~Karma's POV~

I had just finished setting everything up with Asano. I grabbed Joker's Journal and got back to work on the cipher. I swear I was this close to cracking this dumb thing. "Shouldn't you take a break from that thing?" Asano questioned. "When I'm this f*cking close to breaking this case wide open? Hell no." I growled. He sighed and pretty soon the doorbell rang. I put the book and my other stuff away while Asano answered the door. Rio walked in smiling brightly. "Nice to see you Rio. How's life?" I questioned. She smiled brightly. "Really well. Thanks for letting me come over. I hope you don't mind but I brought a friend with me." She said. "No problems at all." I said. As soon as I said that (Y/N) walked in behind her. We stared at eachother for a little bit. "Oh. Greetings Karma." She said awkwardly. I fiddled with my gloves a little. I was not expecting this! I coughed a little. "This is really awkward. Especially since I just called it out. But I don't like it when things are awkward. So hi (Y/N), I had no idea you knew Rio. Rio you never mentioned (Y/N). And Asano...just don't pull anything else k? K. I'm going to check on the food." I said walking back into the kitchen. The moment I was out of view my face flushed bright red. What the hell! Why do I feel flustered!? I thought. I checked on the food giving my face time to cool down. Once all traces of red had vanished from my face I walked back out. "Sorry about that." I said smiling to myself. "Ah, it's my fault technically." Rio said scratching the back of her neck awkwardly. "I was suppose to meet the both of you this week but my schedules got all messed up and this happened so yeah." She explained. I whacked her head lightly. "You didn't change at all." I said sighing. She stuck her tongue out at me. I turned back to the others. "Food should be done soon. If you see the cat don't mind him. And...There was one other thing." I said trailing off. "Tour?" (Y/N) questioned. I snapped my fingers and pointed at her. "Thank you." I said. She nodded and smiled at me. "Okay follow me. Asano you already know your way around so just watch the cat and the food." I said spinning around and walking off with the girls behind me. Asano sighed and I heard him shifting around a little. I moved my head to the side just in time to dodge a pen getting chucked at me. Asano grumbled something under his breath and me and the girls chuckled a little.

I started showing them around my apartment. "So how did you two meet?" Rio asked suddenly. "Classified." Me and (Y/N) said in unison. Shooting her the same 'Rio don't you f*cking dare' glare. We were done with the tour in less than three minutes. My place wasn't that big. I brought them back to the main area. "That should cover it." I said. "Foods done." Asano said setting up the table. Rio sat at the head of the table, much to my dislike, and Asano sat on her right. I sat on her left and (Y/N) sat next to me. We began eating. "So about why I wanted to come over." Rio said. I nodded not really paying attention, taking a sip of my water. "I wanted to know...Is it true you're on the Joker case?" She asked. I spat out my water and started coughing. (Y/N) helped me calm down and clean up the water. "S-sorry about that." I said. "It's fine." (Y/N) responded patting my shoulder. "So it is true." Rio said calmly, taking a sip of her drink. Asano nodded. "Yeah. Karasuma finally managed to man up and ask Karma for his help." He said. "Took him long enough." I said scoffing, all the while mentally cursing Karasuma. "Don't be getting cocky Karma. We all remember what happened during finals all those years ago." Rio said smirking. Red slowly crept onto my face. I pointed at her with a glare. "We do not mention that...EVER!" I hissed. Her and Asano started laughing. I slowly sank back down in my chair while covering my face with my hand. "I should've put wasabi in your food." I growled. "Oh wait..." I trailed off smirking as Rio ate her food. "I did." I said. She started coughing violently and fled to the bathroom making me chuckle. I sat back up and crossed my legs and arms with a smirk. "YOU'RE IN MY HOUSE RIO! YOU SHOULD KNOW BY NOW I HAVE SOMETHING PLANNED!" I shouted after her. "F*CK YOU BAKABANE!" She shouted back. I laughed even more at how petty she was. (Y/N) chuckled a little as Asano was fighting back laughter. "This thing between you guys is funny." (Y/N) said. "That's what I said." Asano responded. I shrugged. "I'm just getting her back for Nagisa's sake. Besides pranks were my specialty back then." I said. "They still are." Asano said sweat-dropping. I stuck my tongue out at him. Rio returned slightly red faced from embarrassment. "Okay. Since I no longer trust the freaking devil over here." She said shooting me a glare. "How about we head to (Y/N)'s house cool?" She questioned. (Y/N) spat out her drink in shock. I helped her out a little. "E-excuse me!?" She questioned panic in her eyes. Her eyes widened and she clutched her head with one hand while the other one clenched into a fist. "P-pardon me I'll be right back." She said fleeing from the table to the bathroom.

~Your POV~

I closed the bathroom door behind me and opened my bag despite the male voice echoing in my head. I got out a small orange bottle and took my headache pills. I took a few breaths and sat on the floor. My eyes kept flashing from an insane look to a normal one behind the contact lenses. What the f*ck are you trying to do Rio!? We don't even know if he has the f*cking app yet! Getting him inside the Palace is one goal but I'm not sure if that can be accomplished right now! And my other uniform is right by the f*cking door! I'm not ready!!!!! I thought. Eventually my panic subsided and the throbbing in my head stopped. I was able to think straight again. I got up slowly and tested to see if I could walk okay. It was successful. I took another breath and walked out with a smile. "Sorry about that. Sudden headache. You shocked me there for a minute Rio." I said. I stole a glance at Karma. He wasn't buying this story at all. "But yeah. I'm not sure going to my house would be the best idea." I said. "It's really messy right now. I haven't cleaned or prepared for company." I said dropping lots of hints. "Oh come now (Y/N). It'll be fun." She insisted not getting any of the hints. Mentally I was banging my head against a wall. "No really. It's a mess. I'm sure it wouldn't be pleasant at all." I insisted. "Come on. It can't be that bad." Rio said rolling her eyes. I swear I am going to murder this girl. I thought, insanity leaking into my eyes behind the contact lenses. "Fine but I'd like to make it clear I walk home all the time. You guys will have to keep up." I said. "Sounds good to me." Asano said. Karma nodded. All of a sudden a cat jumped up into Karma's arms meowing like crazy. Karma looked annoyed. "No. I'm not going to sleep." Karma growled. The cat started meowing even more. Karma sighed and dropped the cat. I bent down and held out my hand to the small animal. He walked over and sniffed my hand before rubbing on it. "And who's this little cutie? You mentioned a cat but I wasn't expecting this." I said petting the small animal. "That's fuzzball." Karma said. "Is that his name?" I asked picking him up. "No." Karma responded. "Than what's his name?" Rio questioned. "Fuzzball." He responded. We all sweat-dropped. Karma sighed. "Fine his name is Mona." He said. "Mona huh?" I questioned. Mona looked at me with big blue eyes. There was a lot of knowing behind his eyes. He nuzzled me with his white muzzle while purring. "Wow. Typically he doesn't like new people and avoids them." Karma said. I giggled a little bit snuggling the cat. "I've always had this thing with tiny intelligent creatures. They seem almost drawn to me." I said, my thoughts reverting back to the tiny fox I had grown to miss. "Well I wouldn't call him intelligent." Karma said.

Mona shot what appeared to be a glare at the red headed detective. Karma held his hands up in surrender. "I forgot you're easily offended." He mumbled. We all laughed. Mona started meowing again. "What does he want?" Asano asked. "For me to go to bed." Karma responded with a sigh. "But it's like three in the afternoon." Rio said sweat-dropping. "He has weird logic. Sometimes he lets me stay up late, other times he forces me to sleep early, he's like the king here! I kid you not!" Karma said pointing at the cat still in my arms. Asano snickered. "The cat dictates your sleep schedule?" He questioned. "YES! AND I HATE IT! BUT HE WON'T SHUT UP OR LET ME DO ANYTHING ELSE IF I DON'T GO TO BED!" Karma shouted. "Can't you just leave?" Rio questioned. Karma shivered. "He sits in front of the door stareing at me and if I reach for the door knob he meows and his claws slide out." He said. I looked at the cat in wonder. "Aw cute." I said. They all looked at me in shock. "Did I say that aloud?" I questioned. "Yes, yes you did." Asano responded. "Have you tried getting rid of him?" Rio questioned. "He comes back. Every. Single. Time." Karma said. "I put him in a box and leave him in the park. By the time I come home he's sitting on the counter waiting for me. I gave him to Nagisa once. When I get home Nagisa had texted me that he lost the cat and I find Fuzzball over here watching the God d*mn TV eating fish! I even leave the freaking window open hoping he'll wander away somewhere. HE NEVER DOES!" Karma shouted. Me and the others were laughing at all this. "I've given up at this point." Karma said pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. His eyes lit up as he looked at Mona in my arms. "Hang on...I'll be right back." He said chuckling to himself darkly as he walked away. "Should I be scared?" I questioned sweat-dropping. "Yes. 100% percent." The other two dead-panned. Mona just yawned and snuggled into my arms.

~Mona's POV (bet you didn't see that one coming huh?)~

I snuggled into (Y/N)'s arms. At least I think that's what Karma said her name was. She was really warm. But I got this weird feeling from her. I noticed her bag was open slightly and started wiggling a little. She loosened her grip. I jumped into her bag surprising everyone in the room. I poked my head out. "This is better." I said, though it only sounded like a meow to them. Karma came back in the room a few seconds later with the cat carrier in hand. "Wait where's the cat?" He asked looking around. I could understand them but they couldn't understand me. What a bummer. (Y/N) pointed at my head. "Umm...." Karma trailed off seeming surprised. I ducked my head into the bag and decided to rest in there. "So are we just gonna leave him in there?" Rio questioned. "Yes. Please. If I'm lucky he'll stay with (Y/N)." Karma said. After a little more chatter they got moving. (Y/N) was keeping the bag as still as she could probably because she thought I was sleeping in here. I was actually observing the contents of her bag while laying down. Let's see. I thought looking around. A pair of dice. Poker cards. Tarot cards. Does she like games or something? I thought. Then I noticed something odd. A book. A red book with a black sword. Only the black sword and the number two written on it in gold. And next to the book was a black and (F/C) masquerade mask. Those sent off red flags for me.

~Karma's POV (back to the strawberry)~

Once we got to (Y/N)'s house I was a little confused. It was a small house, but looked a little big for one person. It was also really far away from town. "Sorry. I don't have a normal job in town and prefer to not socialize more than necessary so I live all the way out here." She said with a nervous smile. She walked up to the front door. "Give me a moment to change and put my stuff down. As well as clean a little. It shouldn't take too long. Don't worry I'll be out in a jiff. I wouldn't forgive myself if I let company in when everything's a mess." She said turning back to us and giving us a small bow before quickly going inside and closing the door behind her. "You weren't kidding about that formality." I said sweat-dropping. Asano nodded and Rio sighed. "(Y/N) (L/N) is an enigma. We all know that." Rio said with a sigh. "(Y/N) (L/N)...What an unusual name." I said. "Says the one named Karma." Asano said with a snicker. "SHUT IT!" I shouted. I looked back at the house. "So this is her home...Should I call it the (L/N) residence or something?" I questioned. Unknown to me at the time Asano and Rio started backing up slowly keeping a good distance from me and the house. I walked forward noticing something on the door. "What's this?" I questioned looking at the sign on the door. "Welcome to my prison?" I questioned. "Candidate found. Beginning navigation." A female voice said from my phone. "Huh?" I questioned pulling out my phone to see this weird red and black app covering the entire screen of my phone. I nearly dropped my phone in shock. When I looked away from my phone I noticed that I wasn't near (Y/N)'s house...But in fact I was standing in front of a prison. "W-what the hell!" I shouted in shock. "What's going on!? Where am I!? What happened!? Oh God what the hell is going on here!?" I shouted. I took a deep breath. "Okay. Calm down Karma. Just relax. That's the first rule of dealing with unknown territory. Take a step back and evaluate the situation." I said. So that's what I did. I looked behind me and I didn't see Rio or Asano. I was alone. I was unarmed at the moment which is never a good thing. I can fight barehanded sure, in fact that's my most dangerous weapon besides my mind. But still. It'd be reassuring to at least have a knife or something. I took a breath. The only way is forward. I thought, eyeing the door. "Sometimes I really hate my curiosity." I said to myself. Driven by my curiosity and logical thinking I placed my hand on the entrance. The door swung open revealing a dark hallway. "This raises so many red flags." I said with a slight smirk to hide my panic. I took another breath and began my trek inside. The dark hallway seemed to go on forever until I heard footsteps. I looked around quickly, panic rising in my chest. I quickly ducked behind something, blending in with the shadows. That's when she ran past. Joker. It was her. She stopped looking around with a look of anger and panic on her face, which I found unusual. "D*mnit where did he go? He'll get himself killed running around here by himself!" She said. I decided to use this to my advantage. Even if I'm in a weird situation I've still got a job to do. I quickly moved out of my hiding space, silent as I used to, and then pounced. I quickly knocked her to the ground and cuffed her hands. "Gotcha." I growled, glaring at her. When she saw it was me her face shifted back to that typical smirk of her's, but the relief in her eyes was undeniable. "Ah, so you are still alive. For a second I thought a shadow got you." She said. "Can't have my favorite little detective getting himself killed now can I?" She added. I was confused but didn't respond, nor loosen my grip. In fact my grip tightened. She flinched slightly muttering an almost silent, 'ow'. I couldn't help but laugh on the inside. She sighed. "You're not going to let me up unless I give you a good reason huh?" She questioned. She sighed again. "You people are always so violent, and that's coming from me for God's sake." She added more to herself. "Fine. Well one you're in an unknown area that you have no knowledge of. Adding to that you have no clue how this place works. I do. Also, here you need to fight in a very specific way, you don't know how to fight like that. Also, also, before you even think of trying to get me to help you or tell you what you need to do while I'm handcuffed you can forget it, I can't fight properly with handcuffs on both my hands nor do I like it very much. Especially in this position, it's very uncomfortable. So your best chances of survival lay in trusting me and letting me get you out of this situation. No tricks alright? I swear it." She said. I wanted to not believe her, trust me I did. But she was in no position to be lying, and she was right, I have no idea what's going on but I can already tell that this is something she has full knowledge over. I sighed, reluctantly. I shot her a glare. "I do this because it's the most logically course of action. NOT because I trust you. Also make one wrong move or do anything suspicious in anyway and I'm not screwing around anymore. No tricks. Do I make myself clear?" I questioned with my signature fiery death glare. She shivered slightly. "Y-yeah. Got it." She said. I took note to the stutter in her voice and began to unlock her handcuffs.

I got off her and she stood up rubbing her wrists. She hissed slightly, I took note of the red marks where the handcuffs were. "Geez, how hard were you pressing those things on my wrists, ow." Joker said. I didn't say anything, just glared at her with my arms crossed. She sighed resting her arms behind her head. "Listen detective, I'm not used to other people being here. If anything you ain't gonna help me in any way unless you're a quick learner." She said. "Lucky you. I was always the fastest to learn in my class." I responded. She dropped her arms. "I hope you can pick up on this quickly then. Trust me it takes a lot of work to understand this. Even now after years of it I still hardly understand it." She said. Joker pulled out a gun. "You're unarmed right?" She questioned. I nodded eyeing the weapon nervously. She walked over grabbed my hand. I froze completely confused as well as terrified. She put the weapon in my hand. "You'll need that." She said. I backed away with a glare tearing my arm away from her. "Geez that glare of yours is terrifying, also I'm not going to hurt you. Chill will you." She mumbled. I tore my gaze from her to the gun. "This looks real enough to fake someone out but its fake." I observed, running my thumb over the detail. "Sharp eye." Joker said with a smirk. "Most people don't know the difference. That means you have had experience with weapons before." She said. I flinched slightly. "W-well yeah. I mean I handle a gun as part of my job." I said. Her smirk grew. "But which one?" She questioned. I shot her another glare. "Can you drop that already." I hissed. I held up the fake gun feeling the difference in weight and trying to get a better look at it. "Anyways, so how is this going to help me fight in here? It's a fake gun." I said. Joker grew serious again, something I wasn't used to seeing. "The key to fighting in here is how your opponents see you. It's all about cognition. This place, although it may seem crazy, is a place of the mind. As long as a weapon looks real, and your opponents can't tell the difference, then it will behave just like a real gun." She explained. I looked at her like she was crazy. Oh wait..."Look I know what you're thinking, but it's true. You've got to trust me on this." She said. I shot her another glare. "Trust you? What reason do I have to trust you? For all I know you could be trying to get me killed!" I said, my voice getting louder. "Hush!" She snapped, shooting a look down the hallway. "You need to be quiet. If I can I'd like to avoid fighting if possible." Joker said her gaze still scanning the hall. I quickly moved, handcuffing her hand to my wrist. Her head whipped around to glare at me. "This, is a precaution. I can't be too careful with you." I growled. "You are just determined to make this difficult aren't you? Fine then. You want to make things difficult very well. However we die, it's on you." She hissed back. "I can handle myself." I growled. I didn't even realize how close we had gotten to eachother. At this point it was a glare down eye to eye. I wasn't used to seeing this side of her. She seemed...on edge. So serious. I heard a click and was quickly pushed away from her. I stumbled slightly but recovered quickly. I looked to see the handcuffs dangling from her wrist. She held up two thin needles with a smirk. "You should know by now that I have ways of getting out of handcuffs. How do you think I've evaded capture so far? I've been doing this for years Detective. Even if we're in a Palace I won't let my guard down." She said. She looked down the hallways suddenly. "D*mn. We've wasted too much time they know we're here." She growled. "They? Palace? I'm still confused." I said. She shot me a glare. "You, are on a need to know basis. You don't need to know right now. All you are right now is dead weight. So right now just follow me, and do exactly as I tell you. If you do that you'll get out of here alive." She growled. For as long as I've known this girl I've gathered that she sees everything as a joke. She sees everyone as a piece in her game, not even as people. Nothing matters to her, she never takes things seriously. Yet here she is. Acting serious.

"We need to go. C'mon follow me." Joker said starting to move down the hallway. I followed after her not wanting to be left behind. We finally got out of the hallway but the moment we did Joker quickly ducked behind a corner. I ducked behind her, getting the feeling that I should copy her. She peeked around the corner and glared at what appeared to be weird, human looking things wearing security guard outfits. They had these weird masks on. "What are those things?" I whispered. "Shadows." Joker responded simply. "They're creatures born from human desires and souls. But they got lost, and now serve the ruler of this Palace because they have no idea who they are anymore." She explained. One of the two left and Joker smirked. "Watch and learn kid. Watch and learn." She said. The Shadow started to move closer to us, once it got close enough Joker launched out and got on the things shoulders. "WHAT THE!?" It shouted. Joker grabbed the thing's mask. "Show me your true form!" She shouted, ripping the mask off. She kicked the thing away and it turned into these weird fairy things. Joker scoffed slightly and pulled out what looked like a gun but I could easily tell it was another fake weapon. "Pixies eh? Security here is getting soft." She said shooting the two fairies. Like, actually shot them! With a fake gun! The two enemies quickly fell to the ground with cries of pain. Joker ran up and pointed her gun at both of them. "W-wait! D-don't k-kill me!" One of them pleaded. "Show me the goods." Joker growled in a dark voice. The fairy thing gave her what appeared to be some kind of item and Joker let them both go. She came back to me with a look of victory on her face. "Bingo. Rare SP healing item. My judgment was right again." She said with a smirk. "Wha-?" I was still confused. "Don't worry about it now. Just let me do the fighting." She said. "But I have some many questions! How did a fake gun shoot real bullets? What were those things? How can they talk!?" I questioned. She sighed and facepalmed slightly. "I already told you everything you need to know to answer those questions." She said. She held up the gun. "My enemies couldn't tell that it was a fake gun, so they thought it was real. The weapon behaved like a real gun because the enemies cognition saw it as a real gun." She explained. "Those things were two Personas who had gotten corrupted and turned into a Shadow. Once I ripped off the mask the two Personas were more confused and it gave me time to make the first move as well as free the Personas themselves. Now that they aren't a Shadow they can openly make their own choices now." She continued. "And finally they can talk because they were born from human desires and souls. A Persona and a Shadow are the same thing, but a Persona is more tame, calm, and has free will. Both of them are just reflections of the human heart, both good and bad, and, for lack of a better term, human themselves." She finished. "Did you follow all that or do I need to repeat myself?" Joker asked. I didn't hear that last question. I was too busy thinking about what I had just learned and comparing it to the things I found in Joker's Journal. I nodded slowly. "I see..." I trailed off. "Hellooooo? Earth to Detective Akabane!" Joker said waving a hand in front of my face and snapping me out of it. "What? What were you saying?" I asked. She facepalmed. "Stay focused. I need you down here, not stuck in the clouds." She said. "Right. Sorry." I said. She shook her head and sighed. "I knew this was a bad idea." She grumbled under her breath. "Let's get going. We don't have time for this." She said running off in the other direction. I followed after her.

~Time Skip~

I don't know how long its been since we've been here. But Joker looks like she's getting tired. She's been fighting those Shadow things every single time she comes across one. She stretched a little with a yawn. "Let's find a safe room. I need to rest." She said. I titled my head to the side. She sighed. "Follow me." She said. We walked down a few more maze like hallways before finally coming to a door. I don't know why but the door itself had a different feel than the rest of the prison. It seemed...safer. Like this place was just calm. Joker pushed the doors open and stepped inside the room with me right behind her. Trust me when I say I really hate having to follow her like this. But survival is number one priority. Once we stepped inside the room at first it looked like some kind of break room, but then it wavered slightly and turned into what looked like a guest bedroom, then back into a break room. I rubbed my eyes a little and looked around again. Just a break room. "Yeah first few times'll do that to ya'. Get used to it." Joker said sitting down in one of the chairs at the table. "What is this place?" I asked. "This? It's a safe room. This area is safe to rest in because the Palace Ruler's cognition is weak in here." Joker explained. I sat down with a sigh. "I still have no idea what you're talking about." I said. She sighed slightly. "Welp. I guess we are safe for now so it is a good time to explain." She said. She leaned back in her chair with her feet on the table, legs crossed. "Okay, so first things first we're in a Palace. A Palace is basically the cognition of it's ruler. Anyone can have a Palace if their desires become distorted or their feelings get out of hand. Say the Ruler of this Palace, I believe her name is (Y/N), her feelings got all distorted and since she saw her own house as her prison this Palace was created based on those things. Only those with a special power and app can enter a Palace. And a Palace isn't really a material thing. We are in what's known as The Metaverse. In The Metaverse anything can happen and Palaces form. Its, as I said earlier, a place of the mind." Joker began explaining. "If that's the case than how did I end up here?" I asked. Joker raised an eyebrow. "Good question. Counter question: Do you have this weird black and red app with what appears to be an eyeball on it on your phone?" She asked. My eyes lit up. I pulled out my phone and looked. There was indeed an app by that description on my phone. "You mean this?" I questioned showing it to her. She nodded. "Yep. That's the one. That, detective, is the Metaverse Navigator app. Or as me and the others call it the Meta-Nav. That is what allows you to enter a Palace so long as you enter the keywords. You most have accidentally said all the key words. That's my guess on how you ended up here." She explained. "Keywords?" I questioned. She nodded. "There are three things you need to enter a Palace. The Ruler's name, the area that's distorted, and the distortion itself. For example, this Palace's Keywords are (Y/N) (L/N), (L/N) residence or (Y/N)'s house, and finally Prison. Did you get all that?" She questioned. I nodded. "I see. I did say all those words back there. But why is this all here?" I asked. She shrugged. "Beats me. I only know how this world works. I don't know why it's here or what it's purpose in life is." She said. "But why are you here? How do you know how it works?" I questioned. "Why? Simply because I can. I've known about Palaces and The Metaverse since I was young and if I find a Palace I always go into it in order to get stronger. As for the how, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. Oh, one more thing." Joker said. I tilted my head to the side. "What?" I questioned. "Even if it doesn't count as real life in here you die in The Metaverse you die for real. Same thing applies if you kill your Shadow." She said. "Kill...your Shadow?" I questioned. "Well I guess that only applies if we kill the Ruler's Shadow per-say. But yes. If you ever end up with a Palace, and someone comes in and kills your Shadow, you'll suffer from a Mental Shutdown. So if we come across (Y/N)'s Shadow don't kill it. Unless you want to kill the poor girl yourself. On top of that if you see other people in here they aren't real, nor are they really Shadows either. They're only the cognition of the Ruler. They're how the Ruler sees those same people. Those things you can kill." She explained. "So I only have to worry if I cause harm to the Ruler of a Palace." I said. She nodded. "Close enough." She then sighed and closed her eyes. "Now if you'll excuse me I need a small nap. Then we can get going again." She said, yawning after she finished her sentence. "Wake me up in about five minutes k?" She questioned. "Yeah sure." I said. A few seconds later her breathing got slower and deeper and she actually fell asleep. Geez how stupid can you be? What kind of murderer falls asleep in the same room as the detective chasing them? She must be awfully cocky. I thought stareing at her from across the table. I sighed. Well not much I can do about it. Nor can I do anything...well maybe I can take off her mask but something tells me she'll stop me before that even if she's asleep. I thought.

A few minutes later I woke her up and we got a move on....Until we got surrounded by a bunch of Shadows and Joker got defeated. She tried to pick herself up off the ground but failed, flopping back down. "Well d*mn. I should've slept longer." She said, weakly chuckling. I was glued to the spot, unsure of what to do. That is until I heard chains rattling and two pairs of synchronized footsteps. Joker glared as the Shadows all stood at attention and three people walked through the opening. One was a yellow eyed (H/C) haired female, dressed in a normal black and white prison outfit with handcuffs on her wrists. She stood between two people dressed in matching blue warden uniforms. One was female with long, (H/C) hair. And the other was male with short, black hair. Both of them had matching yellow eyes. Something I noticed about those eyes were that they were unnatural and seemed to be glowing. "Well, well, well. It seems we have intruders." The female said crossing her arms. The male quickly hit the girl in between them. "Did you call them here?" He asked in a harsh tone. She shook her head violently rubbing the spot where he hit. "Stupid useless b*tch." He growled under his voice. "Stop wasting your time with the prisoner." The female barked at him. "It's not like she's even worth it." The female growled. The male smirked. "True." He said. I looked over at Joker from the corner of my eye to see her surprisingly p*ssed about this. Her hand was clenched and she was gritting her teeth. I could even sense the seething rage coming from her from over here. Though I couldn't deny that this was p*ssing me off too. Joker stood up with a knife in hand, clutching the arm that was holding the knife. "I can...still fight. I won't lose!" She shouted. "What's the point?" The girl in between the two wardens said. "It's only going to get worse. If people look down on you they look down on you. You shouldn't fight back. Just let things happen. It's best if someone else controls your future. At least that way you know for certain where things are going. It's better to not even have a voice. Just roll over and give up. That's what I did." She said. Joker looked even more p*ssed now. And for some reason...so was I. "SHUT UP!" Me and Joker shouted in unison. "This is wrong! You should never just do what people tell you to do! Your future is your own!" I shouted. "That's rich coming from you." The female in blue said. "What?" I questioned, glaring at her. "Don't you just do what people tell you to do?" She asked. The male smirked. "You surrendered your free will a long time ago. You have no room to talk." He said. I growled low under my breath but remained silent. "Are you just going to take that?" Joker asked looking at me. I shot her a glance. She was just asking, with a small smile. Nothing sinister. Just a question. "No." I said quietly. I shook my head and glared back at the two wardens. "No I haven't!" I shouted, looking at them with fire in my eyes. "Just because I struck a deal with Karasuma doesn't mean I surrender my future. I am and always will be the one in charge of my fate. Hell if I want to go back to being an assassin I'll do it! My future is my own and no one can tell me otherwise!" I shouted loud, each word holding truth to it. But then my head started pounding. Ten times worse than it normally was. "AH!" I shouted clutching my head tightly.

Are you done hiding from your own truth?

I took a knee, the pain quickly becoming too much. It felt like my head was being split in two.

Are you tired of trying to please those who look down upon you? They label you a monster because of your past. Tell me, art thou sick of it?

"Yes..." I responded quietly. I punched the ground with a clenched fist gritting my teeth. "Of course d*mnit of course I'm sick of it!" I shouted. "The stares, the glares, the judgment. All of it! Even my own friends look at me like I'm going to snap any minute!" I shouted.

Do you wish to prove your own justice?

"Yes! Of course! The others are all blind to the truth of the matter!" I shouted.

Very well, I have heeded thine resolve. Let us form a contract.

I am thou, thou art I.

Thou shall break thine chains and be free from the lies thou has been told. Call my name and release thine power within!

I let out a bloodcurdling scream as the pain became worse. I slowly but surely made myself get to my feet. The pain stopped and a red and gold masquerade mask formed on my face. I grabbed the side of the mask. "Come..." I trailed off. I ripped the mask off, blood gushing out. "ARSENE!" I shouted. Blue flames erupted around me and swallowed me up. Once they left I felt surges of new power. A creature with wings appeared behind me.

"I am the pillager of twilight...ARSENE!" It shouted. "I am the other you that sleeps within. Now then let us begin." He said. I nodded getting into a battle stance. The wardens backed off a little. "Guards!" They both shouted in unison. The Shadows all transformed and stood opposite me. The looked like pumpkin ghosts for some reason. "Swing your blade. Strike them down!" Arsene instructed. "Right." I said with a smirk as I charged at one of the enemies. I quickly struck it with the knife that was in my hand. It didn't go down but it was hurt. I returned to my spot quickly and got back into my stance. One of the pumpkin things come up and hit me with their lantern. I barely felt the d*mn thing. My smirk only grew. "Is that all you've got!?" I shouted. "Run wild. Kill them however you like. Let no one control you." Arsene said. "You've got it." I said pulling out my gun and finishing off both the shadows. For some reason once they were both dead I stood with my gun pointed up right in front of my chest. "That wasn't even worth the effort." I said. I looked around. The wardens had fled. "D*mnit! Where did they go!" I shouted. My legs gave out, sudden tiredness washing over me. I took a knee. "D*mn." I growled. Joker ran over quickly and grabbed my wrist. "C'mon we've got to book it now that they know we're here!" She said dragging me along. Once we had gotten far enough we hid in a room to hide from a Shadow patrol. I sat down, completely wiped out. "That was some awakening there. You must be worn out." Joker commented looking at me. "Ya' think!" I shouted. "Arsene huh? That's a powerful Persona. You should feel lucky that he's the other you that sleeps within." She said. "Other me? Persona? What just happened!?" I shouted, it finally settling in that what happened was completely unusual. "Basically by facing the true you, the one that you've denied for so long, you were able to unlock the power of Arsene, your Persona, the other you that sleeps within. Pretty soon you'll be able to use his powers in battle if you so choose. And overall once you go back to the real world it'll feel like a burden has been lifted. Because you no longer deny your other self being a part of you. In other words you should feel much better when you get back but you'll probably have to sleep because awakening to a Persona takes a lot of energy and wears you out quickly." She explained. I rested my head in my hand for a minute processing what she just told me. "Oh by the way. Nice outfit. It suits you." She said. "Wait what?" I questioned. I finally took the time to look and saw that I was in a completely different outfit. "WHAT THE HELL!?" I shouted. (Pic up top.)

Joker started laughing at my reaction. But something was in that laugh. Something that reminded me just who I was talking too. I tensed up slightly. She looked at me, her eyes holding something sinister. "Don't worry about the outfit change. That's normal when your power awakens." Joker said. She said it in the same tone that she had been talking in. But something beneath those words. Behind that kind and calm tone. It put me on edge. Made me feel uncomfortable. "Anyways you've been in here way to long. Let's go ahead and get you out of here." She said starting out the door. Her movements seemed slow to me. Sinister almost. Like everything that had just happened was all according to plan. That's when I saw it. The ever so small detail most would over look. The smirk. She was smirking to herself with a small chuckle in her throat. She looks like she just accomplished something. And for all I know...she very well could've. I don't know why I was just noticing this now. It had been present ever since I ran into her. I was just blind before. Unable to see the hidden intent behind the smiles and words. But know that I've awakened to my other self...I'm able to see things clearly. Everything that happened in this Palace, running into her, my awakening, unknown to me at the time it had been all according to her plan. Every move was exactly like she predicted. I was playing right into her hands without even realizing it. Falling into a trap that I would never be able to escape from. Insanity is a dangerous game...and I was risking everything in a fixed game. An unknown foe, blind senses. Every time I took one step she would take two. A powerful enemy, a great foe, but an even better rival. I excepted the challenge. And I was going to regret it at some point.