A/N: Please have your comment(s) be respectful and mindful for other viewers, my work, and myself. Inappropriate/rude comment(s) will be deleted. Using profanities will depend on the type of comment(s) you make. Unable to respect my conditions will have me muting or even reporting you.

7/15/21 A/N: Happy early 25th anniversary to the Persona franchise.
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"Not here either..." Specter sighed to herself as she checked a section of the subway station. Mementos was such a large area, especially as a reflection of Tokyo, finding any small object would be difficult.

The hooded woman usually spent her remaining time searching for anything shining silver. Her Third Eye was helpful in locating items, but not enough for the one thing she has been looking for. Aside from that, Specter had spent months exploring the depths of the distorted world to learn everything she could about it. Something familiar was calling her to reach the deep end. But she wasn't sure what that was. The Metaverse itself gave her the same wariness as before. If she was right... Specter's face darkened at the thought, a chill goes down her spine.

She knew better than most that a place existing of Shadows wasn't some out of the blue coincidence. Spectre narrowed her eyes as she walked, ever since she was brought here she has been trying to delve deeper inside Mementos. The Shadows loitering around were smart enough to trust their instincts and avoid her presence when she was near. They made things easier compared to Palace Shadows, who followed orders to attack on sight.

It was by some random chance that Specter ran into the Black Mask in a Palace. Shadows had begun to spread the horrid tales of him delivering the mental shutdowns in the real world. He was chaotic, there was a madness in him that wasn't natural. Since their first encounter they've made it a nonverbal point to fight. Specter would always win the end, but he'd somehow manage to escape before she could see who he really was.

Now that a new group of Persona users was formed, she can find the time to thoroughly investigate. Their strength would grow in time to match their drive, she had no doubt. But she wondered if they could handle the Black Mask's power once they'd eventually meet.

Staring up at the looming red sky, Specter murmured to herself, "The game has truly started, now..."
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"What floor was that restaurant on again?" Ryuji asked, confused. Him, Akira, and Morgana were standing by the elevators of a Ann chose fancy hotel for a buffet to celebrate their victory.

"We came up to get here, so it had to be on a lower floor, right?" Morgana said.

Pressing the down button, the boys waited for the elevator door to open. The bystanders behind them moved away when seeing men in suits coming in. They didn't hesitate to roughly shove Akira and Ryuji away as they walked to the front of the elevator.

Ryuji was in disbelief at their rudeness. "What the—"

Surrounded and dressed formerly as those men was a bald man with sunglasses. The way they stood around him indicated they were bodyguards.

"There's still no update on the case?" asked the bald man, looking at one of the guards.

"Not yet, sir..."

Another guard joined in on the conversation, "Excuse me, but why are you so involved? It's not something you should be concerned with..."

The bald man turns to look at him, "I don't care for your opinion, you incompetent buffoon! When I say pick up the pace, you do it!"

Akira narrowed his gray eyes behind his spectacles, something seemed familiar, but he wasn't sure what it was.

"Hey, you're cuttin' in line!" Ryuji spoke up, glaring.
"What do you want?" the guard questioned dryly.

"We were here first." the noiret simply stated.
"We're in a hurry."

"Oh, I'm sorry. You can butt in front of other people when you're in a rush?" retorted Ryuji.

"It seems the customers have changed since I was last here. Did they start a daycare?" the bald man comments.

"What?" scowled the blond.

"Sir, we don't have time for this."
"I know."

When the doors opened, Ryuji went to go in but was pushed by the bodyguard. Akira looked a bit startled at the violent move. He turned to his friend to see if he was okay.

"Don't bother with them." the bald man brushed off.

'That voice just now...' Akira thought. His head started to feel woozy, so he held his hand to his forehead, trying to get passed the ache. 'What's with this migraine..?'

The men all headed inside the elevator, and the doors closed after them.

"The hell was with that bossy guy?" Ryuji glared.

"Shouldn't we head down?" Morgana reminded gently.

"Yeah, but..." the blond pressed the button again. "That dick really pissed me off. He wasn't even hiding the fact that he looks down on everyone!"

"Don't lose your temper over this."
"I just can't stand shitty adults like that!" proclaimed Ryuji.

'That man's voice...' Akira's brows scrunched. 'It sounded a lot like...' his mind immediately went back to that man he met that night. The familiar raged eyes which glowered at the teen.

"What's wrong..?" Ryuji asked, looking at him in concern and confusion.

"I'm just.." winced Akira, as his headache went away. "a little lightheaded."

"You not feelin' too good?"

"He almost never eats well, after all..." Morgana replies, giving the noiret a worried glance from inside his bag. "Plus, I'm always stuck with canned cat food."

"That 'sir' bullshit makes me sick!" Ryuji hissed, thinking back to those men. The elevator doors opened again soon after, letting the boys inside.

Making it to their table, they were met with Ann's stern face. "What took you so long?!"

"Why're you all pissy?" Ryuji asked, surprised.

The female sighed, "Sorry... I had a run-in with some woman a second ago. She bumped into me, but blamed me for she making her drop her plate."

"Sounds like a real bitch..." Ryuji scowled.

"Yeah..." Ann says. "But the restaurant employees all looked at me in disapproval..." she stares off to the side. "I wonder if we're out of place here..."

"We're not," Akira shook his head. "No matter how they look at us, we're still customers, and it's their job to service us like everyone here. That's how a business works."

"You make a good point.." Ann sighed.

"... Hey, Morgana." Ryuji said.
"What is it?"

"Anyone can have a Palace, yeah?"
"Anyone with a strong, distorted desire."
"Same for them havin' a change of heart if their Treasure gets stolen?"
"That would be the case."

"Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?" Ann asked.

"We had trouble earlier, too. Some selfish shit-heads looked down on us..." said Ryuji. "I was just wonderin' if we'd be able to change those kinda people, too. Like what Spectre does."

That got the other three's attention immediately. "You mean... you wanna continue as the Phantom Thieves?" Ann inquires with wide eyes.

"I've been thinkin'. We put a lot of work into changin' Kamoshida's heart, but nobody believes in the Phantom Thieves." he explained. "Plus, those guys who had no choice but to just deal with it are thankin' us. Us, of all people."

Akira pushes up his glasses, "Spectre and Morgana talked about how there are more Palace Rulers like Kamoshida... What do you think, Ann?"

"I.. I agree." she replied. "If we ignore people who are in trouble, I'd be back to being the same person before all this..."

"Well..." Morgana lowered his ears. "that's true." He then holds a serious expression. "You're under my tutelage. Even though Lady Spectre isn't here, there's nothing we can't accomplish as the Phantom Thieves!"

"Shouldn't we be able to help 'em out?" Ryuji says to Akira as both blonds looked his way.

'Even getting inside just a Palace requires keywords. And Kamoshida's happened by coincidence...' thought the noiret. They still didn't know everything about the other world, and their lives were on the line when fighting Shadow Kamoshida. Akira wasn't sure if the outcome would be the same without Spectre. But he understood where his friends were coming from. They all knew exactly what it was like to suffer in silence. 'But with this power, we may really help people out..'

"But.." Ann trailed off. "That means we'll have to fight Shadows again, right?"

"Indeed. It can't be avoided." answered Morgana.

"Eh, I'm sure we'll manage." Ryuji smiled positively. "Spectre's already showed us the ropes. We just gotta remember them." he gives Akira an insistent look. "So... Whaddya say?"

"I'm in." the noiret responds after thinking it over. "If we can take other people's hearts than just Kamoshida, we should."

"Heh..." the feline smiled. "Even if you guys are still just fledglings, this means we're a real organization now."

"Fledglings..?" repeated Ann, feeling upbeat. "Haha, that's actually pretty fitting for us."

"All right, it's settled!" Ryuji proclaimed. "We're gonna catch all these shitty adults by surprise, and make ourselves known to the world!"

Ann turns to Akira, "Are you okay with being our leader?"

Akira blinks at her, puzzled. "Me? I don't really have a problem with it, but why?"

"Well I can't handle all that responsibility stuff." Ryuji grinned. "So I have no objections."

"You helped guide us through the whole Palace, and in the real world with our heist planning." Ann explained. "And you called the shots during our fight with Kamoshida's Shadow. You knew how to help us win. Face it, you're a natural. Spectre helped us hugely. She would've made a pretty good leader, too, or co-leader. And we'll most likely run into her again, but since she isn't here now, you're our other best choice."

"Where's my say in this? But Lady Ann recommended you, so I'll allow it." Morgana agreed.

Akira took to consideration of Ann's standpoint. He had to admit, she made a pretty convincing argument. However, Akira had never taken the lead of anything, even back in his hometown. This was whole new experience for him, but he was willing to take a shot. Back in the Metaverse, Akira felt like a different person compared to who he was in reality. A confident phantom thief unafraid of anything. "All right," he nodded. "I'll do it."

"Then should we decide on a name for our group?" Ryuji was elevated. "I just went with the Phantom Thieves of Hearts last time, but don't you think a real name would be cooler?"

"Ooh, I've got it! I want it to be something both cute and luxurious sounding..." brightened Ann. "Let me see... How about 'The Diamonds'?"

"... I'm gettin' a little baseball league vibes from it." says Ryuji, uninterested.

"Well then, here's my suggestion." Morgana joined in. "How about 'Tilefish Poele'?"

"Tile... What?" Ryuji questioned.

"That's what I ate earlier. It's commemorative, no?"

"Hell no, you idiot!" the blond frowned with crossed arms. He sighs and turns his attention to Akira. "Ugh, you should decide for us.."

"Our starting name, 'The Phantom Thieves of Hearts' works." shrugged Akira. "Ryuji came up with that name, which fits us pretty well. 'Thieves who steal hearts'. Why not just stick with it?"

"It's not bad at all." Ann says thoughtfully. "Let's keep it."

"A good name, for a rookie." Morgana approved. "Who knew Ryuji's choice would get picked?"

"How 'bout you shove it, fuzz-ball?" retorts Ryuji before looking at the noiret. "'Phantom Thieves of Hearts'. We still goin' with that?"

"If we're all okay with it." Akira replied.
"It's good to me."

"Well now that the name's set, who's our target?" asked Ann.

"There are tons of rotten adults..." Ryuji crosses his arms. "Why not just stick to targeting big names?"

"You mean people that the public know about pretty well?" asked Akira.

"Yeah, something along those lines. If we go after some bigwig, it's gotta get on the news, right?" the blond said. "Don't you think more people would believe us if we did that?"

"That's not a bad idea.." Morgana paused. "for you, Ryuji."

"True. If we became better known... we might be able to give courage to people." says Ann. "I don't really like the idea of just picking someone out of the blue though."

"Let's narrow it down to someone we all agree with then." suggested Ryuji.

"Hm, so we need a bigwig to decide unanimously." Morgana comments thoughtfully.

"I like that unanimous decision part! It's like we're making some kind of pact!" the blonde girl smiled.

"Then this is the official formation of the Phantom Thieves organization!" the feline declared.

"Oh no!" said Ann, checking the clock. "Our time at the buffet ran out.."

"I guess we'll just have to talk more tomorrow." Ryuji replies.

"We'll discuss back at the rooftop." nodded Akira.
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Adjusting the band of one of your black thigh high socks, you enter the morning subway to Shujin. With your earbuds drowning out the busy crowd, you try to find a possible spot among the passengers.

Turning around, you were unexpectedly met with a familiar face. Your (e/c) eyes looked up to meet Akira's as he appeared a bit stunned seeing you.

"Oh, Senpai, I didn't see you there." he said, currently holding his schoolbag to his chest. With the usual load of passengers, personal space was limited. So the two of you were standing across from each other in closer proximity.

"It's fine." You pushed a stray of your hair from your face. "Subway rides in Tokyo are typically like this."

"Is that Lady (Y/N)?" Morgana asked, voice muffled from being inside the noiret's bag.

You glance down at the noise, "Morgana, right?"
"Pretty much."

"Since I've see you together, how are Sakamoto-kun and Takamaki-san? I heard that rumours have been starting to clear up after that assembly." you say.

"They've been feeling much better." answered Akira. "I think it was the biggest relief they've had in a while."

"And you?"

"I feel the same," he said, peering at you through his glasses. He pulled his schoolbag to his side where he could still keep Morgana near. "Kamoshida hurt a lot of people, but I only experienced a tiny piece of it."

"You're still here, so that means something." you gaze at one of the windows.

Akira couldn't lie that he felt a bit stiff standing in front of you. You were already positioned chest to chest, but any closer and you'd really be touching. You showed no indication of discomfort. But Akira didn't want to make things awkward so he tried his best to keep some distance. You both made open conversations in Leblanc, though it wasn't like this.

Though he accidentally pressed into you when he felt a small push by one of the passengers. You blinked at the sudden movement, face meeting Akira's chest before you looked up towards him curiously. His gray eyes shifted between you and the train, feeling flustered. Akira's body stood more straight when sensing the contact of your chests lightly pressed together, the brush of your skirt, and your leg lightly bumping his.

"S-Sorry.." he coughed out, head moving away from you. His glasses gave a reflected shine, hiding his gray eyes.

"Are you okay?" you only ask.
"Y-Yeah... just feeling a bit.. stuffy."

"We're almost there." you assured, tone mellow as you kept an eye on the noiret every once in a while to make sure he wasn't overwhelmed.

During the entire train ride Akira couldn't seem to face you. And when the two of you reached your destination, you naturally walked to school together side by side. A comfortable silence was shared as students' voices talked around you the whole way.

The noiret's ears tuned in though when he heard your name outspoken. You just ignored it, continuing to listen to the music in your headphones.

"Is that (L/N) walking with the delinquent transfer student?" one whispered.
"Does that mean they know each other?"
"Who knew the third-years' star student was into bad boys..."
"I can see it. Shujin's Ice Queen would totally deal with dating a criminal."

"Geez.. What's with these guys?" Morgana's faint voice said with a frown. "It's like you can't go about your day without being constantly reminded of your record. And dragging Lady (Y/N) like that.."

"Don't mind them," you speak out, unbothered as your attention stayed forward.

Akira's head turns to glance at you since the train, feeling some guilt for unknowingly involving you in the students' gossip. No matter where he went, the others always had something to say about him, and he could hear them all too clear. Akira didn't really care much for it, there wasn't anything he could do to change their minds. But he didn't want you to go through the same thing just by being seen with him. You were the only person who didn't judge him about his record or ask if he really was as his reputation said.

"They can talk all they want but that's all they can do." you continue. "In the end, it doesn't matter."

Akira takes your words into consideration, looking at you thoughtfully. "You're right."

For the rest of the walk, you and Akira went back to the calming atmosphere you shared. Which remained all the way up to the school's entrance.
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"The Phantom Aficionado Website?" you repeated, eyeing the phone screen that he held up towards you.

"Yeah!" Mishima nodded his head proudly. "I just made it a few days ago. This way, anybody can put in requests for the Phantom Thieves!"

"What brought this on?" you ask. It was currently lunch period, so you were making your way down the hall. That was when you came across Mishima, who appeared to be much less timid than before. It seemed he became more sure of himself now.

"I did terrible things for Kamoshida... He made me do whatever he wanted." the underclassman explained, looking down. "But the Phantom Thieves changed that. They made him confess to everything he did. They made me realize that I don't want to go back to the way I was before." he says seriously. "And with this, I'm helping them for other cases of rotten people like Kamoshida. The Phantom Thieves will need their next target after all, they can't just end with one person."

You analyze Mishima's face with an unreadable expression. Your eyes moving from him to the website, thinking.

"If this is what you want to do, then you should." you said, hands in your blazer pockets.

"Thanks, Senpai." Mishima smiled brightly at your support. Though he turned surprised when looking behind you. "Oh, it's the student council president.."

Craning your neck to see, sure enough you saw Makoto Niijima walking through the hallway. She appeared to be quite disgruntled. Her fists were clenched tightly at her sides, brows furrowed while her red eyes were clouded in deep thought, staring at the floor.

Your entire face went completely blank. Throughout the previous classes you've shared with the brunette before third-year, your interactions were brief and short to say the least. Makoto showed a small sign of one-sided rivalry regarding grades. You always ranked #1 in the exams, whereas she never managed to succeed you. The tension was never anything so serious, but it wasn't something to take lightly. Makoto was the typical studying student who was a stickler for the rules. And a teacher's pet regarding her position as the student council president.

The brunette gave a wary glance at you and Mishima as she was about to pass by. "You two should be heading out for lunch, there's only so much time left until the next class." she stated flatly before fully walking away.

You both watch quietly as she does. "I wonder what upset her.." Mishima comments.

"We should be going." you said, watching her carefully.

"Yeah, then I'll see you around, (L/N)-senpai." he bowed slightly before you two went in different directions.
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"I see... I understand. Yes, since you're the only one who can enter, you're the only one who can keep an eye out. I'm sorry... the reason you came to Tokyo in the first place was to get a break from all this. But it followed you instead... You're right, just stay safe and report back when you can. I'll be waiting." the redheaded woman hung up, leaning back on her chair. Her brown eyes gazed at the window in deep thought.

"You think she'll be fine all by herself?" the cropped gray haired man asked.

"She is our strongest member, there is no doubt she can handle the situation alone." the blonde female android stated without hesitation, standing beside the redhead.

"Well yeah, but it's been years... We know better than anyone else on what she can do, but regaining her power after a while has to be holding her back somewhat... And she's only one person." he scratched on the small bandaid sticking to his left temple.

"We don't have a choice." the woman sighed, resting her chin on her laced fingers as her elbows rested on her desk. "None of us are able to even go to that world. Including the others in Inaba. The best we can do is believe in her skills. I know she'll guide the next group on the right track as she did before."

The man crosses his arms, "A Shadow world made of people's warped fantasies.. Can't say it sounds as bad as to what we had to experience."

"If what the news says is true," the blonde spoke. "more people will be swept away by these psychotic breakdowns unless she finds the culprit responsible."

"We'll just have to wait and see..." said the redhead, eyeing one of the framed photos on her desk; a group picture taken 6 years ago, everyone was there, including a much younger you standing close beside the quiet blue haired teen, his classic white wired earphones around his neck. Both had on faint carefree smiles, as if the world didn't weigh them down.
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"None of these posts are any good. Everyone's just bitchin' about their parents or boyfriends." Ryuji sighed. "There ain't even a hint of a new Palace..."

"We can't get everything online.. Finding a post with a name and location is asking a lot..." Ann trailed off.

"Guess we just gotta find one ourselves then!" he said.

Morgana gives him a look, "Are you seriously suggesting we look for a target that even the police have disregarded?"

Everyone was brainstorming for their upcoming heist in their usual meeting place, the school roof.

"Yeah, you're right. We should prolly just hold off til exams are over, huh?" says Ryuji. "We can wait and see for a little longer, than worry about comin' empty handed."

"Nothing interesting is on the site anyway." Akira replied, pushing his glasses.

The doors suddenly opened, alerting the group as they turned to see who it was. Morgana immediately went and jumped away to higher ground from being spotted.

"Oh..." Ann gasped as the student council president came over. Her and Ryuji made their way to act casual while Akira's calm demeanour stayed unfazed.

"This place is off limits, you know." said Makoto.

Ryuji lets out an annoyed breath, "We'll get outta here once we're done chattin'. What's Miss Council President want with us anyway?"

"The troublemaker, girl of rumour, and the infamous transfer student... Interesting combination." the brunette implied in suspicion, raising a brow.

Ann glared at her with some anger in her light blue eyes. "Great way to start a conversation..." she muttered.

"By the way..." Makoto ignored the comment, looking to Akira. "It seems as though you got to know Mr. Kamoshida pretty well."

The noiret only gives a blank stare in return. "Hardly." he responded, tone impassive.

"Anyone who attends this school would have to interact with him, whether they liked it or not." snidely stated Ann. 

"Yeah, and y'know this guy's only been here a month or so." defended Ryuji.

"Hm... I heard Mr. Kamoshida used a volleyball team member to spread the details of your record." Makoto went on, trying to get a reaction. "Don't you hate him? Mr. Kamoshida, I mean."

"Hating him wouldn't change anything." Akira answered, hands in his pockets. The brunette's red eyes narrowed.

"What's all this about?" Ryuji questioned. "My friend here's an upstanding guy."

"I don't mean to offend. Many students have been shaken by what happened to Mr. Kamoshida." Makoto said. "Rumours about that odd, card posting haven't gone away either.

Ryuji and Ann share a look. "I didn't expect someone like you would care about that tactless stuff, Niijima-senpai." the blonde pigtailed girl taunted slightly.

"I dunno that it was tactless..." trailed Ryuji. "Anyways, we done here? We can't leave if you keep talkin' to us."

Makoto's face turns stern, "At least try to understand my position. Being forced to deal with this horseplay..."

"Horseplay..?!" Ann repeated in disbelief.

"Ah, yes, by the way.. It's been decided that this place will be closed off due to the incident." the brunette continued. "I heard some people are coming up here without permission, so I went check is all." she then takes her leave. "I'm sorry to have interrupted you."

Ann stands up, glaring after her, "What was that about?"

Morgana lands back down on the desks. "... She's on to us." he replied, serious. "That girl seems rather sharp. We should be cautious of her."

"She really pisses me off." Ryuji says, peeved.

"We have to be really careful from now on." Akira declared. "One slip up and she might not hesitate to spy on us."

"Talk about a pain in the ass..." the blond grumbled.

"That reminds me.." spoke out the feline. "Study hard. Especially you, Ryuji. There are bound to be traps that will need to be solved with brains. Keep in mind that everything you do in your daily lives has an impact on your abilities."

"True, studying won't be so bad if we just think of it as helping us prepare to be phantom thieves.." mused Ann, trying to find a bright side.

"I guess you got a point..." Ryuji sighed. "But man, it's just so lame... I was all fired up about helpin' people, not studying."

Akira pats his shoulder, "Think of it as a stepping stone for us."

"By the way, I have something interesting to show you beforehand." Morgana smiled playfully. "You guys did originally promise to help me out in my mission, after all."

"Huh? Mission?" Ryuji asked, confused.
"Follow me."
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"What're you bringin' us here for?" inquired Ryuji as they all stood just outside the subway station below.

"Just do as I told you." replied Morgana.

Ryuji takes his phone out, "Okay, I've got the Phantom Aficionado Website up. Now what?"

"Look for a post with a full name on it."

"I already said there's no info on any big shots. Don't you remember?" the blond said tiredly. "But man, people actually put real names here. That's some scary shit..."

Ann reads a post aloud on her own device, "'He won't listen to what I say' ... No wait, there's no name on this one."

"'Someone's badmouthin' me in online chatrooms'. This one's got a name." Ryuji said.

"Ignore those. Aren't there any posts about more serious trouble?" spoke Morgana.

"'I don't know what to do about my ex who's stalking me. His name is Natsuhiko Nakanohara'." Ann read. "It says he's a teller at City Hall."

"A government worker's stalkin' someone..?" commented Ryuji.

"Is that trouble enough?" Akira asked Morgana.

The feline nods his head, "Yup, that should be a suitable target. Now get the Meta-Nav ready."

"We're just goin' right into a Palace? Fine by me!" the blond grinned.

"Hey, what happened to all that talk of 'unanimous decision'?" Ann retorted. "What about you, Akira?"

"Let's do it." he agreed, curious as to what the cat wanted to show them.

"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Ryuji smiled, pleased.

"All right, we'll go." decided Ann.

"We need a name and a place, right? So the name is..." the blond started.

"Actually, we don't need a location this time." informed Morgana. "Just enter exactly what I say. The keyword is... 'Mementos'."

"Huh? What're you tryin' to pull?"
"Just listen to me. It should work.. I think."

"Geez, that again..?" sighed Ryuji. "Uhh... 'M-E-M-E-N-T-O-S', was it?"

"𝙲𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍."

Ryuji instantly stood up on his feet from sitting. "We got a hit?!"

"Just as I thought!" Morgana smiled in satisfaction.

The four's surroundings began to distort, and the familiar red and black swirls flooded. Pedestrians had completely vanished, leaving the group the only ones here. Everything looked the same as it was. The teens' Shujin uniforms stayed on however and Morgana's cat form was unchanged.

"Everyone disappeared..!" exclaimed Ann. "It... kind of feels like I'm walking on air..?"

"This is 'Mementos'..?" Akira said aloud, examining at everything.

"Is this that Nakanohara guy's Palace?" Ryuji asked Morgana.

"You're half right, but half wrong." he answered. "This is a type of Palace, but it's different from the normal ones. Come on, let's head underground. The Shadows here lurk there. I don't quite understand why. It may be because they're drawn to something."

"Underground..? How are we going to get there?" Ann inquired.

"How? You use it everyday to school." Morgana hinted. "Follow me!" he began sprinting to the subway stairs.

"Ah! Wait up, cat!" Ryuji exclaimed before the three ran after the feline.

When they all made it down, the students' clothes changed into their thief attire, and Morgana was back to his original form. The station was constructed the same as the one in the real world, but the screens were all static, while dark red roots sprouted around the building.

"The hell is this place..?" Skull says, startled. Turning to Morgana, he looked shocked as he then gazed at himself and the others. "Wait, our clothes changed!"

"The Shadows know we're here?!" questioned Panther.

"Since the moment we stepped in." Mona stated casually.

"You should've told us!" said Skull.

"We're still safe right now." the feline assured. "Lady Spectre and I have investigated here a number of times. Shadows never come to this floor. But it's a different story once you go down. That place is simply teaming with them."

"You and Specter?" Joker asked.

"That's right. Before Kamoshida's Palace, we officially met in Mementos. But Lady Specter is unique, the Shadows here avoid her without a thought. I'm not too sure why, but it's most likely because they sense her power is stronger in comparison to them."

"Then tell us what this Mementos is?! It's about time you start explaining that!" Panther demanded.

"Mementos is... everyone's Palace." he revealed.

"What?" the noiret says, brows furrowed.

Skull stares in confusion, "Whaddya mean 'everyone's'..?"

"A Palace as grand as the previous castle only forms when a person's wishes are extremely distorted. So instead of many individual Palaces, the general public share one single gigantic Palace." explains Mona. "That's where we are now... Mementos."

"Now that you mention it, this place feels a bit different from Kamoshida's Palace..." noted Panther.

"When you say shared... you mean they're all put together?" asked Skull.

"Think of it as the collective unconscious." Mona's face shifts. "No, never mind. You wouldn't understand that.."

"Then while a Palace is made for specifically one person's distorted desires, Mementos is the complete opposite." Joker remarked in thought. "Everything is morphed together."

"So what you're saying is.." Panther says. "Using this place, we can even change people's hearts who don't have Palaces?"

Mona beams at her, "Correct! The steps are slightly different though."

"But this place looks pretty huge. Are we gonna be able to get around just by walkin'..?" said Skull.

The feline stands a few feet away from them. "It seems the time has finally come..."

The three looked at him in puzzlement. Mona moves to pose, "Morganaaa... transfoooooorm!" jumping high in the air, Mona instantly changed into a Citroën H Van-like car. The vehicle was black all over, with yellow stripes on the middle top between cat ears and bright blue coloured headlights as representation of his eyes.

Everyone was completely shocked at Mona's new appearance. "Come now, Panther. Ladies first!" he spoke proudly.

"A car..?!" she exclaims.
"No way!" says Skull in disbelief.

"How did that happen?" questions Joker, looking at Mona to see if this was really what he's seeing.

"This comes from the way cognition materializes in the Metaverse, plus a bit of extra training. It's not dissimilar to how you guys change clothes."

"You turnin' into a car is totally different from us!" Skull cried out.

Mona's car form bounces, "For some reason, 'cats turning into buses' is an extremely widespread cognition among the general public."

"Why a bus though?" asked Panther.
"No idea..."

"Wait, why didn't you do this at the castle?!" Skull questions accusingly before going around to open the door to the backseat.

"I would have if I could! But that castle was cramped, there were tons of stairs, and no way would this fit on top of a chandelier!"

"Hey, Skull! Ladies first!" Panther said, moving to stop him.

"Stop pullin' me! That's dangerous!"

"Did Spectre know about this?" asked Joker, ignoring the squabble.

"She's only been in the bus once. Lady Spectre was a responsible driver. You know, driving around—Panther! Please be gentle!"

The three thieves go to sit in the back after the blond's' argument resolved. With Panther on the right, Skull in the middle, and Joker last.

"All aboard! Let's go!" Skull says. Seeing as Mona remained unmoving, they looked confused.

"Why are you all just sitting back there? I'm a car remember?" Mona flatly responded. "Didn't you hear what I said earlier? Lady Spectre had to drive me herself! I can't go anywhere unless someone does."

"You can't drive yourself?!" exclaimed Skull.

Panther looks to Joker since both her and the blond aren't exactly familiar with being behind the wheel. "Do you know how to drive?"

"I've seen it in games." he replied blankly.

"I don't know if those are completely factual in reality... but you should do it. I don't even have any driving experience to go on."

"You're prolly more skilled than I am, too." Skull added.

"Then we'll leave the driving to you!" smiled Panther.

Getting out of the backseat, Joker climbs into the front. "Now start the engine! You can't drive without it on!" Mona advised.

"Geez, what a pain.. Where's the key to this thing?" Skull says, looking around the dashboard as he slides into the passenger seat.

"Why would you need a key?! There's a switch just down next to the wheel." Joker goes to find it. "That tickles! Lower, lower!" Quickly locating the switch, the noiret presses it, causing the engine to run. "Oh, there... That feels sooo gooooood..."

Skull shakes his head, "Uh, is that purrin' I hear..? What a creepy-ass car! Don't tell me this happened to Specter, too!"

"Don't underestimate my meowtary engine. We're going full throttle! It's time to fly!"