Driving through Mementos was unsettling to say the least. Shadows were around almost every corner and the group was already forced to handle a few they couldn't drive around. Some of the Shadows they passed tried to pursue them, but Joker was able to avoid them with a few impressive maneuvers. They had discovered many dead ends as they searched for the segment leading to Nakanohara.

Sphinx hadn't realize her nails were digging into the leather of the seat until Mona hissed in pain. "S-Sphinx, nails!"

She blinked in realization before prying her nails free from the seat. "S-Sorry, Mona."

"Hey, you okay?" Skull asked. He leaned his head in between Joker and Sphinx.

The girl noticed Joker was also peering at her from the corner of his eye, eagerly awaiting her response. She didn't want to hide the truth, especially from her friends. "Ever since we first arrived in Mementos, I've had this foreboding feeling." She placed a hand over her thundering heart. "There's...something down here with us and it's not just Shadows."

"Don't say creepy stuff like that," Skull muttered.

"We should deal with Nakanohara quickly," Ann advised. "If Sphinx's right, I really don't want to meet this other "thing"."

"I agree," Joker said. "We'll make this quick."

Out of curiosity, Sphinx activated the Eye of Horus as Joker drove down the train tracks. Her eyes widen in shock when she noticed there were golden hieroglyphics along the walls, floor, and ceiling. She leaned forward in her seat when noticing the hieroglyphics shifted into what appeared to be a trail. She thought about telling Joker to turn around and follow the trail when they passed the tunnel the markings were heading.

However, she kept her lips sealed when the car rounded another corner and spotted what they'd been looking for. They entered the warped tunnel, arriving in a separate segment. The teens hopped out of the car and allowed Mona to transform back into an anthropomorphic cat. In the distance, they saw the outline of a figure.

"Hey, something's there!" Skull announced.

"That seems to be Nakanohara's Shadow," Mona responded.

"Lemme see. Some front desk guy at City Hall became a stalker, right?"

"I don't know how much evil he's done, but we do have to do something if he's bothering other people," Panther stated.

"All right, we'll talk to him," the feline exclaimed.

"Are we even sure negotiation with him will work?" Sphinx inquired, deactivating the Eye.

"Only one way to find out," Joker said.

The phantom thieves approach the Shadow. The moment the man saw them, he directed a fierce glare toward them. "Who are you?!"

"Are you that stalker?" Panther demanded. "Haven't you ever stopped to consider how your ex feels?"

"She's my property! I can do whatever I want with her!

"She's not your property!" Sphinx growled.

"Shut up! She belongs to me! It's not like she didn't treat me like a plaything! What's wrong with me doing the same?!"

"You can't treat someone like shit just 'cause they did it to you!" Skull shouted back at the Shadow. "What a load of crap... We're gonna change the hearts of all the bastards like you!"

The man focused his rage-filled gaze on the blonde. "There are millions of people far worse than me! What about Madarame? He stole everything from me, but you're letting him off the hook?!"

Sphinx's eyes widen under her mask. "What? Madarame? He's..."

"The hell's this guy goin' on about?" Skull grumbled.

Suddenly, Shadow Nakanohara transformed to reveal his true form. The group was startled by the sudden transformation and took a few steps back. They composed themselves before readying for battle.

"Get ready! Here he comes!" Mona whipped out its sword, ready to attack.

Joker, Sphinx, Panther, and Skull grabbed their own weapons and leapt into battle. With their combined efforts, they were able to defeat the Shadow within minutes.

(A/n: I got lazy and didn't want to write a fighting scene. I'm sorry😥)

The Shadow reverted back to being Nakanohara once he fell in battle. His anger from earlier was replaced with fear, his voice shaking as he begged for forgiveness. "I-I was wrong... Please forgive me... That evil teacher used me, then threw me out on the street. That's what caused my fixation on her."

Joker's eyes narrowed. "Evil teacher?"

"You're talking about Madarame," Sphinx said.

The Shadow nodded. "Yeah... I just didn't want anyone to throw me out again."

"So some selfish bastard was making you suffer too..." Panther mumbled, her voice melancholic. "Still, you shouldn't have dragged an unrelated woman into your mess."

"Yes, I know that now. I'll put an end to my love for her..." Nakanohara lowered his head before lifting it to meet Joker's gaze. "Hey, you can change people's hearts, right? In that case... Won't you change Madarame's heart before more people fall victim to him?"

Before anyone could answer the man, his body vanished. A glittering orb now floated where the Shadow once stood.

"Change...Madarame's heart?" Panther muttered to herself.

"Hm?" Skull hummed with curiosity. "What's that shinin' thing?"

"It's the bud of a treasure. Had we left it to be, it very well may have blossomed into a Palace." Mona glanced toward their leader. "Joker, this will make a perfect reward!"

Joker grabbed the gleaming object before placing it in his pocket. Skull glanced at the object before it was out of his view. "So Nakonahara had a change of heart, right?"

"Most likely," Mona replied.

"But how are we supposed to know if we succeeded?" Panther asked.

Skull crossed his arms. "The lady posted the dude's name online. If he really does change, she'll prolly comment again."

"Hm, you do have a point," the feline stated.

"Either way, trainin' against Shadows down here's the best! It's great prep for our next target!"

Panther beamed at her friends. "It's also nice to be able to give courage to the people who post their problems online."

"It is a good feeling," Sphinx smiled.

"On top of that, we can sell whatever treasure we get for some cold, hard cash!" Mona chanted excitedly.

Skull was the most exhilarated at what the cat mentioned. "Sounds like things are goin' pretty great for us! Let's get going!"

Sphinx was about to mention the hieroglyphics when Mona spoke up. "Hold on. There's somewhere I want to show you guys before we leave."

"What, there's more?"

"Don't worry, it won't take long. Let's leave this room first." Mona transformed back into a bus and everyone climbed inside. They left the segment, returning to the previous area. The cat told them where it wanted to go and they headed headed deeper into Mementos. Sphinx noticed they were heading down the tunnel the hieroglyphics were leading. She activated the Eye and saw they were now following the golden marks. She wondered when she should tell her friends about the hieroglyphics but soon became distracted when they arrived at another loading platform. What had caught her attention was the sound of a train.

Joker, Sphinx, Panther, and Skull emerged from the bus and stepped onto the loading platform when a train rolled into the platform across the way. The eerily crimson-tinted windows illuminated the darkness of Mementos.

Sphinx tuned out her friends' conversation as she followed the trail of hieroglyphs to an escalator. She stared down into the darkness, wondering where they were leading her. The girl was startled when someone placed their hand on her shoulder. Looking to her right, she saw Joker's concerned expression. "You've been acting strange ever since we arrived. Is everything okay?"

The cerulean-eyed girl looked away from him and back down the escalator. "This strange feeling I have... It's getting stronger. I became curious and activated the Eye. There's a trail of hieroglyphs and it leads down this escalator."

"Do you think the trail is leading to this other presence you're feeling?"

"Maybe..."

Mona bounded over with Panther and Skull on its heels. "Come on, you two. Let's get going!"

They descended the escalator to a lower loading platform. Trains sped by with streaks of crimson, lighting the area with an eerie glow. The group paused at the base of the escalator, scanning the area.

"All right, there it is!" Mona jabbed a paw toward the opposite end of the loading platform. "What I want to check is just past there!"

The phantom thieves headed in the direction the cat gestured to. It didn't take long for them to learn they couldn't go any further. Their path was blocked off by a wall.

Panther analyzed the web-like red lines surrounding them. "What is this place? It's kinda creepy."

"And a dead end at that," Skull added. "Why's it even exist?"

Just like before, Sphinx tuned out the conversation. Her wide eyes were focused on the wall. Alongside the crimson webs was a large golden hieroglyph of Anubis. Due to the distraction, she failed to realize her friends were calling out to her until Skull waved a hand in front of her face. "W-What did you guys say?"

"You're really spacin' out in a place like this?" The blonde boy sighed. "And you've got that weird Eye thingy activated too."

"What do you see?" Joker asked.

"There's a large hieroglyph of Anubis on the wall."

"There's nothin' there," Skull retorts.

Mona glared up at him. "Of course you can't see it, you moron. Sphinx is able to see things we can't with the Eye."

"Hey, Joker." The inky-haired girl turned toward the messy-haired boy. "Your third eye... Can you see the hieroglyphic?"

Joker activated his third eye ability, but the wall appeared to have no hieroglyph on it. "Sorry, but I can't see it, Sphinx."

She sighed. "No need to apologize." Her eyes traveled over to the feline. "Is there a way to get past this wall?"

"Let me try." Mona walked toward the wall and pressed its paw against the surface. A few seconds ticked by and the wall retracted, revealing more escalators leading deeper into Mementos.

"It opened!" Panther shrieked in surprise.

From their phones, they heard a familiar computerized voice. "A new area has been confirmed in the depths. Updating guidance information."

Mona was relieved to see another path had opened up. "See?! It's just as I thought!"

"What do you mean?" The pigtailed girl inquired.

"That wall wouldn't budge when I came here by myself before. But it'd be weird for the deepest part of Mementos to be some normal place like this, wouldn't it?"

"So you were thinkin' there's gotta be more?" Skull asked.

"Yeah! Now that Kamoshida's Palace is gone and people are actually starting to talk about us, I knew something had to have changed down here!"

Panther peered down into the darkness. "How deep is it? Should we try going further down?"

"Let's not," Mona shook its head. "That's not why we're here today, remember? We've already accomplished our goal. We should head back and I'll explain more once we're home."

Joker, Panther, and Skull nodded in agreement. They turned on their heels only to notice Sphinx hasn't budged an inch. Her body was petrified, eyes wide as she stared into the darkness below. Mona was the closest to her and patted its paw against her leg in concern. "Sphinx, is everything—?"

Suddenly, a black tendril lashed out from the darkness. It swatted Mona away from the girl, eliciting a painful meow from it. Sphinx snapped out of her trance when she heard the animal's cry of pain. "Mona!"

Joker, Panther, and Skull grabbed their weapons and kept their distance as the appendage surged toward them. The group dodged its attacks before going on the offense. Before any of them could land a single hit, the tendril retracted and headed straight for Sphinx. Before she could grab her khopeshes, the black appendage wrapped around her body and lifted her in the air. Her teammates screamed out to her as they tried to free herself from its grasp. They tried to use their firearms, but they were afraid of hitting her.

A scream erupted from Sphinx as the tendril dragged her down into the depths of Mementos. The last thing she heard before being consumed by darkness was the desperate cries of her friends.

It felt like an eternity since she was grabbed and dragged around the depths of Mementos. The tendril, seeming to be endless, continued to weave through the tunnels and pass numerous of Shadows.

Finally, the tendril dragged Sphinx to a large, empty room. It dropped her on the ground, earning a groan of pain from her. She pushed her upper body off the ground and came face to face with a large creature. It wasn't a Shadow, but its body was engulfed in a black, tar-like liquid. It dripped to the floor, creating small black puddles.

Sphinx's eyes widen in fear as a cold sweat consumed her body. She tried to scoot backwards and away from the creature, but it pounced on her and pinned her to the floor. Its face was mere inches from hers. All she could hear was its labored breathing and the trickling sound of the liquid falling from its body. She stared into its crimson eyes. Every muscle in her body was paralyzed and she couldn't even lift a finger. A few inky droplets dripped on to her body as the creature loomed over her.

"Find...me..." The creature spoke, shocking the girl even further. "Find...me..."

Fighting off her fear as best as she could, Sphinx spoke to it. "Y-You can speak. Wh-Why do I h-have to find you? A-Aren't you right in front of me?"

The creature lifted its claw, pointing to her left eye that still was golden. "Eye... Use...the Eye."

That was when she noticed the golden aura than outlined the creature's tar-like body. "Are you...one of the fragments of my heart?"

"Yes... Find...me."

"B-But you're right in front of me!" She yelled with a shaky voice.

"Body...trapped... Too weak..."

"So this isn't your true form. Th-Then where can I find you?"

"Use...the Eye..."

Sphinx tried to inquire further about the creature's real location, but all she received was more vague responses. She figured it was having difficulty speaking since this body was a projection and not its true form. She also learned it dragged her to its current location because of how weak it was and it had difficulty moving its body.

Before she could ask any more questions, the sound of gunfire echoed all around her. The creature above her hissed in pain as the bullets pierced its inky body. It quickly leapt off Sphinx before gazing in the direction of the gunfire.

A few yards away, Joker, Mona, Panther, and Skull stood with their weapons in their grasps. The group charged forward to attack the creature, but it leapt into a corner of the room before vanishing.

Sphinx, who was still petrified, remained on the ground. She stared up at the ceiling, still shocked at the sudden discovery. She could hear the sound of running footsteps before feeling a hand on the back of her neck. Her head was lifted off the ground and she finally snapped out of her daze when she saw a familiar face hovering above hers. "Joker..." She quickly sat up and pushed herself up into a sitting position. She tucked her knees under her as she stared into his eyes.

She went to speak, but words failed her when Joker wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. He pressed his cheek against her hair, sighing in relief. "I'm glad we made it in time."

"About that..." Sphinx placed her hands on his chest and pushed herself away from him, deactivating the Eye. "It wasn't actually going to hurt me. That creature... It wasn't a Shadow. Remember when I mentioned those fragments I'm supposed to find?"

"What about it?"

"That thing was a fragment. It was trying to contact me. It was so weak it had no choice but to drag me here so it could talk. Unfortunately, its real body is somewhere else and I've no idea where."

"You weren't able to collect it?"

Sphinx sighed dejectedly. "No..."

Panther, Skull, and Mona rushed forward. The cat pounced on to the girl, tackling her to the ground and forcing Joker to lose his hold on her.

"We're so glad you're okay!" Mona purred, rubbing its cheek against the girl's. "We were so worried when that thing dragged you away."

Sphinx giggled. "Thank you for coming to my rescue, Mona."

"Are you okay?!" Panther shrieked with worry.

"I'm fine. It didn't hurt me."

"Holy shit..." Skull heavily sighed. "I-I thought we were gonna lose you."

"No need to worry," she smiled. "But I do have one request."

"What's that?" Joker asked.

"Can we please get out of here?" Sphinx begged. "After being dragged away like that and almost suffering from a heart attack, I think I've had enough of this place for a while."

"I second that," Skull said.

"Me too," Panther agreed.

Joker nodded. "Yeah. Let's go."

Sphinx stood up with Mona still attached to her and patted its back. "Sorry, Mona. But I think we'll need a ride."

The cat smiled. "Right away!" It unlatched itself from the girl and hopped into the air before transforming into a bus.

The teens climbed into the vehicle, leaving behind Mementos.