(A/N: Finally, finally! I WAITED TO WRITE THIS CHAPTER SINCE FOREVER!!! HEEEEEYUUUUUUSSSSSHHHH!!!)

Music: Persona 5 the Animation - IT'S TOO LATE

*******

DON'T PLAY THE VIDEO YET!!!

*******

------Kamoshida's Palace------

Everything was finally falling in place. The required and needed items from weapons and firearms to medications were prepared, the calling card was sent, and thus the Treasure should've taken shape by now. It was soon going to be over, that hellish nightmare of Kamoshida's endless harassment of the volleyball was about to end. Just a little bit more. If everything went right, he would confess all of his crimes with his own mouth. Even though Joker hated him a lot for everything he's done for the volleyball team, he still mentally prayed and hoped that he wouldn't end up suffering from a mental shutdown and die. Being thrown behind bars unjustly is one thing, but being responsible for taking a person's life away was a whole different thing.

Even if he was a criminal.

While heading towards the Treasure's vault, Mona noticed the concern and hesitation drawn on the noirest's face. He didn't need much to know what he was thinking and concluded what must've been on his mind, and he completely understood. The mental conflict of the desire to save those innocent students, and yet also not take his life away; a spar of contradicted moralities. As for now, changing Kamoshida's heart was the top priority. The Phantom Thieves finally reached where they were heading to as Skull and Panther looked at Joker with faint smiles on their faces who opened the door in the depths of the castle that they discovered during their last expedition to the Treasure's vault and saw that it had actually materialized and took a touchable form of an enormous crown.

"Aww yeeeeaaaaahhhh! The Treasure has appeared!" Mona exclaimed as his eyes began sparkling.

"Man, it's huge!" Skull widened his eyes.

"What do you think?! It's just as I said! Now we can steal it! Ahh... the shine brings tears to my eyes..."

"...It kinda pisses me off. Why's it so pretty...? Isn't this Kamoshida's desires?" Panther scoffed.

"T-Treasure..." Mona's eyes sparkled.

"Mona...?" Joker trailed.

"Uh, the cat's actin' awfully excited."

"Hey, Mona?"

"What's wrong? Is something...?" Panther didn't finish her sentence.

"Meeeeeoooooowwwwww! Mrrrrrrrowwwww!" Mona was purring loudly as hugging the crown.

"You're waaaaay too excited." Joker sweatdropped.

"...Meow, meow! Mewwwww!"

"All right, that's enough you stupid cat!" Skull spoke as Mona jumped down after returning to his senses.

"Oh, um, yeah... forgive me for displaying such an insolent sight in front of a lady..."

"You were completely out of the character there, Mona. What was that about? You were very different back then." Panther spoke.

"I couldn't stop it either... to think I'd be drawn to human desires this much... doesn't that prove that I'm human?"

"Not really..." Joker sweatdropped.

"How should we know?!" Skull snapped.

"A-Anyways, you guys need to carry it!"

"All you do is bark orders... still, that was easier than I thought! I thought for sure there'd be some insane trap or something."

"But that was way too easy..." Joker held his chin.

"His Palace will disappear if we take this back, right? Kamoshida will change too..." Panther approached the crown.

"...That should be the case.."

"Good. Now's our chance then." Skull said.

Easier said than done, Mona.

Even though the three teenagers were holding the crown together, they were suffering to make their way out of the room. Their breaths were fast and felt like their backs were going to snap at any moment, even their arms were wobbling at how heavy the crown was.

27? 28? 29 pounds maybe? They weren't even sure.

"It's heavy...!" Panther struggled.

"To think it'd go so well... I've even found three Persona users in the process... my judgment was correct. I made the right choice in making a deal with you! Nyahahaha!"

Mona's enthusiasm pretty much caused Joker to sweatdrop while assisting his teammates to carry the crown and shake his head slightly as a sign of hopelessness. Just when the thieves thought that they were approaching the exit to head home after accomplishing the mission easily without having to fight anyone at all, a very familiar feminine voice cheered on loudly.

"Go, go! Let's go! Ka-mo-shi-da!"

"Nnngah!"

That grunt came from Shadow Kamoshida who spiked a mighty and fast volleyball towards the Phantom Thieves that flew in their direction. It happened so fast and they couldn't even process what was going on until the ball powerfully hit the crown and got knocked down from their grips rolling on the floor.

"Uwah--!"

With a sign from the Shadow's hand, the crown shrunk and turned to a handful size before picking it up again and the cognitive Princess Ann came along as well hugging him tightly while standing next to him with a sly smirk on her face. As soon as Princess Ann's eyes met Skull's she gave him a seductive look while licking her lips which made him shiver comically.

"I won't let anyone take this! This proves that I'm the king of this castle--it is the core of this world!"

"That rat bastard... that's how he sees me, isn't it?!"

"Yo, pervert. Were you waitin' to ambush us?"

"I just made it easier to find you. I'll dispose of you myself. Right here, right now."

"That's our line you sexually-harassin' D-Bag!"

"What a selfish misunderstanding..."

"How is it a misunderstanding? You were doing things that you kept in secret from others!" Panther protested.

"The people around me were the ones who kept it secret. Adults who want to share in my accomplishment, students who have the drive to become winners... they willingly protect me so that we all may profit from it."

"Profit?!" Skull widened his eyes.

"How are we all supposed to profit from that?" Joker asked.

"There are too many imbeciles who don't understand that! Including naïve brats like you and that girl who tried to kill herself!"

"True, she's a total idiot... letting you manipulate her, trying to commit suicide... and I'm even more of a dumbass for not realizing that...! But no matter what kind of fool someone might be... they don't need your permission to live their lives!" Panther shouted the last sentence.

"Drop the attitude, you mediocre peasant! There's no wrong in using my gifts for my gain!"

After that sentence, Shadow Kamoshida laughed darkly when a dark aura began surrounding him and enveloping his body in the shape of a tornado.

"Crap. I don't like where this is going..." Skull trailed worriedly.

"I'm a cut above the rest! I'm not like other humans!" Shadow Kamoshida laughed before his body started changing shape as arms popped out of it.

"That's right. Right now, you're no longer human. You're possessed by twisted desires." Mona spoke as Kamoshida continued transforming.

"You're a demon." Joker blunted.

Then, Shadow Kamoshida went berserk, turning to a large pink demon with multiple arms and legs as well as a thick purple tongue, who wore his Treasure as a crown. He carried golden eating utensils in his lower arms, while his upper pair carried a riding crop, and a wine glass he drank in which Princess Ann stood inside it.

"That's right. I'm not like you... I'm a demon who rules the world!"

"Wh-What the hell...?!" Skull shouted.

"Hahaha! Gyahaha! I'm allowed to do whatever the hell I want!"

"You're wrong. Let's finish this, Kamoshida!" Joker pointed his finger.

Shadow Kamoshida began the battle by spiking a humongous golden volleyball creating a massive wave of wind, thus throwing everyone flying backward.

"He's way stronger like this!" Skull said as he sat on his ass.

"Do it again, Sensei!" Princess Ann cheered standing inside the wine glass.

"I know! But first I need to increase my vitality!" Shadow Kamoshida said before licking the glass.

"Oh, you!" Princess Ann sang as an orange aura came out of the Shadow.

"This is bad." Mona told Joker who nodded before both of them throwing smoke bombs at the same time.

"Where are you? Where'd you go?"

"Remember, we're only after the Treasure. Look! We can steal it from over there!" Hiding behind a corner, Mona pointed at the balcony up.

"But that's impossible. We'll just..." Panther trailed before Shadow Kamoshida spiked another volleyball.

"Looks like a job for me." Skull spoke.

"Yeah. Time to show off your monkey-like agility!" Mona agreed.

"Don't call me a monkey!"

"Be careful." Joker smiled reassuringly.

"I'm not expecting much..." Panther started.

"Hey!"

"...but I'm counting on you." She continued her sentence while smiling.

Skull had a shocked look on his face hearing those words coming out from her mouth. He felt a genuine trust coming from Panther's words despite everything that happened between them, despite their history together, and that feeling alone made Skull smile back at her.

"Leave it to me!"

Shadow Kamoshida had spiked another mighty explosive volleyball creating a heavy wave of smoke. When it settled down, the sight of the two teenagers along with Mona stood across the foe.

"Finally showing yourselves, huh? Where's Sakamoto?"

"Beats me. Probably got scared and turned tail." Mona said.

"I'll kill that cat later." Skull mumbled to himself from behind his hiding spot on the balcony.

"The three of us are more than enough to take down a creep like you! Carmen!"

"And Zorro!"

"Arsène!"

All the three spells combined from fire, wind, and curse ran toward the enemy, hitting it with one single blow and making him waddle in his standing position for a few seconds.

"Bastards! How dare you?!" He shouted before a pair of legs from inside a glass he was holding flew to inside his mouth recovering what he lost from his health.

"How refreshing!" Shadow Kamoshida laughed while swaying his large tongue.

"What?!" Panther gasped before the tongue knocked her down.

"Looks like we have to break that thing first." Mona said before firing his slingshot at the golden glass.

"Hey! You don't know how much this is worth! It's a national championship trophy!"

"Hey, you shoot at it, too!" Mona called the noirest who pulled the model gun he bought.

"Where did you get that? Stop don't shoot!"

"Too late."

Joker smirked challengingly in a smug way before pulling the trigger, and to his surprise, the gun actually fired a real bullet that nearly broke the glass.

It only created cracks on it.

"What?" Joker widened his eyes.

"Told you. This is the cognitive world. Despite it being only a model, if he thinks it's a real weapon it'll become the real thing."

"What did you do, you bastard?!" Shadow Kamoshida yelled at the noirest who was still looking shockingly at the gun before licking the other glass again.

"Experience the killshot feared by the whole world! Gold Metal Attack!"

Shadow Kamoshida jumped, spiking yet another powerful volleyball. This time it was much stronger and more powerful than any other one sending all the group flying backward and creating a strong explosion along with a heavy cloud of smoke.

"Guys!" Skull cried out.

When the smoke was gone, all of Mona and Panther laid unconscious on the floor while the injured Joker was struggling to stand up.

"Let's do it again!"

"Go-go, Kamoshida!"

"It's over, you delinquents!"

Shadow Kamoshida was preparing himself to shoot again by powering another massive and strong volleyball. Joker's vision was becoming blurry, his body felt heavy, and his breath quickened. It seemed like no matter how hard he tried to struggle, his body decided to betray him anyway. Then, he lost consciousness as everything around him turned to pitch black and his limp body hitting the floor creating a loud and audible thump.

*******

------The Velvet Room------

The sound of chains clanked inside his ears as his vision began clearing up, making Ren slowly open his eyes, seeing himself inside the room he went into a few times already. He thought that he died, but seeing himself in that room meant that he only lost consciousness during battle.

"You're pathetic, Inmate!"

"You're in the presence of our master. Restrain yourself."

"Are you satisfied with this? Just as before, without residence, without action?" Igor chuckled mysteriously.

"I'm not done yet. I can still fight!" Ren tightened his grip around the cell's bars.

"Very well. Then I shall provide you some aid."

With a snap of his finger, Ren wobbled in his stand like he was losing his balance as a blue light shone from his chest taking the form of both Arsène and Pixie.

"Personas are the personalities that exist within you." Caroline explained.

"By discarding old personalities, your Persona will be reborn anew." Justine added while preparing the guillotine.

"Though I may disappear at this moment, I shall always be at your side. When thy fate reaches its end... we shall meet again, Ren Amamiya."

"........!"

Those were Arsène's last words to his wielder before the blade went down cutting him off. It happened so fast almost in a blink of an eye making Ren feel a thousand knives piercing through his heart as both Arsene and Pixie disappeared and merged as one to give the form of a new reborn Persona.

"A new Persona has been born. This is the first step to rehabilitation. You may continue to strive."

*******

The battle wasn't over yet since Panther and Mona finally regained their consciousness much to Skull's relief. They faced some difficulties when trying to stand up carrying their melee weapons again, but managed to gain their posture nonetheless.

"Gold Medal Attack!" Shadow Kamoshida spiked the ball at the

"PERSONA!"

Out of nowhere, Joker shouted on top of his lungs with his eyes turning golden in color. A massive storm blew over, repelling Kamoshida's last attack and when it cooled down, a new-born Persona revealed itself, roaming in front of Joker.

Agathion.

"What?" Shadow Kamoshida gasped.

"A new Persona?! A human can use multiple Personas? What... is he?" Mona trailed shockingly as Joker's eye color returned to normal.

"Gyahahaha...! You really think you can defeat me you little punks?!"

"We know that we can defeat you." Panther prepared her whip.

"What if I tell you that I have something you all want?"

"What does he mean by that...?" A cold sweat rolled down Mona's face.

"Guards!"

"Hey, what are you doing?! Let go of me! I said let go of me this instant!"

It was a feminine voice that rang like that and caught the attention of the Phantom Thieves. Once the guards arrived in the room, they widened their eyes fully to see them dragging a person they know inside who was struggling and trying to break loose by kicking the air with their legs only to be thrown down on the floor on their face.

"Hayashi?!"

"Hayashi-San?!"

"Mikki?!"

"Who?!" Mona was completely at loss.

"What the hell...? First I find myself in a weird castle, dragged by those, and then--UWAAAAH!"

Emiko yelled in surprise after she stood up as her eyes fell upon Shadow Kamoshida making her jump backward. It was extremely huge with multiple arms and swinging its large violet tongue at her while laughing darkly.

"A m-monster?! Wh-What is this?!"

"Nice to see you again, Hayashi."

"Wait... Kamoshida?!"

"That's not the real Kamoshida you know, It's his Shadow or his other self."

"A-A talking caaaat?! Am I going crazy here?!"

"I am NOT a cat!"

"Hayashi, what are you doing here?"

"That voice... Takamaki?! And you must be... Amamiya?!"

"Hayashi-San, you--"

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!"

"Ahahaha, yes! This is exactly how I wanted to see you, Hayashi. That look of fear in your eyes."

"Kamoshida...!"

"Pop quiz: Did you know that this girl shot her own father when she was only thirteen?"

"Huh?!"

"Wh-What...?" Skull widened his eyes.

"D-Does that mean that the rumors were true...?" Panther trailed shockingly.

"I know that because Shinohara told me everything about it. She even witnessed it herself. And it's already out there on the internet."

"........!"

That was it.

Joker couldn't believe what his ears were hearing and thought his ears were playing tricks on him. The mysterious rumors shrouding Emiko were her killing her own father? Was that also why she stopped talking with Ryuji? Was that why she acted the way she did with him? Because she was, in fact, a murderer? Joker knew well that one shouldn't judge a book from its cover, but he never thought that the girl who once was Skull's childhood friend murdered her own father, and even Kamoshida confirmed that there was a witness. Sure he could be bluffing about Mayu Shinohara, but she's her neighbor and lives right next door to her, so she could've seen what happened that day.

He didn't know what to believe at that moment.

Emiko on the other hand, clutched her nails tightly through her hair as her eyes widened fully and her breathing rate quickened crazily to the point of panting rapidly and heavily. She couldn't take it as her knees began shaking uncontrollably and fell on them. She couldn't breathe, move, or do anything. She only remained kneeling in her position as if all of her senses were paralyzed. She felt asphyxia, slowly choking despite her panting at a crazy pace as if her lungs were filling up with water. Her limbs were also starting to grow numb regardless of how much they were shaking, and her eyes were going to turn bloodshot from how wide they were open.

Until...

"Do you remember it, Hayashi? The moment you pulled the trigger? The sound of the bullet? Blood spreading everywhere?"

"Stop..."

"Do you remember the sound of your dad's scream once the bullet pierced through his chest?"

"N-Ngh... no...!"

"Do you remember the blank expression on his face once his dead body hit the ground? The bullet hole on his head?"

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

That was the scream of pure agony as Emiko lifted her face up in the air letting out her loud and captivated screams that pierced through the ears of everyone that was present in that room and cutting deeply through them. Her fingernails dug even deeply through her hair as she lifted her head up and down, up and down, over and over again still screaming on and on. Taking the opportunity of Emiko's mental breakdown, Shadow Kamoshida spiked another massive golden volleyball which was stronger than all the previous ones that flew at an inhuman speed towards her.

The sounds of the thieves calling her name faded in her ears as her death was approaching her. Acting fast, Joker ran towards the girl grabbing her from her wrist and pulling her body close to his as he jumped away to avoid the collision, but it created a blasting impact throwing them both away in the air. Joker rolled several times on the ground with Emiko still in his arms and firm grip, but she was perfectly fine.

"Joker!" Panther and Mona ran towards him.

The noirest had some difficulties while getting up, but he reassured his teammates that he was fine. His face was covered with light scratches and wasn't anything serious, but noticed that Emiko hadn't woken up yet and wasn't moving at all, thus he tried shaking her lightly.

"Hayashi-San? Are you all right?"

No response...

"Gyahahahaha!"

"Kamoshida...!" Joker gritted his teeth angrily.

"Prepare for your death!"

With that sentence, reinforcements of guards kicked the doors open and rushed into the room trapping Joker, Panther, and Mona into a circle. Their eyes darted left and right as they stuck their backs to one another, but it seemed like those guards were endless. A cold sweat rolled down Joker's face while pulling his knife up realizing the situation they were in.

They were outnumbered. Greatly.

*******

Darkness...

Emptiness...

Nothingness...

Those were the scenes that unfolded before Emiko's eyes. She couldn't see anything and wasn't able to move a limb of her body. Could it be that she died? Soft groans escaped her lips as her dark brown eyes slowly fluttered open making her wake up from her somehow slumber while holding her aching head. Her eyes darted around her while standing up to see nothing. There was literally nothing around her. She just stood inside a dark and empty black void with nothing in it at all.

"Where... am I?"

"O my child, will thee really let this end like that?"

".......!"

That voice came from a shiny blue butterfly roaming around the girl leaving a trail of sparkles as it soared around her.

"Let it end like that?"

"Thee stand on the cusp of death yet thee stare at it, doing nothing. Thee treat it like thy punishment for the consequences which thee had no control over."

"Of course I had control over. I chose to pull that trigger while I could've taken another action."

"Thee did not choose that action, thee were forced to take it. The loving father thee used to know was long gone. Thee tried saving him, but thee couldn't. It was not thy fault he turned the way he was."

"Shut up! I killed my dad! I don't deserve to live...!"

"No one deserves to die, mine lovely child."

"Maybe thy father did not deserve to die, and so thy mother as well. Or would thee prefer that she died because of him?"

"Of course not..."

"Thee saved her, not in the best way, but it was better than losing both of thy parents."

"Now tell me, art thee willing to witness the demise of another soul?"

"I--"

"What has been gone cannot be retrieved, but thee can save what is left."

"........"

"Thee had no choice back then. Had thee not acted, thee would have lost thy mother as well."

At that moment, a pool of crimson red blood formed beneath the girl's feet and extended to fill the endless realm of darkness and blackness she was in. On the surface of the pool appeared the image of a man with dark hair and a huge laugh on his face while carrying a young girl on his shoulders happily.

"Thy father couldn't be saved and thee know that, but thee can save them. Those youths who art risking themselves for you."

"Thou have the choice now unlike that day. Thee can act, you can scream out loud, thee can silence the injustice!"

"I can..."

"Would thee submit to the established pecking order? Or would thee raise thy flag of chaos?"

"Shalt thee accept mine own power?"

"Yes... give it to me!"

"Excellent, then let us forge our pact."

With that sentence, a strong beam of light that surrounded the blue butterfly took the form of a white silhouette offering its hand to Emiko. Scarlet red anemone flowers grew out of the bloody pool, opening their petals, evolving to beautiful roses; a symbol of death and birth. She pushed all of her hesitations away as she took the hand of the glowing silhouette accepting the new power given to her.

An unbreakable contract.

*******

"Eat this!"

Panther screamed out while grabbing a guard from his neck using her whip and throwing him down. Joker and Mona were also having a hard time fighting off the guards that even their Personas weren't enough. Every time they'd defeat a number of them, more and more came in endlessly. Shadow Kamoshida laughed victoriously and Skull wanted to jump down and help his friends but couldn't, he had to stick to the plan no matter what.

It was a hopeless battle.

"Ah..." Emiko held her head as she stood up on her feet.

"Hayashi?!" Panther called.

"We must get her out of here!" Mona shouted while firing his slingshot.

"Huh, you're already awake? Well, it doesn't matter anymore. Just sit down and enjoy the death of those thieves. They're going to die because of you, you know."

"Hahaha..."

"What's so funny?"

"Your stupidity, of course. Who said that I'll ever let you accomplish what you want, Kamoshida?"

"You talk big, but what can you do, Hayashi? Guards, kill her!"

Responding to the king, a group of the guards left the Phantom Thieves and ran at their top speed towards Emiko with their swords drawn out, and yet the girl kept a cool smirk on her face while not moving at all.

"Hayashi-San!"

"Come."

That word came out darkly from her lips causing a massive and destructive wave of wind to blow over the room sending all the guards that were approaching her flying away. When the wind cooled down, a powerful and unbearable headache attacked Emiko causing her to scream loudly and her eyes turning to gold in color.

"I am thou, thou art I..."

"Thou who had chosen to protect those who art dear to thee."

"Never hold back anymore!"

"I call you... Valkyrie!"

Blue flames roamed around her face taking the shape of a white masquerade mask much to everyone's surprise. Her fingers reached for it grabbing it before tearing it off by force. She let out a loud and painful scream as blood covered her entire face which was lowered down. Blood dripped from her face and down to the floor as the room grew in silence.

"Haha... haha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

She laughed out loud crazily in sick thrill before her body was drowned with blue flames taking the shape of a tornado sending everything flying away. The Phantom Thieves and the monster struggled to remain standing from the powerful wind as the guards were already sent flying in all directions. After everything cooled down, they opened their eyes again to see what was unfolded before them.

Emiko stood in the center of the room wearing a desert-colored military jacket, bulletproof armor of the same color, and combat boots, as well as a white muffler around her neck. Unlike her real appearance, her hair was pale blue that was casually short, with a tuft of hair tied up on both sides of her forehead, and her eyes became indigo-colored. Behind her was her newly-born Persona which took the form of a blonde female with an eye that was red and the other was aqua wearing royal silver armor and had enormous angelic white wings that were flapping soundly, carrying a long spear with a circular head.

*******

PLAY THE VIDEO NOW!!!

*******

"A persona...?" Joker widened his eyes.

"No way! She has the potential too?!" Mona shook his head shockingly.

"You just messed with the wrong girl, Kamoshida. And she's very angry!"

"Guards, what are you doing?! Kill her!"

"Show them what you're made of, Valkyrie!"

Hearing her owner's call, Valkyrie swung her spear in the air, creating a snowy cold wind that blew across the room that froze the guards in their places as ice covered their bodies entirely.

"Look out!" Panther called.

A few of the guards somehow escaped from the freezing wind and ran towards Emiko ready to jump and apprehend her down. However, with swift moves, she was able to easily dodge the first one and send a mighty kick to the head of the second one and punch the face of the third before jumping back on her feet. It seemed like she was experienced in hand-to-hand combat given her flexibility and force.

"Whoa...!" Skull widened his eyes in awe from his hiding spot.

"Amamiya, your gun!"

"Eh?"

"Give me your gun, fast!"

With a nod of acknowledgment, Joker tossed his gun and threw it up in the air to the girl who successfully caught it with one hand.

Find another one to bother, because I would become your worst nightmare.

A sly smirk printed on her face before dashing across the room going on an all-out spree in firing the bullets on the unfrozen guards. It was a shower of non-stop fire and each bullet hit the target perfectly on the head.

Her eyes widened open slightly, noticing that a guard was jumping to attack Joker from behind, and thus she pointed the gun and quickly fired a bullet that flew towards the Shadow. It was so close to Joker's face that it touched the left side of his head, causing a few strands of his hair to fall down as it killed the Shadow behind him which was the last one of them. Cold sweats rolled on his face when he realized that a few more centimeters to the right, the bullet would've hit his face and possibly killed him if she wanted to.

"Heh, you're not bad for a rookie." Mona smirked while folding his arms.

"Do you want a bullet in your face?"

"Th-That won't be necessary..."

"I'm the king! If I'm not, then who is?! How dare you keep defying me... looks like I gotta bring out the big guns! Slaves! Bring over you-know-what!" Shadow Kamoshida called, "Time for my killshot from when I was active and rockin' it! Killshot... as in I'll make the kill! What's the holdup? Where's my ball?!"

"I-I'm so sorry, King Kamoshida! I-I have it right here!"

That broken and cracked voice rang through the room as hurried footsteps made their way inside toward the Shadow as if their wielder was terrified of whatever punishment that might come after them. A bandaged figure stared at Shadow Kamoshida with their horrified hollow eyes that were deprived of any sign of life or light in them. A pair of arms and legs shook uncontrollably as a volleyball was being handed to the enemy with trembling injured limbs. Once realizing whom that very familiar figure belonged to, the eyes of the Phantom Thieves were shot wide open in both shock and disbelief. What was he doing here of all places?!

"Too slow, Mishima! Worthless chump!" Shadow Kamoshida scolded condescendingly.

"M-Mishima?!" Skull widened his eyes from his hiding spot.

"Wait, what?! Why's he here?" Panther gasped.

"Hey, cat! What's the meaning of this?!" Emiko called angrily.

"Calm down. That's only Kamoshida's cognitive version of him! It's not the real Mishima!" Mona clarified, "It feels like he's gonna attack! Keep your guard up!"

"Good, Mishima--now pass it to me! Don't tell me you don't even do something as simple as that!" Shadow Kamoshida scoffed.

Stealing a quick, horrified glance at the thieves, Cognitive Mishima threw the ball in the air as Shadow Kamoshida jumped up high, preparing his arm to deliver a mighty spike at the teens. Skull's eyes were wide open at the sight of the upcoming attack as he witnessed himself what the last one did to his comrades--it wasn't beautiful at all. He wanted to scream, jump to their side, and protect them but all of that would only ruin their plan of taking down the enemy, putting all of their efforts to naught. Yet he wasn't going to stand idly and watch them hurt in front of his eyes again! If he could jump while Shadow Kamoshida was still in the air and knock that goddamn crown off his head while he was least expecting it. Glancing downward in panic, Joker's stance remained unwavering as ever as he looked toward his friend's hiding spot, giving him a confident smirk as if he knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Take this!"

Shadow Kamoshida's scream burst out loudly as he spiked the volleyball with every strength he could muster, intending to end the thieves for damn good. The ball was surrounded with a golden aura as it flew down, creating a massive air tide around it--that thing was on a whole different level than the last one!

"Agathion!"

"Valkyrie!"

With that simultaneous call, two Personas emerged from the masks of their wielders as they flew toward the attack. With Valkyrie swinging her spear, the ball froze in the air after she cast icy wind and with Agathion's curse spell that emerged from the floor, the ball was completely destroyed, turning to nothing but a cloud of smoke and ashes. Glancing backward at the now pale blue-haired girl, he gave her a satisfied smirk with the outcome of their impromptu combo attack to which she scoffed lightly in response.

"I knew it... I can't go all-out with Mishima providing the backup. Hey, shit-for-brains! Get off my court!" Shadow Kamoshida growled, clearly pissed from his failure.

"I-I'm sorry, King Kamoshida!" Cognitive Mishima ran away, nearly tripping by his own feet.

"Next slave, get out here! Hurry up with my damn ball!"

The thieves' ears perked up once more at the sound of heels clicking on the floor that were approaching the Shadow with a steady and confident pace, unlike Cognitive Mishima. Panther let out a loud gasp of surprise while covering her mouth as her eyes met a pair of brown ones she knew too well. Because who stood in front of her was none other than her friend who was fighting for her life at the hospital at that moment, Shiho Suzui. But she looked like a scantily clad playboy bunny, wearing a fluffy white bikini with matching wristbands and collar, a white rabbit tail and ears with hot pink heels and a crown.

"King Kamoshida, I've brought you your ball, just like you asked." Cognitive Shiho slurred in her words.

"Now there's a good girl, Suzui. Yeah, all women should obey my orders like this--ain't that right, sweetheart?"

"S-Suzui-San?! No, that's..." Joker had a cold sweat rolling down his forehead.

"N-No way! What's Shiho doing here?!" Panther was freaking out.

"Panther, calm down! That's not the real one!" Mona tried to calm her down.

"Y-Yeah, you're right... but, this is just..."

"...Disgusting." Emiko continued her sentence, gritting her teeth in pure anger.

"Dammit, even Suzui too! You've gone too far, you piece of shit!" Skull growled under his breath, trying his hardest not to scream and expose himself.

"...Ah, I get it! You want to see my killshot again, don't you?"

"If we keep attacking Kamoshida while he's focusing on his killshot, we could be able to stop him... or should we take down the cognitive Suzui-San so he can't get the ball anymore...? Since that's just a cognitive Suzui-San, attacking it shouldn't have an effect on the real one..." Joker thought.

"What do we do?" Mona questioned.

"Too slow." Emiko positioned the gun at Cognitive Shiho, ready to take the shot.

"No!" Panther yelped while grabbing Emiko's arm.

"H-Hey, what are you--"

Before she could continue her sentence, the bullet was fired from the gun toward the ceiling. Skull covered his head with his arms as small pieces from the ceiling fell on him, hardly causing any harm at all since the bullet was fired right above him. He felt a slight shiver run up his spine, seeing how close it was to kill him hadn't he shifted a bit while hiding.

"Panther! Are you okay?!" Mona jumped in panic.

"You moron, are you out of your mind?!" Emiko forcefully yanked her arm from Panther's grip, "Do you have a death wish or something?!"

"No, you can't hurt Shiho!"

"Open your eyes, idiot! That's not your real friend! She's fighting for her life like we're doing here! Or don't tell me you're fine with seeing her like... this!" Emiko pointed at Cognitive Shiho for emphasis.

"I-I know, but it's just... I..."

"Panther, let's just trust Hayashi-San." Joker eyed his teammate firmly before glancing at the girl.

"...Yeah, you're right." Panther sighed deeply before looking at Emiko, "Take her down... for Shiho."

Smirking ever so slightly at her response, Emiko took aim at Cognitive Shiho once more before pulling the trigger of Joker's gun. The bang echoed through the room and pierced through right everyone's ears as it flew toward the cognitive dark-haired girl. A blood-curdling scream blew over as the bullet pen​e​trated her forehead, leaving a hole in it as her body vanished in thin air in the form of black smoke, her scream still ripping Panther's heart in half as it faded away.

"Hmph, even Suzui was useless. Looks like I'll have to give her some special instruction later... one-on-one!" Shadow Kamoshida muttered the last part, but still loud enough for the thieves to hear.

"Kamoshida, I'll never forgive you!" Panther yelled at him.

"Sorry, Suzui... I swear we'll beat that bastard's ass!" Skull mumbled to himself.

"What's the matter, slaves?! Hurry up and bring me more volleyballs! I can't serve up my killshot without any balls! Huh?! Did I just... am I really out of slaves?!"

"We won't get anywhere with brute force..." Mona trailed.

"Any ideas?" Panther questioned.

"Hey, rookie. See that trophy Kamoshida's holding? He uses it to heal himself whenever we damage him, so our attacks weren't that useful on him. Ren only managed to crack it, but we need to break it." Mona glanced at Emiko from the corner of his eye.

"No need to say anything else." She positioned the gun.

"Wh-What are you doing?!" Shadow Kamoshida yelled.

"One shot..."

Her fingers pulled the trigger and the gun fired the bullet which flew towards the golden trophy held by Kamoshida. Once it collided with it, it broke easily as the fragments scattered in all directions amongst the shocked expression of the Shadow.

"...double kill."

"N-Nooooooo...!"

"Kamoshida, you told me that you'll take my innocence away if I open my mouth, right? The person who will take my innocence will be from my choice and with my own free will, got that?"

"That girl..." Mona narrowed his eyes.

"Skull!" Joker called.

"Take this! Now!" The blondie jumped down, knocking the crown off the Shadow's head.

"Go-go, Kamoshida?"

Princess Ann was cheering when the glass fell down to the floor. and she turned into a pile of blue mold as the crown had also shrunk and turned to normal size.

"The symbol of my kingship!"

"Checkmate!"

Joker smirked before they all jumped performing an All-Out Attack, finishing the battle on the scene making Shadow Kamoshida revert back to his previous form; weak and vulnerable. The crown rolled down and turned into a small one again as the Shadow took it and ran off toward the balcony's door.

"Ah!" Skull yelped before all the group ran to him.

"Nngh..." Shadow Kamoshida ran left and right aimlessly.

"What's wrong? Not running away? Why don't you run...? Aren't you a great athlete?" Panther asked.

"It's always been like this... all those goddamn hyenas forcing their expectations on me...! I'm doing this all for them! What's wrong about demanding a reward for that?!"

"Now you're makin' excuses...? "

"Reward? You're making me sick, you bastard." Emiko scuffed.

"We'll do something about that distorted heart of yours." Joker added.

"Hrrgh..."

"Scared? Right now, you're seeing the same view that Shiho did. I'm sure they were scared too... Shiho also had no choice but to jump... what will you do? Will you jump? ...Or would you rather die here?" Panther asked while approaching the Shadow slowly summoning Carmen, as Kamoshida's Shadow was terrified like a small child hugging his crown.

"N-Ngh..."

"Do you want to finish him off? It's your call." Mona said while folding his arms.

"No, please wait! I beg you... just forgive meeee!"

"Now you're begging for your life? How pathetic." Emiko nearly spat on him.

"Shut up. I bet everyone told you the same. But you... took everything from them!" Panther yelled loudly as Carmen shot fire on Kamoshida's Shadow who yelped as the fire missed him.

"I accept defeat.... you want this? Take it!" The Shadow said while throwing the crown to Joker who caught it successfully.

"Go ahead and finish me off... you do that... and my real self will go down too... you have that right since you've won..."

Panther was pissed off at Shadow Kamoshida's tears clenching her fist and commanded Carmen to shoot fire, and again she missed.

"Ann...!" Skull called.

"Don't do it." Joker spoke.

"If his mind shut down, he can't admit his crimes." Panther said angrily.

"You're kind, Lady Ann..."

"I've lost. You're through when you lose... what am I-- what am I supposed to do now...?"

"Atone for your sins, Kamoshida. And confess it all." Joker replied to him.

"All right... I'll leave now and return to my real self..." the Shadow slowly started disappearing as he smiled between his tears "I'll be certain that I--"

Before the Shadow could continue, he disappeared turning to beams of light that flew in the air. Emiko let out a deep, distressed sigh as everything was finally over while the three teenagers and the cat approached her with big smiles on their faces. However, their happiness didn't complete as the entire place started shaking announcing that it will collapse at any moment.

"Hey, just so you know, we don't have time to waste. This place is about to collapse!" Mona said.

As all the four teenagers stood in the middle of the room in horror watching the place starting to collapse while yelping, but Mona was chilling on the carpet and licking his paw as if his life wasn't on the stake either.

"Run!" Skull cried out.

Hearing his call, they all started running down the hallway as the entire place was crumbling and falling apart. They even hardly managed to dodge the falling debris from the roof by jumping aside. The rush of adrenaline mixed with the survival instinct kicked in their bodies giving him the force and speed they needed.

"We're gonna die! We're so gonna die!" Panther yelped as she ran.

"Just shut up and run!" Emiko screamed.

"Hey, what the--?!" Panther yelped as Mona jumped from her head and onto Skull.

"Ack! No fair, you jerk!"

"Mroooow!"

Attacking him at the worst time, Skull's knee began hurting and throbbing him, stumbling as he was running. After all, Kamoshida broke his leg, so he couldn't run as he used to do before.

"Gah!" Skull screamed as he fell on his face.

"Ryuji!"

"Heh... It's been a while, so I just tripped, is all!" Skull raised his hand.

He hurriedly stood up and continued to run away before falling debris from the roof could fall on him. The three teenagers continued to run crazily towards the bright white light that was at the end of the seemingly long corridor. But due to her awakening, Emiko felt the effects of the aftermath as her body grew weak and her vision blurred. Her legs could no longer carry her weight and felt herself lose control over her body until she fell down on the floor panting heavily.

"Mikki!"

"Hayashi-San!"

"This must be the aftermath of her awakening, it takes most of the stamina, after all." Mona explained.

"Hurry and get up!" Skull offered his hand.

"I... don't need your help..." She slammed his hand away while panting.

"Now's not the time! You wanna die or somethin'?!"

Deciding not to waste any more time, Joker grabbed the girl from her wrist against her will and wrapped it around his neck as Skull did the same to her other hand. Emiko wanted to argue with them but did not even have the strength to do so, so she accepted their help quietly. All the team continued hurrying between the rocky crumbles and debris and reached the exit at the end of the corridor to return to the real world towards the bright white light to freedom out of that godforsaken place.

*******

------The Real World------

"That sucked..." Ann panted heavily.

"I can't... breathe..." Emiko hardly managed to say.

"Mikki, are you OK?! You still alive?!"

"...What does it look like?"

"Holy shit, you totally kicked ass back then! That was so epic!"

"I... don't even understand what happened back then."

"Look at the nav!" Ryuji exclaimed while pulling his phone out.

"The destination has been deleted."

"...It's true we can't go there anymore." Ann blunted.

"What about the Treasure?!" Morgana was about to freak out.

"Oh right!" Ren reached his pocket and pulled out a gold medal.

"...A medal? Wait, where'd that crown go?" Ann asked.

"What's goin' on?"

"It means, that was the source of Kamoshida's desires. To him, this medal is worth as much as that crown we saw in the Palace."

"An Olympic medal, huh...? Never thought that old man participated in the Olympics before..."

"Then this medal means..." Ren started.

"So, that perv kept clingin' to his past glory and couldn't let it go..."

"But... this means Kamoshida's heart might have changed, right?" Ann asked.

"...Probably."

"Our expulsion's on the line here!" Ryuji snapped.

"This is the first successful example for me too. However, there's no doubt that this has affected Kamoshida's personality quite a lot. The entire palace disappeared, after all."

"Ugh, I feel all antsy! Ain't there a way to check now?"

"We'll know soon enough. No need to rush things." Ren adjusted his glasses.

"Come on, why the gloomy faces? Be happy! We completed this with great success, you know." Morgana said to change the mood.

"We just don't know if everything's OK yet..." Ryuji trailed.

"I'm pretty sure it'll be fine. Remember how Kamoshida's Shadow said that he's returning to his self in reality? Suguru Kamoshida was a scum. Still... he did seem to regain his conscience somewhat at the end."

"I'm pretty sure it worked though. I just feel it." Ren said.

"There are definitely those who have been saved thanks to what you've done."

"Yeah..." Ann pulled a faint smile.

"Anyways, I guess we gotta wait. It all boils down to what's gonna happen to Kamoshida... or if we're gettin' expelled for real..."

"Calm down. Waiting is our best option for now, so we have to be patient." Ren patted the blondie's shoulder.

"Thanks, man. You're right..."

"Excuse me, but will anyone explain what's going on here? What was that place? That power? And what's the deal with all that 'Treasure' thing?" Emiko had their attention.

"We understand that you have a lot of questions and we're willing to answer them, but now's not a good time. You need to rest from your awakening." Morgana explained.

"N-No way, it even talks here?!"

"Yeah, that's Morgana." Ann smiled.

"And we can't shut him up." Ryuji added.

"Why you little--"

"We'll explain everything to you later, Hayashi-San. I promise."

"I... really need to rest now. I can't seem to process anything now." She talked to herself while walking away.

"She didn't even thank us for savin' her ass back then..." Ryuji's statement caused Ren to sweatdrop along with him.

*******

------Evening: Leblanc------

Opening the café's door, Ren was having a relieved and satisfied smile on his face since he never felt at ease like that for a long time. They successfully stole Kamoshida's heart, got to know his new friends better, and felt the amazing power of teamwork in the battle they had against Kamoshida Shadow. All those feelings were moving something inside Ren, but he couldn't determine what it was.

"You sure look satisfied... something good happened?"

"Something like that."

"Hey, you gut a minute? Somethin' I wanna ask you. C'mere, let's have a chat."

"Um, sure..."

"You'll talk with me? You're being unusually well-behaved."

"Sure, let's talk."

"This may be a good opportunity to deepen my bond with Sojiro..."

"Good. There's a lot of things I want to ask you. I'll clean up, so just wait there."

It didn't take long for Sojiro to clean the counter in front of him pointing at the chairs across him for Ren to sit on them.

"Hey, how's school? You're not causing any trouble, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

"Good. I've gotta report to your probation officer twice a month. It's already a pain in the ass as is, so please don't make me have to write even more crap. Got that? This society is kept in check by laws and authority figures. You can go and get yourself killed if you want, but don't go dragging other people into your mess. The last thing we need is more idiots like you roaming around."

"God, he's even worse than my dad..."

At that moment, Sojiro's phone rang and thus he picked up the call.

"Hm? What's wrong? Yeah. I'm heading out now. Sorry about that. I know. The usual, right? OK, I'll see you later."

"........."

"As you can see, I'm pretty damn busy both at work and in my private life. If you could lend a hand, it'd really be a great help..."

"I'd be glad to."

"Now we're talking. Either way, I won't ask you to work for free. If you agree to help me, then... I'll teach you how to make the perfect cup of coffee. Not a bad trade, eh?"

"Yeah, sounds interesting."

"All right. Looks like we've got ourselves a deal."

"The distance between me and Sojiro seems to be closing slightly..."

"I am thou, thou art I... Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Hierophant Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power..."

"I'll be counting on your help. See ya later."

With a smirk on his face, Sojiro left the shop locking the door behind him. Ren was smiling serenely to himself as he felt a bond slowly forming with his guardian knowing that staying with him perhaps won't be that bad as he originally imagined.

"Making coffee, huh...? That doesn't sound like a bad idea." Ren chuckled to himself.

"I heard that the ladies like the man who can make a good cup of coffee. I wish I could prepare good coffee and impress Lady Ann..."

"Oh, Morgana." Ren rolled his eyes playfully.

*******

Word count: 8470 words

A/N: My lord... I FINALLY wrote this chapter which I wanted to write for so long! FUCK YESSSSSS!

I honestly wanted to make Emiko's awakening derive from canon and make it unique from the rest of the Phantom Thieves for a change.

Was it better than Makoto's awakening in your opinion?

Hope you enjoyed it and its symbolism though~

Ah yes, I dunno if you've noticed the changes in Kamoshida's boss fight, but I made it as a mixture between P5A and Royal. Hope it was good enough and satisfying ro read! 😁

And now that Kamoshida's arc is wrapping up, he will make his debut real soon~

So look forward for that!

Aaaaand, as for my face reveal... welp...

Yeah, this is me... this is Rand beyond the sceen...

LMAO, just kill me already. XD

Published on: Mon/Dec 7/2020