"WE'RE GOING IN THAT PALACE…Right now!" Ryoko growled as she kicked open the door to the rooftop outside with Lee and Morgana; "I don't care what happens to that jerk, I'm not putting up with his BS anymore!"
Morgana cocked their head; "Are you sure about that? Because if we're not careful then he may die."
"Kamoshida has done nothing but screw other people over and hurt anyone to get what he wants! I at least wanna beat him senseless." Ryoko pointed out as she was far more furious about this than anyone else.
"It's not just the expulsion…Kamoshida's gonna keep doing this and he'll get worse with every time that he gets away with what he does…Who knows what'll happen if we don't do anything about him." Lee added as he grimaced at the thought.
"So we're in agreement…We go back in today and find the Treasure." Morgana smirked as they hopped off the table.
Ryoko and Lee looked to each other with similar grins; "Right!/Hell Yeah!"
"So this is where you two hang out when you're out of class?" Ann asked as she walked through to meet them; "You know, you guys aren't exactly quiet about this whole thing but what exactly are you hoping to accomplish now?" She asked with a rather pointed look at both Ryoko and Lee who seemed to be embarrassed at their loudness.
"What're you talking about? You seem all in on finding out what we know, why else would you keep pestering me for Lee's number if not for that." Ryoko asked but then had a smug grin on her face; "Unless it wasn't for that and you just wanted t-" Ryoko was cut off as Ann gave her a look that promised some not nice things if she kept talking, though the fact that Ann had a red tint in her cheeks may have been an indicator that Ryoko was at least partly right.
"I meant about the fact that you two are about to be expelled! This is why I told you to keep it cool for a while, but I guess it's not really a surprise when it comes to you two…So which one of you was it that slugged Kamoshida yesterday?" Ann asked as she crossed her arms and decided to not leave until she got an answer.
"Jeez, not you too! I keep telling people, I. Didn't. Do it!" Ryoko growled as she looked to Lee; "And I'm pretty sure Lee's not exactly gonna profit much from taking a swing at Kamoshida at this point!" She added with the steadfast belief that she was sticking up for Lee; but she either wasn't looking or didn't notice the rather odd looks of guilt on Morgana's and Lee's faces when she mentioned that.
"Actually…Since we're about to get expelled, we should probably get all our cards on the table." Morgana mentioned to Ryoko, though Ann looked confused at the fact that the cat looked like it was talking and even more weirded out that it looked like both Ryoko and Lee could understand.
Lee sighed; "I guess you're right, we are literally backed into a corner so we may as well." He then gathered his thoughts, looked to Ann with the most honest look on his face before explaining the events of what happened after he left her at the Big Bang Burger.
The two girls listened intently and as the story went on, their expressions became more and more distinct; Ryoko was getting angry because she never would've thought that Kamoshida would stoop so low as to try killing a cat while Ann came to a realisation.
"So that's why Shiho tried to talk to me this morning about quitting…" Ann said quietly, though the fact that her knuckles were white and her body was shaking betrayed her attempt at trying to stay as calm as before. "Kamoshida tried to message me and tell me that he was done with our "agreement" but then Shiho…Told me about what happened after she got called to Kamoshida's office...To think that's what that dirty scumbag was going to do to her!"
Lee was equally horrified as he knew that Kamoshida was going to try someone else if he couldn't get Ann with him but the fact that he practically ensured that Shiho escaped what would've happened made him feel both relieved that she would be okay but anxious about what that could potentially lead to. "I can't…I'm not going to sit and wait until Kamoshida expels us…"
"Damn right, you're not…We're gonna make sure we stick it to him and let people see that asshole for what he truly is!" Ryoko added as she was equally as incensed since this didn't just affect Ann anymore.
"Then I'll help too." Ann added with a focused look in her eye; "I watched you two trying to prove yourselves as innocent while Kamoshida was the real bad guy in all this, so I'm not gonna just watch anymore…I'm coming with you two…Wherever it is that you're doing to accomplish this."
"Absolutely not!" Both Ryoko and Lee said bluntly though for different reasons; Ryoko knew that if Ann was suddenly going to come after Kamoshida too, who knew what the gym teacher would try to pull, while Lee knew that Ann was meant to come with them eventually…Some part of him still cared too much for Ann to put herself in harms way when he couldn't tell if things were gonna be different or not."
"What?! But you guys are innocent! At least let me help with getting Kamoshida to confess!" Ann argued back as she was determined to make things right even if it mean she got expelled too.
"Look, this is our problem to deal with, okay? So just…Leave it to us to handle!" Ryoko snapped at Ann as Lee had a rather guilty look on his face from seeing Ann getting frustrated.
Ann grimaced and then huffed as she stormed off down the stairs to leave the three alone.
"I know it was for the best but did you have to be so harsh with her, Ryoko?" Morgana asked as they climbed off the table towards the door.
"I know…But you saw what Kamoshida did when it came to me…And he hates me, imagine what he'd do if he finds out that the girl he's made a pleasure doll out of, comes into the Palace then he's gonna bust more then just our bones." Ryoko pointed out as they climbed down the stairs towards the outside alleyway.
"Still…We could've handled that more tactfully." Lee mentioned as he pulled out his app to activate the Metaverse; "But let's focus on getting the Palace layout down pat…We do that and we'll b-"
"And a boop!" Ryoko blurted out as she activated the Metaverse to make the world around them warp from the outside of the school into the Palace they were so familiar with, however what none of them realised (Or rather Lee forgot to account for) was that Ann in her stubbornness tagged behind them to see what it was that they were up to.
——In The Metaverse——
The Trio would appear at the gates in their Phantom attire and needless to say; both Lee and Morgana weren't happy about the abrupt change.
"Idiot! Couldn't you have warned us before you brought us here?!" Morgana snapped at Ryoko who glared down the cat.
"Can it! We spent all this time instigatin' so now I say we start defenestrating!" Ryoko yelled back at Morgana who was ready to blow up.
Lee pinched the bridge of his nose as he stepped between both the cat and the pirate. "Can you two please not do this, it's hard enough sneaking in as it is but you two yelling about this isn't-"
"WHAT THE HELL IS ALL THIS?!" Ann yelled out in an understandably shaken up tone.
"…Helping…" Lee sighed as he heard the frantic voice of Ann trying to make sense of all of this.
"What is this place?! What happened to the school?!" Ann began to hyperventilate as she looked around for an exit.
"It's okay, Lady Ann…Nothing will hurt you here." Morgana remarked as they tried to calm her down but only served to make things worse since they were the second most out of place thing here.
"WHY IS THAT MONSTER CAT TALKING?!" Ann would then look to the two and squint her eyes to recognise them; "Wait…Sakamoto…Kurusu? When did you two get into cosplay?" Ann asked as the two felt sweatdrops on the back of their heads.
"Okay, we can explain later but for right now, you need to get out of here." Ryoko pointed out as she headed over to Ann and grabbed her arm but felt her pull away.
"Is this what's got you two in trouble?" Ann asked as she made it clear that she wasn't leaving without an answer from either of them.
"We either need to take her with us or send her back; otherwise Shadows will start noticing us." Morgana warned as they got over the depression of being called a monster cat.
"I promise we'll explain later but it'll be an emphasis on the Later part." Lee then nodded to Ryoko who seemed to understand as they grabbed Ann to get her on her way with some…unintentional side effects.
"Gah~?! H-Hey, where you think you're touching?!"
Both Ryoko and Lee let out a quick sorry as they got Ann out of the palace and back towards the entrance; "That was…unfortunate."
"Really, dude? You say that like grabbing a handful of Takamaki's butt is a bad thing." Ryoko tried to call his bluff.
"Well, I really didn't mean to grab her like that but we can't afford to just let her hang around here…" Lee admitted though Ryoko swore that she saw a faint blush on his cheeks when he explained.
"If you two are quite done, we need a plan!" Morgana snapped them back to attention; "The fake Kamoshida definitely knows who you are by faces so it's probably better that we use codenames from hereon out." They then looked to Lee and then tapped a paw to their chin; "I'm thinking Joker for you."
Lee nodded; "Joker? Sounds kinda badass." He admitted as he tugged on his glove.
"Wait, hold up…Why Joker?" Ryoko asked as she rested her arm on her weapon; "I get he's pretty good with this but you named him after a clown?"
"Do I have to explain everything?" Morgana groaned as they pointed to Lee/Joker; "Every deck of cards has a hidden winner like the Ace or something but a Joker is a Wild Card…It could mean anything, that's why I think it fits…Whereas you are more of a bonehead."
"Y-Huh….That name actually could work…No, Skull…That is badass~!" Ryoko initially protested but then grinned; "From now on, when we're here,…You can call me Skull." She remarked with her usual grin.
"Well, if it works…So that just leaves me then, I'm open to suggestions but I was thinking the Gentleman Thief Morgana!" Morgana would choose; though it looked like that name was debated since Ryoko looked skeptical and Lee had a confused look on his face.
"No way, How are we gonna call you out in the Palace when you have a name that's bigger than your head?" Ryoko asked as she crossed her arms; "And clearly your ego too."
"Excuse me? Why is my name the only one under scrutiny when you only chose the thing that's plastered over your face as YOUR codename!" Morgana argued back with a growl.
Lee sighed as he knew that this was going nowhere; "Ryoko does have a point; Joker I get why, Skull is a little on the nose for Ryoko but I can at least call her out without biting my tongue…Why not just go with something simple?"
Ryoko nodded, smirking a little since she had Lee to back her up but also a little happy since he was acknowledging her input and not treating her like she was thick as a board. "How about…Mona?"
Morgana would've argued more on the matter but they had to admit that Joker did make a good point. "Fine, if it helps you keep on track then I'll be Mona." They decided to accept the name. "So from here onwards; We are Joker, Skull and Mona."
"Works for me, let's see if we can make some progress." Joker said as he climbed through the window followed by Skull and Mona soon after.
However it looked like the three of them weren't contemplating alone as Ann found herself back in the palace courtyard with her phone out; "By the way y-Wait, where'd you guys go?" She mentioned as she was ready to snap at them but trailed off when she saw that they were gone. "Seriously though, what IS this place and why does it only show up at the school…And what's this weird app that showed up?" She thought to herself as she tried to get a better handle on things, though it wouldn't be for long as a deep voice called out to her.
"Princess!"
"What is she doing out here?"
"Doesn't matter, we're taking her to his majesty!"
——Meanwhile inside the Castle——
"Okay, we can put all our focus into finding a way to getting the treasure now!" Skull grinned as she marched through the open hallway and gave her routine middle finger to the giant portrait of Kamoshida; "So, we keep going down to find it, or what?"
"Slow it down already!" Mona hushed her and kept a watch out; "And keep it quiet! We don't need to attract attention on this…First thing that we gotta do is find a map of the place! The most important step we gotta take is find out the layout of this whole castle, once we can grab something like that…We can handle ourselves a little better." They explained as they headed through the hall and passed down into the lower parts of the Castle.
"Okay, maybe there's a barracks or something around here? If the Shadows all gather in one place then maybe they have a map too." Joker suggested as he noticed that more and more Shadows were cropping up; "Plus with more of them sneaking around, we could probably overhear them and find out something."
"He makes a good point…We could probably beat the crap out of a few and make 'em talk too." Ryoko added as she watched Joker jumping in to engage with what looked like another Pixie and the Bicorn.
Joker started off by firing his gun at the Pixie to down it and then looked to Skull; "Alright, you're up, zap the other one!" He set up the next attack for them and watched as Skull summoned up Captain Kidd to zap them and knock them down.
"Alright! Now for this part, we can coordinate into one final strike…Joker, start it off!" Mona yelled out as the trio split off into blurs and bounced back and forth between them in a literal all out attack before they landed in a fountain of dispersed Shadow.
"Holy…That was intense!" Skull remarked in shock as they never realised how much they could do with this; "Let's find another one!"
Lee was the one to step in this time by gently grabbing the back of Skull's jacket. "Cool your jets, we can't go running that high until we know where exactly we are or more specifically the layout of this place like Mona said." He pointed out as they carried on; However he didn't seem to practice what he preached when he vanished to go open up a treasure chest on a top shelf in the pantry they found.
"Heh, looks like our leader's really getting the hang of this…" Mona thought as they soldiered on through the pantry and noticed that Joker was now wielding the new dagger that he found. "You're taking to the Phantom Thief biz like no one I've seen before, Joker." Mona complimented as they carried on while fighting through other Shadows, metaphorically and literally levelling themselves up with each encounter until they finally reached a Safe Zone to rest up in.
"Man, I don't know what this is but I'm feeling GREAT!" Skull cheered out restlessly as she had quickly gotten the hang of clubbing Shadows and using her Persona to zap their enemies. "Though you've picked up quite the crew during this whole thing."
Joker smiled a little as during their tries at finding the map, he had been able to locate a good number of other Shadows to recruit; So far he had been able to recruit the Bicorn, Pixie, Incubus and Jack O'Lantern as a decent spread.
"It's honestly impressive, I've never seen anyone who could hold more than one Persona at a time and yet here he is." Mona remarked, unsure of what kind of luck they had to run into Joker but not wanting to dismiss it entirely.
"Well, regardless of that, we shouldn't be too far until we can find a map…C'mon, we can't be too far t-"
"H-Hey, watch it! I said I was sorry so you can let me go!" They would hear a familiar voice yelling at what they believed were Shadows.
"Wait…Isn't that…." Mona started but the simultaneous looks of "Aw Crap…" from both Ryoko and Lee seemed to spell it out for them.
"She came back? The hell is that idiot thinking?!" Ryoko growled as she jumped out of her chair while Mona went out of the door to see what was going on.
"Yeah, it's her…But she's being dragged somewhere by the Shadows, we have to go help her!" Mona yelled out to them as Skull ran past and towards the door.
"Let's go! Knowing Kamoshida, he's gonna be wanting to see this for himself and if he finds out that it's the real Ann…" Skull called back to them as Mona and Joker soon followed.
"Then he's gonna try and finish what he started with Skull…Only this time he's gonna somehow make it worse…" Joker finished as they ran past the broken down suit of armour into the harem hall of the Girls' Volleyball team.
Mona looked confused, Joker was staring at them with disgust and Skull's disdain for Kamoshida was once again validated; "This is what he thinks of the girls' Volleyball team? God, that guy makes me sick!" Skull growled with barely contained anger.
"Things have changed a lot…If what happened with Shiho was a clear indicator, I doubt THIS Kamoshida's gonna need much motivation to try something with Ann…" Joker thought to himself as he gripped his dagger tighter and marched onward to the big velvet double doors; "Let's go, we can't just leave her waiting." He said with a finality that made Ryoko seemed to shiver a little.
——Inside the Harem Room——
"Okay, seriously…What the hell is all this?! If you don't let me out then I'm gonna call the cops on you all!" Ann yelled at the mute Shadows as they stood guard and almost seemed like they were leering at her with a sense of lechery passed on through their master.
"I never seem to get too happy about unwanted guests…But you? I think I'm willing to entertain such a…spirited slave~" Shadow Kamoshida chuckled as he wandered in with "Princess Ann" in tow, "Though I do have to ask you…What possible way could you think that THIS is my Ann? You all need your heads straightened…"
"I'm sorry…"
"Please forgive us…."
"Our deepest apologies, King Kamoshida…"
"King? What kind of place is this, Kamoshida? And what in the name of fashion are you wearing?!" Ann demanded of him as she kept struggling and trying to pull free.
"Shouldn't the name really clue you in, you dumb blonde? This is my castle, these are my guards and YOU are going to be my new broken-in Slave~" Kamoshida sneered as he forcefully grabbed her by the chin to make her look at him; "Better get used to the cuffs…You won't be going anywhere without them."
"Wait…Is this some Red-Light District? If you think this is some kind of joke, it's not funny…So let. me. GO!" Ann yelled at him and then bit his hand to make him let go.
Shadow-Kamoshida yelped out as he felt her teeth sink in and pulled his hand away; "Gh! Such a wicked mouth…Even since the beginning when we first met, you used it to tempt me oh so many times over…But when you finally had me, you just threw me to the side like an old shirt." He said with a false sense of pain and made the theatric pull at his non-existant heart; "If only you had offered to contribute yourself more, then maybe I wouldn't have tried to do what I did with that other girl who you're friends with…"
Ann blinked as she listened to him; "Other girl…You mean Shiho…" She quietly said and felt her anger continue to grow; "What did you try to do?" She practically spat the words at him as she clenched her fists.
"You know exactly why I did it…If the man you're with doesn't feel appreciated, he's gonna go looking elsewhere…She came to me with those big eyes like she was a rabbit in a trap, I know what I'm worth and she wanted to stay on the team no matter what it took, if only you had her dedication…Then maybe I wouldn't have had to take what I wanted." Shadow Kamoshida sneered as he stared into her eyes; "Instead you had to be the fussy, proud girl who had to give me the cold shoulder any time I wanted to spend ime with you…So with that in mind, I think it's time I make some time for playing with you…What do you say?" S-Kamoshida casually remarked to his "Princess" as she brainlessly bobbed back and forth.
"Like, you should totally teach her a lesson for disobeying you~" The "Princess" Ann mindlessly listed off with a creepily accurate voice.
"TAKAMA-What the hell?" Skull yelled out when she saw S-Kamoshida poised to have his fun along with "Princess Ann" besides him and Ann cuffed up on a frame. "You better let her go right now, shithead!" Skull roared at him as she pulled out her weapon.
"Ugh, you three AGAIN?! How many times are you going to keep coming back and RUINING MY FUN?!" S-Kamoshida yelled at them as he too was losing his cool but or a different reason. "But this works out perfectly for me, so if you want to see this girl still alive…Drop the weapons or I'll split her open…" The King then threatened them and snapped his fingers to make a pair of knights poise their swords at her.
"You bastard…" Joker grimaced as he kept still; "You can't fight on your own so you have to resort to your little friends."
S-Kamoshida sneered; "My loyal subjects are willing to do anything I command them to, some die in the process of wiping out any unworthy threats…But some like my princess~" He crooned and then groped the cognitive Ann's body brazenly; "Will do anything to please me, unlike you…But we can train you to think like her once you've had your fun."
"I swear, once I get out of this…" Ann growled as she struggled even harder to pull free.
"But you won't, you'll put in the effort for appearances but you'll never put in the effort to go all the way, it's because of that attitude of your's…It's why I dedicated so much time to "Teaching" Suzui on how to be in my good graces."
"Are you really going to take this from that scoundrel?!" Mona yelled out to Ann who looked like she was ready to give up altogether.
"Yeah! You're way better than this asshole could ever hope to achieve!" Skull chimed in.
"What are you doing, SILENCE THEM!" S-Kamoshida yelled to his guards but Joker managed to pull free.
"Ann, you're stronger than you think you are…So show him what you can really do!" Joker called out to her.
Ann chuckled to herself; "What am I doing? I've been trying to convince myself that he can do anything he wants…" She then looked to Joker who smirked when he noticed the fire in her start to build; "I've had enough of being told what you want me to do…."
"That's precisely what you're meant to do, as my slave…You'll be doing anything I say or I'll throw you to my men and let the-" S-Kamoshida growled to threaten Ann further but her fury peaked and interrupted him.
"Shut. Up….I'm not going to let myself be beaten down or bullied by some egocentric dick! You should have stopped at calling me a dumb blonde because now you really pissed me OFF!" Ann yelled at him with a new sense of focus and more determination in her than anything else.
"My... It's taken far too long for my words to reach you. Forgiving him was never the option…Not for treating you like his trophy and not for spewing all that bile and viciousness because he could not touch you. Such is the violent scream of the other you that dwells deep within…" A soft but sensual voice echoed in Ann's mind as she started to convulse against her restraints; "If it is your wish to bring about your burning passion then sign the contract with me and we can dance with the people who can truly love us…"
Ann collapsed with a scream as she felt her body being slowly turned hotter and hotter with the growing power of what would become her Persona. "I hear you…And I want you to help me, Carmen…" She whispered before breaking herself free of her cuffs.
"There you go~ I am thou, thou art I... You and I will be bound to no one but those that we deem worthy, Understand? Then I'll gladly lend you my strength." Carmen purred before Ann erupted into a pillar of flame; blowing away the knights that held her and the others hostage.
When the flames died down, Lee could see the face of the woman that had held a place in his heart for the longest time; Ann was standing there in a red latex catsuit with a clip-on tail and a similarly red and white cat mask on her face. "Ann…No, Panther's back…."
Ann cracked her whip and lashed it forward to make the Cognitive Princess Ann vanish in a black cloud of smoke; "I was an idiot…An idiot for believing that you held me in any regard other than some eye candy, an idiot for thinking that you would be anything but this and an idiot for letting you treat me like some cheap toy…You scumbag." She spat out with venom as she had Carmen summon up fireballs behind her.
"B-Bitch…I will make you heel…You're nothing but a-GAH!" S-Kamoshida grimaced as he tried to hold on to her with his words but was cut off with a solid crack to the face by her whip.
"YOU are the one who is nothing…Nothing but a vile beast of a man and I'll be sure to rob you of EVERYTHING!" Ann yelled out at him with a face that could stare daggers into him.