters. "Who said that?" It screams. "Who said that?"

A new voice replies, "We're the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, asshole."

"And we've got a few bones to pick with you." This from a third voice, female this time.

"Phantom Thieves?" The shadow mumbles. "Phantom Thieves? Phantom Thieves?"

That's right. It knows what this means. It understands.

A knife slashes down from above and sticks itself into the wall alongside his head. He turns to look and sees the same card that had been on his doormat the night before, pinned to the wall.

"Target: Nakanohara Natsuhiko!" says yet another new voice, high-pitched and boyish. "Accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend."

"No," he says, his head jerks from side to side. "No, no, no, no."

"Don't bother denying it, jackass. We got all the evidence we needed."

"To confirm your crime, we provided your ex with a series of instructions, several tasks for her to complete at various locations. From there, all we had to do was follow her, and we ran right into you."

The Shadow remembers now. He remembers the stupid blonde kid he'd crashed into on Central Street. Remembers the stupid pig-tailed bitch who had offered so many apologies.

"No!"

"Sure looked like stalking to me."

"Shut up! She's mine, goddammit! She belongs to me! She's my property!"

From above, four dark shapes fall. The Shadow of Nakanohara Natsuhiko watches them descend one on each side. They land in a crouch, and four weapons are drawn and aimed down at him.

Joker smirks. "I'd say that this could go well for you, or poorly, but that would be a lie. It's just gonna go poorly."

The Shadow throws back its head and begins to cackle. "Phantom Thieves? Don't make me fucking laugh! Do you think these little antics of yours are going to change anything? Do anything? That's not how the world works. That's not how life works! The weak and stupid get eaten by the strong! The only choice they have is to feast on those even weaker and dumber than they are!"

"Geez," Panther says. "With an outlook like that, it's no wonder she broke up with you."

The Shadow screams and digs its fingers into its stomach. Black ooze boils forth and congeals upon the ground. Natsuhiko screeches once and collapses into the obsidian bile.

"The hell?" Skull asks, jumping clear of the puddle. "Now what?"

"He's transforming into his Shadow Self!" Mona shouts as the pool rises into a shape. "Just like Kamoshida!"

The black bile twists and bursts into an impish demon, purple bangs hanging low over its face, mouth split in a too-wide grin full of razor teeth. Sharp claws bleed out of its hands, and several metallic gray swirls pepper its pink body. "Change me?" It screeches. "You'll never change me!"

The monster snarls and hurls itself at Joker, and he leaps back with a cry of, "Arsene!"

His Persona rises, and the creature cascades into a garden of the black and red tendrils, screaming as they puncture his skin. As he falls back, Joker aims his gun and fires, and the bullets hit the creature's face, but it only growls and pries itself free of Arsene's hold. It tilts its head back and roars, and a wave of something spits into the air around it and crashes into Joker.

He grunts as he's thrown back and lands in a roll on the tracks.

"Joker!" Panther shouts, then narrows her eyes at the Shadow. "You jackass!" Behind her, Carmen blooms, and a fresh wave of fire lances out and envelops the Shadow.

It groans, and Joker flips back to his feet. His heart slams in his chest, and before he realizes he is doing it, he shouts, "Genbu!" The turtle-thing from the Velvet Room appears before him, and its tail slashes out and slaps into the side of the Shadow.

The monster drops to its knees, hands smashing into the dust. "No," it whispers. "No! I don't have anything else!" It pushes itself into the air and opens its palms wide, unleashing its claws. "I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HER FROM ME!" It falls towards Panther, who stares wide-eyed as it approaches.

"Move!" Skull shouts and slams into her side, pushing her out of the way as the thing falls on him. The monster digs its claws into his shoulders, and Skull screams. The other thieves tense, but the blonde boy's yell turns into a growl, and he brings his shotgun up and fires point-blank into the thing's stomach. "Get off, asshole!"

"Got your back, Skull!" Mona says, closing the distance between the two as the monster flies into the air, its entrails a black mess and hanging limply from a hole in its stomach. "Oh, gross." He hits Skull with a Dia and then keeps moving, falchion clutched in his paws. "Let's straighten this jerk out, once and for all!" He jumps in the air towards the falling enemy and swings his sword in a bright and brilliant slash through the air.

The monster spits out more black as the force of the strike sends it careening into the ground.

And then, Joker is there. The monster looks up, and through its long, purple hair, sees the muzzle of a pistol pointing right at him. "You had your fun," Joker says. "But it's time to stop now." He pulls the trigger.

The Shadow drops to the dirt, limp, and evaporates into a cloud of ash.

From this, Nakanohara Natsuhiko, eyes still golden, but absent their glimmer, rises on his knees. He looks at the thieves as they close in on him, beseechingly. "Please, you don't understand. That bastard Madarame, he took everything from me. My art, my life, it felt like he stole my very soul!" He looks down at his hands. "So when she said she liked me, I felt so happy. I thought if she loved me, if I could be with her, then everything would be okay. The past wouldn't matter. And then she left me, so-"

Panther huffs. "Whatever happened to you, it doesn't give you the right to intimidate others."

"Yeah," Skull says, rubbing one of his shoulders. "You can't just lay claim to someone because they used to go out with you. You need to move on, just like everyone else does."

Mona hops up onto Joker's shoulder. "Deep down, I bet you knew that what you were doing was wrong."

The Shadow slowly nods. "I did. Oh, god. I must've scared her so much. I never wanted that. I just wanted her to take me back."

Joker speaks. "You can't ever go back to the past. All you've got is your memory of it. If they're good, cherish them. If they're not, learn." The other thieves turn to regard their leader. "Return to yourself, and leave your ex alone."

A faint white light begins to emit out of the man's chest. "You're right," he says. "I will." Then he smiles, warm and calm. "Thank you." Then he is gone. In his place is a small shining orb, and inside that is a small, framed photo. Joker reaches out and takes it. The frame is elaborate silver, and inside is a picture of Nakanohara Natsuhiko and the woman who had bought the eleven roses. They are both smiling.

"What's that?" Skull asks, looking over Joker's shoulder.

"It's the bud of a treasure," Mona says. "If we hadn't stopped him when we did, it could've grown more and more until it turned into a palace."

"It's a photo of the two of them," Panther mumbles. "I guess, on some level, he really did love her."

"Not much of a reward," Skull says, sticking his hands in his pockets.

Panther turns towards Joker. "Hey, what was that turtle you summoned earlier? I think you called it Genbu? I don't remember encountering that earlier."

Joker nods and sighs. "I'll explain later. We should get out of here for now."

The group shifts about, uncomfortable for a moment. Then, Mona asks, "What about the photo?"

"Let's leave it," Joker says and pulls out the back of the frame, removing the picture. "It doesn't feel right to take it."

"It’ll vanish when this vortex does,” Mona says.

“I’d say that’s fitting.” He turns to the others. “Let’s get going.”

“Ugh,” Skull groans, following him. “Does this mean we have to get back into the Mona mobile?”

“Stop complaining,” Mona growls. “You should be honored to drive around inside of me!”

Panther giggles. “That sounds so wrong on so many levels.”

“And where’s the honor?” Skull asks. “You turn into a freakin’ van! It’d be one thing if you turned into a sports car or something, but a van?”

“At least I can turn into something! How else would we get around here?”

Joker listens to them bicker and takes one last glance at the photo of Nakanohara Natsuhiko and his former lover. Then he lets it drop into the dirt. As he passes, Skull steps on it without even realizing it.