The Tengoku Psychiatric Hospital's visitation hours were open from 11 AM to 8 AM, not six AM but Shiina was visiting anyways. Was it legal? No, but stupid laws like that never really stopped her.

So far, there was nothing going on in the building, but that was most likely because of how early it still was. Nevertheless, Shiina remained cautious of her surroundings. Months of sneaking around high-security Palaces helped her in locating the security camera's blind spots and good hiding places so it was easy for her to roam around. Much to her frustration, she didn't know which room she was supposed to be looking for, which put a huge damper on her plans.

She managed to reach the third floor when someone suddenly walked out of a door. Panicked, she slipped into the first room she could reach and quietly, but swiftly closed it before she could get caught.

But then:

"W-who are you?"

She tensed up at the sound of the soft voice. Despite it being ten years since they last met, she recognized the speaker immediately.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, she thought. Maybe I shouldn't have come. I shouldn't be here. I should just walk out right now. What the hell am I doing?

She was turning around without even realizing it.

The woman's wary expression faded away to shock once they locked eyes. Cerulean met soft grey.

"...Mom." Shiina greeted hesitantly.

"Shiina..." Rei whispered, blinking as if her eyes were fooling her. "Why... How did—"

"—I'm sorry," Shiina blurted out and tears were suddenly getting in the way of her vision. "Mom, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I tried but I failed and—I can't, mom, I'm really sorry—!"

Shit. This wasn't how the meeting was supposed to go. Then again, she didn't exactly have a plan in mind. She only came here to... to what? She didn't even know, but the reasons didn't matter at that moment because her mother—much to her surprise—didn't hesitate to bring her into a tight hug.

Shiina turned impossibly tense. Her mother was hugging her. But why? Didn't she hate her for all those times she picked Endeavor over her? All those times she saw a bruise on her mother's crying face and easily dismissed it for the sake of Endeavor? She ignored all the signs like the public did and didn't bat a lash when Endeavor decided to throw her out. She did all those terrible things without a second thought so why the hell was her mother hugging her?

"What—" She choked out. "What are you do-doing...?"

"Oh Shiina..." She could hear the joy and relief and sadness in her mother's voice and felt her chest ache. "I missed you so much..."

"But why...?!" She demanded, slowly pulling herself away from her. She could barely see the expression on her face through all the tears. "Don't you hate me?"

Rei's face fell. "Shiina... I never hated you once. I know that back then... I couldn't even look at you in the face because—"

"—I-I'm not talking about that," Shiina interrupted. "It's how I behaved. How I acted. I-I actually used to love that horrible man despite the terrible things he did to you and everyone else. Don't you hate me for that? For ignoring all the pain he was causing? I don't remember much... but I know you loved all of us unconditionally. And I tossed that aside for him... How can you not hate me?"

"Shiina... Shiina, you've done nothing wrong." Rei said.

Shiina shook her head and opened her mouth to argue, but Rei grasped her hands firmly and gently pried her nails away from her palms. "Listen to me, Shiina," she said softly. "You were four years old when Enji began to disregard you. It hurt you terribly; any four year old would be heartbroken by something like that. He hurt you just as badly as he did the rest of us."

She tried to speak again, but Rei hushed her. "He kept you locked up and starved. And I am so sorry for not being strong enough to help you."

"I was so stupid and blind," Shiina mumbled bitterly. "He did all that to me, and I didn't even care about myself or anyone else. All I cared about was him."

"You were a child," Rei stated firmly. "It is completely normal for children to want their parent's attention, especially when he neglected you so terribly. Nobody was able to help you see clearer because Natsuo and Fuyumi were too scared of your father to break the rules for you, Shouto was being isolated, I was gone, and Touya..."

"Touya tried," she whispered. "But then he..."

A fresh set of tears started rolling down Rei's face at the mention of her eldest son. She swallowed the lump down her throat and forced herself to stay steady. "Exactly... Nobody was able to help you, and so you grew up with that never-changing mindset. But you overcame it, and I'm so proud of you." She gingerly wiped her daughter's tears, but Shiina shook her head.

"M-mom, about that..."

"Hmm? What is it?"

She needed to know. She needed to know what she was, what she had done, and what she had failed to do. She needed to know.

"The Phantom Thieves targeted me," she uttered so softly that Rei could barely hear.

"The... Phantom Thieves...?" Rei furrowed her brows.

Shiina grew worried, thinking that maybe she had forgotten about them just like most of the population had, but then she realized that her mother had been stuck in the psychiatric hospital for ten years so there was a chance she may not even knew about them... Unless Fuyumi or Natsuo mentioned it in briefing.

"It's a group of vigilantes—well, we like to call ourselves vigilantes but we're technically Japan's most wanted villains at the moment—but we're not villains, I swear—"

Rei raised a hand to cut off her rambling. "'We'?"

Shiina sucked in a breath. "Right. 'We'. I, um, me and my friends are them. The Phantom Thieves, I mean. But we're good guys! Sorta... Er, anyways," she rambled on and on about what they did and how she changed her own heart. She talked about Akechi, Shido, Endeavor disowning her, everything. Rei listened patiently, her expression was of light confusion but at least she was piecing things together much faster than Shouto did.

"And today right after school we're going to Mementos to get rid of the Metaverse for good. Tha—that means we can't go to people's Palaces anymore and change their hearts..." She trailed off, unable to look at her in the eye.

"You wanted to change Enji's heart." Rei realized.

Shiina flinched and nodded hesitantly. "I-I-I'm sorry, mom. It's all my fault. I was being stupid and I ran out of time and now I can't—" Her hands started to shake and her vision was obscured by tears yet again. "I wanted to save you. I thought I could save you, but now I can't because I'm so fucking stupid—! I wanted so badly to bring Endeavor to justice, to make him confess of everything he's done to us so the whole public would see him for who he truly is and send him away for good. But I've lost that chance...!"

She buried her face in her hands and tensed when she felt her mother run her fingers through her hair. It had been so long since she had willingly touched her bright red hair—and without flinching too. Just the action alone was enough to show Shiina that her mom had gotten slightly better over the years.

"You've done so much for yourself and our family, Shiina..." She heard her say.

But it's not enough! She wanted to cry out.

"I could see why you'd want to target your father... I won't lie to you, the thought of Enji getting a change of heart is something I'd like, but I could never hate you for not being able to do it. You've done enough as is—you've fought corruption, villains, and now you're trying to save Japan? It worries me greatly, but hearing that makes me so proud of who you've become."

Shiina could hardly believe what she was hearing. She failed to save her from her tormentor and her mother didn't hate her for it?

Would you hate her if it was the other way around? The rational side of her brain asked.

No, she answered right away. She definitely wouldn't.

"Shiina, please look at me." Rei requested.

Shiina wiped her eyes furiously and lifted her head. Rei gave her a tender and watery smile. "Your siblings were right about you. You've really grown for the better."

A breathless laugh bubbled out from her throat, but it was interrupted by the tap, tap, tap of shoes approaching from outside. Rei didn't seem to hear it, but Shiina did. She stood up immediately and hissed under her breath, "Someone's coming!" Before diving under the bed and yanking the blanket down to cover the gap.

There was a knock.

"Come in," Rei said.

Shiina heard the door open and the nurse's greeting. "Good morning, Todoroki-san. I just came to remind you that your shower will begin right after breakfast. Did you have something specific you wanted in your meal?"

"Ah, no thank you. I'll take whatever is being served in the cafeteria."

"As you wish. I'll see you later, Todoroki-san."

Shiina crawled out from under the bed once the nurse was gone, mentally apologizing to her mother for ruining her once made bed.

"Sharp ears," Rei complimented, smiling.

Shiina shrugged sheepishly. "Comes with infiltrating Palaces all the time." She glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that she'd probably have to leave soon. "I should go..." She said sadly, not quite wanting to.

"You'll visit me again, won't you?" Rei asked, and Shiina understood the meaning behind those words: 'You'll come back to me alive, right?'.

Shiina nodded determinedly. "I will. I promise."

Rei gave her a relieved smile. "Good... But, ah, Shiina...? How exactly did you get in here? I believe visitation hours don't start until... two more hours."

"Oh, uh, yeah, you guys need better security."

Rei laughed. "But how will you get out?"

Shiina opened her mouth, but then closed it. People were most likely roaming the halls now since that nurse walked in... Her gaze slowly turned to the window. Rei seemed to realize what she was thinking and turned slightly white.

"This is the third floor."

"I see a tree outside."

"Shiina..."

"Come on, mom, please? I'll be super, super careful." She begged.

Rei sighed in defeat. And she thought Natsuo would be the rowdiest of the bunch, but Shiina was definitely the thrill seeker. "Alright... But please be careful."

"I will!"

As Rei watched Shiina leave, a sad expression crossed over her face.

Shiina's extremely rebellious nature, her protectiveness over Shouto, the horrible arguments she'd have with her father that resulted in her getting kicked out, and then being disowned... All of it was painfully familiar to her.

"Shiina..." She whispered lightly. "I hope you don't end up with the same fate as your brother..."

— ❤ —

Shiina didn't expect to find herself at the rooftop of her school where she was currently being interrogated by her brother.

"So... not only did you break into a psychiatric hospital to visit mom, but you're also going to go on an extremely dangerous mission to get rid of the Metaverse in order to save Japan with a serial killer because a woman who you've never met before said so." Shouto deadpanned.

"Uh... yeah, that's about it." She nodded sheepishly.

"That sounds completely disastrous." He stated. "Do you even know what you're going to find in the depths of Mementos? Or if it would really fix the problem? And why is it necessary to bring Akechi with you?"

"Er... according to Elizabeth—"

"—Who's a complete stranger." He interrupted unhelpfully.

She winced. "Right... according to her, we'll be encountering something dangerous which is why we need more people."

"'Something dangerous'," he echoed, completely unimpressed. "That's what she said."

"Well to be exact, she said that our 'trials of suffering cannot be dealt with alone' and that there's 'one more person you will need assistance from if you wish to not die a gruesome death'." Shiina quoted and Shouto's expression grew more and more stony.

"Are you sure she just wasn't on drugs?" He inquired.

She rolled her eyes. "She understood Morgana."

"Maybe she has a cat whispering Quirk."

"Shouto!" She huffed. "I'm being serious!"

"So am I," he glared at her. "All the information you have is vague."

"We always go to Palaces without knowing what to expect the first time," she said, shrugging.

"I know that, but this is bigger than a Palace. This is everyone's Palace. What exactly is the thing that's effecting all of Japan?"

"I don't know, but we'll find out and defeat it." She said confidently.

He still wasn't convinced. "I just feel like this could go so wrong..."

"Don't worry, everything'll be just fine." She promised.

His features softened but his shoulders didn't relax much. "Alright... I'll believe you. Just... be careful. I don't want you to die again."

"I won't," she said softly.

"And you're sure I can't go with you?"

"Shouto," she gave him a half-hearted glare. "You know I can't let you. You might die in there and I could never forgive myself if anything happened to you."

"...Maybe if you gave me a gun," he tried to persuade her. "I aim better when I picture the old man in front of me."

She burst out laughing.

"By the way, you still haven't called Fuyumi or Natsuo about you moving in with Amada and Sanada."

She paled. "Come on, Shouto, not today!"

He gave her a hardened stare. "Today."

"No."

"Shiina."

"Please!"

"Now."

"....Urgh, fine!" She whipped out her phone and stared fearfully at it. "You sure I can't just text them?"

"Call."

"Oh my god."

— ❤ —

The subway was still packed with people, meaning none of them were able to enter Mementos quite yet. When Shiina arrived, she greeted Akechi brightly before she tensed up at Ryuji's question.

"So did ya tell 'em?"

She knew exactly who he was talking about. "Yes..." She said miserably. "Sho-chan made me call them during lunch."

"Well, what'd they say?" He asked. "They're not pissed that you're living with two dudes, are they?"

She didn't answer right away, making everyone stare at her uncomfortably.

"Shiina..." Makoto said suspiciously. "You did tell them that you're living with Sanada-san and Amada-kun, right?"

She fidgeted guiltily on the spot. "I... may have pretended to lose connection when they asked for their names..."

"Oh my god," Akira snickered into his palm.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me." Yusuke commented, an amused smile on his face.

"And Shouto didn't make you call again?" Ann asked, exasperated.

"I think he just gave up on me to be honest," Shiina scratched the back of her head, recalling the 'I'm so done' expression he wore on his face after she hung up on the both of them.

"You should really tell them before they find out the hard way." Morgana warned.

"There's no way they're gonna find out," she said dismissively. "Shouto won't spill the beans because that means admitting that he's the one who gave me permission. Fuyumi won't ever find out because she's so busy at work and at school. Natsuo lives away but it's not like he lives in the same apartment building as us," she snorted at the possibility. The world couldn't hate her that much as to make Natsuo live so close to them.

"You never know," Akechi told her.

She waved him off. "It'll be fine. Anyways, the coast is clear, so we should probably get going."

Futaba looked around to confirm and took out her cellphone. Within seconds they were back in Mementos.

"Hey, check out the Nav." Yusuke suddenly said before anyone could make a move.

Shiina looked at hers, and there was an unfamiliar message on display.

THE DOOR TO THE DEPTHS OF MEMENTOS HAS BEEN OPENED

Ann repeated the message out loud. "Wait, does that mean—"

Everyone nodded.

Morgana took a deep breath and stepped forward. "...We're really gonna do this, right?"

"Of course!" Ann exclaimed.

"Why're you askin' now?" Ryuji asked.

Morgana slowly turned to them, an uncertain look on his face. "Well... I-I just thought, what am I gonna do if you guys freak out and bail on me! We're going to erase Mementos, aren't we? Come on, let's go, you guys!"

Shiina rose a brow at the obvious lie. Was he hiding something?

"Mona sure seems hyped up!" Futaba said, not noticing how odd he seemed. The rest of the team chased after him, while Haru and Ann stayed back for a bit.

"You noticed how peculiar he was, right?" Akechi muttered to Shiina.

She nodded. "Definitely. I just hope whatever's bugging him isn't too serious..."

"Hope you guys are ready for the long drive..." Morgana said before he turned into a car.

"Who's turn is it to drive?" Haru asked, looking around.

Akechi perked up immediately. "May I try? I've never driven the Morgana-mobile before." He asked, hoping he didn't sound too excited.

"You sure you're a good driver?" Futaba questioned.

"I'm the only one here with a drivers license." He pointed out dryly.

"...Oh yeah..."

"Crow's driving." Akira decided.

Akechi grinned. "Thank you."

"You better not crash me," Morgana grumbled as everyone climbed aboard.

As expected, they ran into a few complications during their drive. It was nothing too hard, just the occasional Shadow that would appear that they'd have to defeat. But during the middle of their journey they heard the familiar echoing sound of chains.

Morgana looked around. "Do you guys hear that?"

"...It's him again," Futaba confirmed.

Akira smirked. "You guys ready for a rematch?"

"Oh definitely," Makoto said lowly, balling her fists.

"It's been awhile since we've seen that trigger-happy piece of shit," Ryuji snarled, summoning his weapon.

"The chains are getting louder," Yusuke informed them. "Oracle, where's it coming from?"

"To our left," she answered. "It'll come at us through the wall so get ready."

"Do you think it's gotten stronger?" Haru asked.

"It's fine because so have we," Shiina assured.

"Yeah," Ann agreed. "We'll be ready for it this time."

Akechi's hand inched for his mask. "It's getting closer..."

A second passed and the familiar bloody figure came barreling through the wall, guns out and blasting away. Everyone dodged in time, having been expecting the attack.

"Tullia! Mudoon!" Shiina ordered, and the attack successfully hit.

"Nice one, Diablo!" Futaba cheered.

Ryuji dashed forward with his Megido Rod raised up. The Reaper saw him coming and aimed his gun at him, but Ann quickly lashed at it with her whip and yanked back, causing him to misfire. Ryuji took the chance to violently bash him on the back of the head, enough to make it collapse.

"Kamu-Susano-o!" Yusuke called out, and his Persona immediately froze the Reaper hands to the ground.

"Mara!" Akira shouted and everyone's worst nightmare came to life.

Shiina let out a shrill shriek since she had the misfortune to be standing nearby the place where Mara was summoned. She ran away and hid behind Yusuke, who gawked uncharacteristically at the Persona Akira brought out.

"Why do you have that?!" Futaba demanded.

"Well, I fused some Personas—" Akira began to explain.

"—You willingly made this...?" Akechi shuddered, stepping back from the monstrosity.

Akira frowned. "Come on guys, he's not that bad..."

"I'll pummel you with my mighty thrust!" It cackled, lunging at the Reaper. Shiina gagged. This was one of the very few times she would ever feel bad for a Shadow.

"Oh my god..." Ann looked a bit sick.

"Uh guys?!" Morgana shouted. "The Reaper's free!"

"Kougaon!" Akechi yelled out, and the whole area lit up from the massive bless attack he released.

It staggered back and used Bufudyne on Ann, who evaded it swiftly.

"Hah!" She grinned before using Agidyne.

Once the flames disappeared, Morgano jumped up and slashed at the Reapers chest with his sword. It let out a pained noise before Shiina crept up from behind and stabbed her claws into it's back.

It whirled around angrily and used Garudyne to blow her back. She dove to the side to avoid it.

Since it's back was to her, Makoto summoned Anat to attack it with Freidyne.

Haru made the final move with her axe and swiped it across it's neck, killing it instantly.

"We did it!" She exclaimed cheerfully.

"Ah, vengeance is sweet." Akechi smiled, remembering back in the day when the Reaper practically annihilated their asses.

"Even better is that nobody's hurt," Futaba grinned, joining them.

"Remember the good ol' days where we always panicked whenever we heard the slightest hint of chains?" Ryuji chuckled.

"Shall we continue on?" Yusuke asked, dusting off his pants.

Akira nodded. "Yeah."

Several hours later, they finally made it to the Path of Iweleth, but it wasn't at all what they were expecting.

It was humongous, not at all like the narrow paths they were so used to driving through. It was dark with only the vibrant red glows to help light there way. There were red vein-like textures on the floor and ahead of them stood black curved pillars that sort of resembled a rib cage. Over at the sides were motionless trains and she could see the dark silhouettes of people. And in front of them was a massive wall with thin, glowing red designs on it.

"The hell is this...?" Ryuji said, eyes widening.

"It's some big, fossil-looking thing... Is that the Treasure...?" Futaba wondered aloud.

"Wait, look on the side..." Yusuke pointed. "It's the train running down to Mementos. So this is where that crowd of people was trying to reach...?"

Makoto stared ahead, squinting at the glowing wall. "People are walking in and out of there, so the other side of the wall must be... Wait! It's not a wall, but a giant door...?"

"So the Treasure isn't here..." Akechi sighed. "Let's check what's on the other side then."

Nobody had any disagreements with it, so they ran towards the eerie door and stopped in front of it.

"Is this thing seriously a door?" Ryuji asked skeptically. "How're we s'posed to get past...?"

As if on cue, parts of the door began to rise.

"Well that was convenient." Shiina said bluntly.

"I bet that means the inner depths the Meta-Nav was talking about before are right ahead," Morgana deduced.

"Hold on," Futaba said quickly. "The door only opens from this side..."

Ann grew worried. "...What do you mean?"

"Well, I took a quick peek at the mechanism inside the door... And it looks like you can only open it from here. We can get in, but nothing can get out." She explained.

Wonderful, they all thought. Just what we need.

"It's as though whatever lies within has been locked away..." Makoto trailed off.

"Wait, so you're saying that the people going in there are choosing a life of imprisonment...?" Haru asked.

Yusuke frowned. "I have never felt such eeriness before... What is this place...?"

"We'll find out once we reach the depths," Morgana said. "Come on, let's go."

They walked through the door and were even more surprised than before.

"The hell is this place...?" Ryuji croaked.

It looked like they were trapped within someone's body. Millions of pulsing crimson lines stretching from every inch of Mementos were all leading downwards, like blood vessels to a heart.

"It's so creepy..." Ann shivered.

Shiina walked towards the edge of the dark path they were on and peered down. Gulping, she leaned away and took several steps back. "It's a long way down from here..."

"So those strange pipes tunneling through Mementos were originating down here after all..." Yusuke murmured. "You know, I have been considering this for some time... but they remind me somewhat of veins."

"I wonder what exactly is running through them..." Akechi said thoughtfully, staring at the pulsating red pipes.

"More importantly... what's up with this scenery...?" Ann asked. "What kind of distortion is this? I mean, what does everyone think this world is...?!"

"Calm down, Lady Ann," Morgana soothed. "The Treasure is definitely here and that's what's important now. And I can see something else... A tremendous presence that's coming from much deeper within..."

Makoto sighed. "I don't know if I want to find out what that may be... but we must harden our resolves."

Akira glanced over to the side and caught something hidden in the shadows. A large crowd of people.

"Guys look," he said quietly, jutting his chin towards their direction. They all crept forward a little for a clearer view.

"Whoa, shit... There's a ton of 'em gathered here." Ryuji said.

"It looks like they're all trying to get past that door..." Morgana muttered, eyeing the tall red and black door the people were facing.

"But why is it so crowded...?" Haru asked.

"It looks like the door's keeping them all out. We'll have to try and look for another way in." Futaba stated.

As they shuffled through them, they heard them speak in airy and dazed voices. Most of them seemed to say the same thing: "I'll finally be released..."

Nobody bothered to give any clarifications, so they resumed looking for a way out. Akira spotted several separated platforms that they all had to jump on or climb over until they found a glowing red opening on the wall. As they explored the new floor, they found things like bones and skulls that caused the hair on the backs of their necks rise.

When they stepped into a new area, Futaba froze and looked around. "Hm?! What is this place...?"

They looked around and stiffened. Surrounding them were floors of prison cells and inside of them were regular looking civilians, but there illuminating yellow eyes screamed 'shadow'.

"Are those... chains on them?" Haru asked in a shaky voice. "Is this a prison?!"

"Who's captured here?" Ryuji said.

"Technically speaking, I would say it's someone's Shadow." Makoto replied.

They walked closer to the bars.

"They're saying something..." Akechi said in a hushed voice.

"C'mon," a male Shadow Prisoner said to them in his distorted voice. "Don't be out there and come on in..."

A female spoke up next. "Don't open the cells, okay? I have no intention of leaving this place...!"

They all spoke in a slow and dazed tone, as if they were experiencing a dream.

"They feel safe being here...?" Yusuke asked, troubled. He addressed one of them. "What're you saying? You're being kept in a prison."

Instead of answering, the person beckoned them over with a languid smile on his face. "Come in... You'll like it better in here..."

Morgana crossed his arms. "This reminds me of Kamoshida's castle... They're like the 'slaves' we saw there."

An elderly Shadow Prisoner nodded. "That's right... This place is the best in the end... In the depths within is a system that grants desires..."

"A system that grants... desires?" Ann repeated.

"Something like that exists...? Here?!" Ryuji exclaimed.

Makoto sighed as the elderly man responded by telling them to come in through the bars. "It's no use. You can't reason with these people."

Yusuke nodded in agreement. "They're truly 'distorted' just like the scenery here..."

"You end up searching for stuff or being troubled because you're outside the prison." A male Shadow Prisoner said. "There are things you don't need to know to live on."

"He's right," the old man croaked. "Things like the details on the system, the locked 'Quarantine Cell'..."

"Quarantine?" Shiina repeated incredulously. "Who's in there?"

He shrugged lazily. "Supposedly a great and truly dangerous criminal, but who would want to check a place like that? Come now, we don't have to chat like this. Why not come inside?"

Shiina groaned. "Ugh, you're usele—Hold on," she immediately froze, her eyes locked on someone in the background. She stepped closer towards the bars and her eyes widened when she saw the familiar gravity defying purple hair.

"Shinsou?!"

"Huh? The brainwashing dude from the Sports Festival?!" Ryuji blurted out.

"Shinsou!" She called out to him. "Hey! Shinsou, over here!"

"Hmm?" The teenager casually walked forward, the chains attached to him dragging loudly. When he saw Shiina, he tilted his head to the side and blinked owlishly at her with his piercing yellow eyes. "Who're you? Why don't you come on in."

"What the hell are you saying?!" Shiina cocked her head back. "Shinsou, it's me, Kiberi Shiina! I go to UA with you!"

Much to her horror, Shinsou actually had to think for a few seconds before recognizing her. "Oh yeah... Kiberi... I remember you. Why are you out there? Come on in—"

"—Yeah, yeah, 'come on in' you told me that before," she cut in impatiently. "I know you're not the real Shinsou, but how exactly did you get in here?"

"The normal way." He said plainly.

"And that is...?" Akira motioned for him to continue.

Shinsou sighed, as if explaining all of this was a lot of effort. "Boarded the train. Stepped out. Then I followed everyone else in here..." A dreamy smile crawled over his face. "It's so nice here Kiberi... You should come on in."

"He must mean the train we saw from before." Akechi said.

"But where do those trains even begin?" She wondered. "Shinsou definitely shouldn't be here in Mementos of all places. I know he's nowhere near corrupt so why...?"

"We should explore more to find out," Akira instructed. "Let's go."

Futaba glanced over to Morgana, who wore an uncomfortable expression. "Mona?"

"..." He said nothing.

Suddenly, they heard the voice of a surveillance guard. "Hm? Why are you out and about? Where are your restraints?!"

They all whirled around to see two guards storming towards them.

"Shit..." Shiina cursed.

Behind her, she could hear Shinsou let out a drawling chuckle. "See? So much better in here..."

"Removing your restraints is not allowed." One guard said.

"Outsiders... must be eliminated!" The second one growled before they all exploded.

They were up against two Pagan Saviors, who, much to their displeasure, had wings. Meaning they could fly out of their reach.

Futaba quickly went to work. "Alright, they're weak to wind, so Mona go at 'em! It's strengths are psychokinesis so be careful. And Diablo, Crow, it drains bless and nullifies curse so watch out!"

"Got it," Shiina muttered, summoning Tullia and ordering her to brainwash one of the Shadows only for both of them to be brainwashed instead. Nice, she thought excitedly. Tullia knew Brainjack so now she could brainwash multiple opponents at once!

"Oooh, good shots, Diablo!" Futaba complimented as they began ripping each other apart. Once they were weak enough, Shiina and Tullia worked together to rip them apart.

"That was careless of us," Yusuke said as the Shadows died. "It should be no surprise that a prison has guards."

"Wait a sec... This is everyone's Palace, right? Not like Kamoshida's castle..." Ryuji trailed off. "Who's keepin' these people here...?"

"'The Big Cheese'." Akira answered. "Remember what Elizabeth said? She warned us that we'd meet something dangerous in here. I'm pretty sure it's 'The Big Cheese' guy she kept mentioning."

"And she didn't explain any further?" Akechi asked.

He shook his head. "She was extremely vague with the details."

"Mona-chan?" Haru spoke up worriedly. "Are you alright?"

Everyone turned to Morgana, who had been uncharacteristically quiet.

"...I remember now," he said. "I've... seen this place before."

"Hold on though. It wasn't open until we came here today." Ann pointed out.

Morgana frowned. "Sorry... It's just a sense I'm getting. Still... it feels like I'm really close to remembering something important..."

"Y'know, comin' in here was what you wanted from the beginning." Ryuji said. "We just gotta keep movin' on!"

"On top of that, I'm curious to know who the ruler of this place is." Yusuke mused. "So far all I can picture is a big block of cheese..."

Shiina snorted. "Knowing the Shadows, it'd probably be a rotten block of cheese."

"Are we all ready to go now? More guards can be coming." Akechi warned.

"Wait, what about these people...?" Haru asked.

"Leave them be," Makoto answered. "They'll be taken care of if we erase Mementos."

Shiina glanced back at Shinsou, who was numbly staring off in space and sighed.

I wonder who else I'll find in here...

The areas after that were prowling with Shadows that were getting stronger and stronger the deeper they ventured. Even worse, as they explored, they'd come across a bunch of hanging cages where certain civilians would be imprisoned in. But like the Shinsou and the others, none of them seemed to mind.

"Uh, Shiina," Ryuji spoke up, staring into one of the cages. "I think you might wanna take a look at this one."

She huffed, but walked over to him anyways. "How many times do I have to tell you to use my code name while we're in he—Nee-chan?!"

Everyone snapped their heads towards her. "What?"

"You too...?!" Shiina whispered, gazing up in horror at the sight of her caged sister. The older woman was idly sitting on a loveseat, staring ahead of her with a blank expression on her face.

Shiina stepped forward and waved a hand in front of the bars. "Hey! Nee-chan! Yoohoo? Snap out of it!"

"...Ah... Shiina..." Fuyumi blinked slowly and Shiina winced at the distorted sound.

"Why are you in that cage?" Shiina demanded.

"Why aren't you?" Fuyumi asked back.

"Just answer the question," Shiina groaned. Usually she wouldn't speak so rudely to her elder sister, but she knew this wasn't the real Fuyumi and she was getting really impatient for a decent explanation. "Why are you there? And who locked you up?"

Fuyumi frowned at her tone. "Since when were you so high-strung? What's the point in getting answers...?"

Ryuji gaped at her. "Uh, ain't you a teacher?"

"It's no use," Ann slumped her shoulders. "She's just as vague as the rest of them."

"The world is already complete," Fuyumi said eerily. "There's nothing left to do..."

"Look at all those blood vessels attached to the cage," Akechi noted. "Her dull expression... It seems almost as if those vessels are draining her."

Shiina repressed a shiver. "Draining her of what though?"

"I don't quite know," he answered, a troubled expression on his face. "But I guess we'll find out."

— ❤ —

"I hope this is the last of their security nets," Haru sighed as the large door slid open. "These are a bit annoying."

"I'm sure there'll be worse ones in the next floor..." Makoto moped as they walked through the door, only to freeze up.

"Whoa, what the shit...?!" Ryuji gawked.

They were back out in the chasm again, and the path they were on seemed to spiral all the way downwards. Much to their dismay, they couldn't find an end to it.

"It truly seems to go on ad infinitum... Where does it lead?" Yusuke questioned.

"Screw that, where does it end?" Shiina retorted.

"I never expected there would be this much here..." Morgana admitted. "But the Treasure's presence is getting stronger. We're going in the right direction for sure."

He jogged forward and transformed into his car form.

"Get in! We don't have time to go down on foot!" He ordered. They boarded on and Akechi began to drive down.

"Be careful," Akira warned. "Don't stray too close towards the edge."

"I know what I'm doing, Joker." Akechi said, flashing him sweet smile.

"Is it just me or does it feel like we're driving ourselves straight to hell?" Ryuji said.

"I'm pretty sure there would be more fire," Ann pointed out.

"Yeah, and this place is way too cold to be hell." Shiina added.

Futaba nodded in agreement, rubbing her arms. "Honestly, I'm surprised there isn't any snow."

"Those prisoners don't even seem bothered by the cold," Makoto frowned. "Then again, they don't seem to be bothered by anything."

"I wonder what's wrong with them..." Yusuke murmured. "They seemed very..."

"Uncaring," Akira supplied. "As if... as if they've given up on trying to live."

"That's true," Haru nodded. "I mean, they seem like willing prisoners. Who would like that?"

"Definitely not me," Akira muttered under his breath, remembering that the Velvet Room (for him) was a literal prison.

After a few more minutes of driving, they final reached the floor and climbed out of the car. The second floor didn't seem too different then the previous one, but then again they barely had time to explore it when they suddenly stumbled onto more prison cells.

Ann suddenly stopped running, her eyes widening into saucers. "What?! You're...?!"

"K-Kamoshida?!" Ryuji stammered as the familiar ex-PE teacher languidly turned to face them through the bars.

Their attention quickly transferred onto the old man beside him.

Yusuke stiffened in recognition. "Sens—No... Madarame..."

"Kaneshiro's over here..." Makoto said in a shaky voice.

"Is President Okumura here too?!" Futaba said tactlessly.

"Father isn't around anymore..." Haru replied.

The younger girl winced. "...Sorry."

Haru shook her head. "No, it's okay. More importantly, look there." She pointed to the right and everyone turned to see a familiar bald man sitting down with an iron ball and chain attached to his leg.

"You?!" Akechi growled scathingly.

"Shido Masayoshi." Makoto said in a low voice.

"Why are all of them here...?" Shiina asked aloud. "These guys should've had a change of heart from their Palaces disappearing."

"Mm, your bod's as great as always. C'mon, come closer," Kamoshida said to Ann.

CLANG!

Ann didn't hesitate to lash her whip against the bars, but he barely even flinched at the noise. "Shut up, you creep!"

Kamoshida just sighed. "Hmph... I'm joking. I don't want any more trouble. I finally get to live without having to think for myself now."

"I mistakenly though myself to be talented..." Madarame trailed off. "But now I think I'm a fool for wanting too much."

"It's no wonder people who can't take a hint get yelled at..." Kaneshiro said. "I'm done actin' like a big shot. Who cares if I'm stupid? It's not like you get punished for bein' dumb. Nobody needs to strive to be more than they really are."

"These people seem completely different than they were before..." Yusuke noted.

"I don't think it's because they had a change of heart though..." Makoto replied.

Morgana frowned to himself. "Wait... Have they chosen a life of captivity after they lost their distorted desires...?"

"Unfortunately, Okumura isn't here with us." Shido said solemnly. "Nothing can be done for the dead... I'm sorry."

"...Yes, I know. Thank you for the details." Haru said curtly. "Now if you don't mind, what in the world is this place?"

"It's supposedly called the 'Prison of Regression'," he answered. They were in shock, not because of the name, but because he was actually being helpful.

"Regression...?" Futaba repeated.

"More importantly, does this look like captivity to you?" Shido asked.

"You're literally in chains," Akira replied bluntly. "That, and you're also behind bars."

Shido just chuckled. "No, this is the exact opposite. The utmost freedom is available to anyone who desires it here. This is the freedom to not make decisions... The release from having to think for yourself. It is far more marvelous than the country I wished to create..."

"Oh how the mighty have fallen," Akechi smirked wickedly. "You went from being an ambitious, crooked politician to a lazy, good-for-nothing half-wit who lost the ability think for himself. Pity all the de-stressing didn't help you grow your hair back."

Shiina and Ryuji struggled to stifle their laughter at the last comment.

Shido simply regarded him blankly. "There are fools like you that cannot stay put in this place. In other words, they are escaped convicts... Of course, I'm talking about our past selves. Such people are segregated from this peaceful world and locked away in their own Palace."

Makoto quickly began to piece it together. "So those are the Palace rulers..."

Kamoshida chuckled. "I really gotta thank you for changin' my heart. I got to come back here, after all."

"We... sent 'em back here...?" Ryuji croaked.

"I don't understand..." Yusuke whispered. "Just what have we been doing by using the cognitive world...?"

"Reforming society," Akira said sharply.

"Yeah, get a hold of yourself, Inari!" Futaba scolded.

"Yes, you're right... I'm sorry..." He apologized.

"Having the freedom to not make your own decisions only means that someone else is controlling you!" Makoto snapped at the prisoners. "Tell me. Who is the ruler here? Who made all of this...?"

"What an odd question to ask," Shido mused. "It should be obvious: every member of the general public." At their shocked expressions, he explained further: "Haven't you learned anything in school? The collective ruler of a democratic country is its people.

"D-don't lie outta your ass like that!" Ryuji barked. "I mean, there was a guard here earlier! That means someone's gotta be lookin' out for you guys, right?"

"You may be right. We are the ones 'looking out' upon everyone else." He stated.

"What...?" Shiina furrowed your brows. "You're saying the ones who least want the prison to be tampered with... are the prisoners themselves? You guys?"

Ryuji shook his head. "It don't matter what this guy's talkin' about... We're gonna erase all of Mementos anyways! C'mon, let's keep goin'! Mona! The Treasure's in the deepest part, right?!"

"..."

Everyone turned around, only to see him surveying the area.

"Mona...?" Futaba called out to him.

"I do remember this place..." He muttered. "I saw the humans in here... and realized I looked different than them for some reason... Right! That's when I started to think I wanted to turn into a human!"

"Is that why you thought you would regain your true form if we destroyed Mementos?" Akira asked him quietly.

Morgana shook his head. "Sorry... I'm still missing a lot of my memories... But I know I started randomly checking a bunch of Palaces... Then my next memory is about that bastard Kamoshida's. ...Yeah. I'm starting to remember more..."

Akira was about to open his mouth to ask for details when another voice interrupted him.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

"Guards again?! And there are more of them this time!" Ann exclaimed as ten guards came busting in.

"One for each of us, so it should be fine." Akira quickly assured, taking out his gun and knife.

"Escaped inmates!" One of them shouted. "Catch them at once!"

Everyone quickly stationed themselves in front of an enemy just as they simultaneously exploded and turned into a group of Nebiros.

Shiina remembered encountering this particular Shadow back from when they were dealing with Sae's Palace. It's strengths were Psychokinesis and it repelled Curse, which made it extremely annoying.

Luckily, all she really needed was for Tullia to go and Terror Claw the damn thing a few times and it was immediately inflicted with fear. It tried to flee the fight, but Shiina whipped out her trusty uzi and shot it down.

"How's everyone doing?" Akira asked once the last of the Nebiros was defeated.

Everyone silently gave him a thumbs up and he nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Then let's keep going."

They ventured on, going through various booby traps, sneaking through security nets, and beating up Shadow Guards. There were cages in this floor too, and they found a certain listless young man whose words deeply disturbed them.

"There's nothing I can do myself..." Said the man who looked to be as young as Natsuo. "I'll just leave social reform to someone else who has the power... I'm not fit for that kinda stuff... Anyway, the world's gonna end soon so... who really cares...?"

"The world's going to end?" Makoto echoed, stunned. "What does he mean by that? It's more than just some offhand comment, right...?"

"Let's hope not..." Shiina muttered, walking on and keeping her eyes away from the boy. He literally looked dead inside. Like he was just some lifeless zombie trapped in a cage...

The cage next to his held a skeletal businessman.

"This isn't how it was supposed to be... It's all society's fault for not accepting me..." He mumbled, his dull eyes staring through them. "Hard work only brings exhaustion... This life is such a waste... Yes... I wish everything would just end already..."

"The hell is he talkin' about, 'end'?! This is bullshit!" Ryuji growled, but he was visibly shaken. "Goddammit... Who the hell's lockin' all these people up...?"

"This must be what Elizabeth meant," Akira said. "They're being controlled. Everyone has a 'noose wrapped around their necks' and now they're just waiting for someone to kick the chair out from under them."

"And that must be 'the end' that the other man spoke of," Akechi theorized.

"There's another one over here," Futaba whispered, gesturing to the right. They walked over to a faintly smiling woman.

"Social reform? I'm not interested. That stuff's lame anyway. Don't you think destruction's more pleasing?"

Yusuke gave a worried look. "Destruction is... pleasing? She cannot be in her right mind. It is as though she wishes for the world to end... It appears you are right Joker."

"Nobody whose sane would want that though," Shiina frowned. "Those thoughts can't possibly be hers."

"It must be because they're being controlled by The Big Cheese. Which means Shido was wrong when he said that the prisoners were the ones operating this." Futaba concluded.

"Oh... I remember you two..." The woman blinked languidly at Shiina and Futaba. "You were one of the escaped convicts... The others found their back though... Is that why you're here...?"

"W-what? Since when were we ever here?!" Futaba squeaked.

Shiina grimaced. "We did have Palaces remember...?"

"Oh... right..." She replied weakly.

"Guys!" Ann suddenly exclaimed. "I found us a safe room!"

They didn't hesitate to barge in and quickly closed the doors shut before anyone could spot them.

Shiina plopped down on the nearest chair and stretched out her legs. "This is the creepiest place I've ever been in," she stated bluntly. "Mostly because two people I know are imprisoned here. Do you think that would affect how they are in reality?"

"What do you mean?" Akira asked.

"Remember when we—well, excluding you, Goro-chan—were at the mall and we first heard about Shido being hospitalized? And we found out that people were treating us as if we didn't exist?"

"You mean when they claimed us to be some 'urban legend'?" Haru asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, that. Well, afterwards, I went to go hang out with Shinsou and I asked him about his opinion on the Phantom Thieves... He was just like everyone else, he only thought of us as an urban legend. What if... what it's because he's being imprisoned here?"

"That... actually makes sense..." Akechi said slowly. "What about your sister?"

She frowned, shrugging. "I don't know. I never really bothered to ask her about anything Phantom Thief related."

Morgana hopped on the table, a serious expression on his face. "I agree with Crow. What Shido said doesn't make any sense, so Diablo's explanation could be it. A good portion of Japan believes those claims, and it looks like that same portion is trapped in here."

"But how..." Makoto said thoughtfully. "How did they suddenly become like those brain-dead zombies?"

"The Big Cheese's influence must be festering throughout the public." Akira stated. "So far the only ones who don't believe in the whole 'urban legend' claims are those who know that we're the Phantom Thieves."

"That would be Mishima, dad, Makoto's sis, Shiina's bro, and the others," Futaba listed off.

He nodded. "My Confidants, basically."

"And those who want to arrest us," Akechi added.

"Oh yeah..." Ryuji made a face. "I almost forgot those bastards..."

Yusuke sighed and leaned against the back of his chair. "We really do have our work cut out for us..."

— ❤ —

They managed to reach yet another prison area where a particularly large cell door caught their attention.

"Guys, look." Haru pointed at it. "Doesn't that cell seem... different from the others?"

"Wait... Could this be the Quarantine Cell?" Makoto asked.

"Supposedly the most sinful, most dangerous inmate is held within..." Yusuke trailed off, gazing at it.

Morgana walked forward. "This... This place smells familiar for some reason..."

"Mona-chan...?" Haru asked.

Morgana stayed quite for several seconds. "...There's no mistake. This is it. I... was born here."

"Inside the prison?" Akechi blinked.

"Wait, then are YOU the dangerous inmate?!" Ann gaped.

He shook his head. "No... The inmate wasn't me... But I remember this place... Someone created me here... To guide all of you..."

"Guide...?" Haru echoed. "And who is this someone...?"

He groaned. "Ngh... I can't remember... Damn it... I'm so close... but my memory is too foggy..."

Ryuji spoke up, "Y'know, hearin' all this just makes me wanna know what's inside."

Suddenly, they whirled around at the sound of angry footsteps and inwardly groaned at the group of guards that came barreling straight at them.

"We found them! The escapees are in front of the isolated cell! Alert! Alert! Capture them at once!"

They instantly transformed. Three of them became Nebiros while the other two were Bellials.

"This guy nullifies Curse too..." Shiina muttered as she faced a Bellial.

"Diablo, let's work together to take them down." Yusuke said, she gave him a bloodthirsty grin to show her acceptance.

The Bellial swooped towards Shiina and picked her up, but she was prepared for it. She quickly adjusted herself onto it's back and sank her claws deep into it's wings, making it shriek as it began to fall.

"Fox!" She called out, and he nodded, summoning his Persona to create a tower of ice that pierced the Shadow through the chest, killing it instantly in mid-fall.

Makoto dusted her hands off once all the Shadows were killed. "This place seems to be under high alert now. We should keep going."

Yusuke nodded in agreement. "Given how important this cell appears to be, the depths of Mementos must be near. Mona's memories may return if we continue on..."

"Yeah..." He replied sullenly.

Ryuji crossed his arms. "So, we're finally gettin' close to the public's Treasure, huh?"

Morgana placed a paw under his chin. "Now that I think about it, it makes sense Mementos would connect to some place underneath Shibuya. Everyone crams themselves into packed underground boxes day after day without any complaints... From my standpoint, those are the true inmates of Mementos. It's no surprise the places are connected."

"You know, the voices of the public may have led the Phantom Thieves on more than any criminal..." Makoto stated.

"Seriously! Let's hurry up and steal that Treasure so we can crush Mementos!" Ryuji said impatiently.

Akechi sighed disdainfully at him. "Please lower your voice before we attract more guards."

"The fuck was that, Akechi?!"

"Skull! Code names, for fucks sake!" Shiina scolded.

They resumed their search, and throughout it, Tullia happily learned three new moves. The first was Mamudoon, which gave a medium chance of instantly killing all foes. Next was Lullaby, which put all opponents to sleep. And lastly was Famine's Scream. It was similar to Famine's Breath except Tullia screamed at the enemies (yes, multiple) to the point of starvation. Did it make sense to her? Definitely not, but she was more than pleased.

Several hours, around fifty or so Shadows, a handful of traps, and a couple of forcefully opened treasure chests later, they found themselves in the Prison Passageway. At the very center of it was a massive, gleaming red, towering building and wrapped around it was something that resembled a dark, bloody spine. Shiina found herself amazed at how a large thing could fit in Mementos.

"...The hell is this?" Ryuji said aloud what everyone was thinking.

Makoto marveled at it. "It's so big... I can't believe there's such a giant thing all the way around here..."

"Is everyone's Treasure inside?" Haru wondered.

Morgana nodded. "Yeah... That should be the case."

"But this bizarrely ominous air about it... It could be likened to a temple of sorts..." Yusuke said.

"Seems more like a skyscraper to me," Shiina commented.

"Nevertheless, we must enter." Akechi said solidly.

They all nodded in agreement and carefully descended from the dark spine-like staircase.

They walked inside, their steps echoing softly. Inside of the large shrine was a circular room with a seemingly endless amount of red vessels coming from the opened roof.

Shiina edged closer to the edge of of the platform they were on and gasped at what she saw in the bottom.

"Take a look at this! The trail of vessels end here!" She motioned them over and the peered down. At the very bottom floor was what looked like an oversized cup, which is where the blood vessels were connected to. On it's side were a pair of stone hands all aiming upwards.

"A cup...?" Akira said, almost incredulously. "What's being put it in...?"

"The depths of Mementos is likely what awaits us down there... Are you ready to descend, Joker?" Akechi asked.

He nodded. "Let's go."

He lead them towards a stairway off to the side and started jumping down on the large blocks. They finally landed on the bottom floor and drew closer to the cup.

It looked mechanical, what with all the whirring gears and wheels attached to it.

"The hell...?!" Ryuji muttered, giving it a weird look.

Yusuke looked at the surrounding walls and widened his eyes at the millions of gleaming red lights. "Look at how many there are... Are these all prison cells?"

Shiina narrowed her eyes and realized that he was right. In the middle of those 'lights' was what appeared to be the silhouettes of millions of people. "They are..." She confirmed.

"And... what's that thing in the middle?" Futaba asked.

"A cup." Akechi answered simply.

"Well it's a disgustingly grand one..." Ann commented, scrunching up her features.

"There are no other passages leading out of this room," Yusuke stated. It appears this is our final destination... the depths of Mementos."

"In that case, is the Treasure of Mementos somewhere in here?" Haru questioned, looking around.

Akira nodded. "That should be the case."

"I think you're right," Morgana agreed. "I've never been here... but I can sense it. There's no mistaking that presence. If we get rid of it..." He trailed off, furiously shaking his head as if to get rid of whatever thoughts he was thinking of. "...If we get rid of it, the public should come to its senses!"

Shiina's jaw dropped. "Wait—you can't mean—are you talking about the giant cup?"

"But something that large will be impossible to carry out of here." Yusuke pointed out.

"We just gotta make it disappear, right? If we can't move it, then we'll just hafta destroy it!" Ryuji exclaimed.

Surprisingly, Morgana nodded. "Yeah... That will work."

"Once we do that, the entire Metaverse is going to disappear, right...?" Shiina asked hesitantly. "This is finally it..."

Before anyone could say anything, the cup let out a loud hum and the noises started coming from the cells.

"Oh," Futaba said plainly. "I guess it's no surprise we've been discovered. That thing isn't gonna sit back and let itself get destroyed."

"Even the inmates are starting to liven up," Yusuke said, listening to the loud shouts of disagreements that echoed around them. "How eerie... Are they planning something?"

Akechi just smiled. "Their reaction only confirms it. The cup is the Treasure."

"Hold on," Makoto said quickly. "Something's off. Isn't it weird that we haven't ran into the person who's pulling this yet?"

"You mean The Big Cheese?" Futaba asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, them. Despite what Shido said, there truly is someone operating this gigantic system: The Big Cheese. But who and where are they?"

Suddenly a dark and chilling chuckle echoed from throughout the tower.

Ann nearly jumped. "What was that?!"

"W-was it the prisoners...?" Shiina looked around.

"We don't have time to worry about that! Leave it for later!" Ryuji snapped.

"Alright guys! We better not lose now!" Morgana shouted as everyone summoned their Personas. "Let's hurry up and destroy this thing! Everyone... give it your all!"

Their Personas repeatedly launched out their strongest attacks while Futaba worked in the background to make sure their attacks were at their highest.

But then suddenly a laser shot out from one of it's little bulbs. It struck Shiina straight on, sending her flying back.

"What the fuck?!" She spluttered, blood spurting from her mouth. "The cup fights back?! Since when the hell do Treasures even do that?!"

"They never do. At least, they're not supposed to." Akechi answered as Robin Hood healed her with Samarecarm.

"Thanks," she grunted, pulling herself up.

"Agidyne!" Ann shouted, then groaned in disappointment. "What the hell? We're barely making a dent!"

"I hate to say it, but this cup is really durable." Makoto scowled.

"Do you guys hear that?" Akira said sharply.

Everyone quieted down to listen. The prisoners were causing a ruckus.

"STOOOPPPP! STOPPP ITTT!" A man screamed, sounding tortured.

"DON'T TOUCH THE HOLY GRAIL!" A woman begged.

"Holy Grail...?" Futaba repeated.

Suddenly the vessels attached to the cup pulsated violently and in came the sound of rushing water. The cup glowed brightly, and it was the same sort of glow when someone was being healed.

"W-what was that?!" Shiina gasped.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO OUR HOLY GRAIL?!" A woman wailed.

"THAT'S RIGHT!" A man cackled. "THE HOLY GRAIL WILL NEVER PERISH!"

"Don't tell me..." Futaba paled. "Are the inmates giving it their strength...?!"

Shiina recalled the vessels trapping her sister and grew grim. "T-that's what those vessels are for...? It's literally sapping their life away!"

"Dammit, than this is never gonna end!" Ryuji cursed.

Yusuke bit his lip. "It seems hopeless if there are this many supporting it...!"

Suddenly, a godlike voice boomed. "You fools. Human, yet wishing to eradicate the desires of humanity..."

"W-who's that?!" Ann looked around wildly.

"Repent." The voice ordered.

Makoto gaped at the cup. "The Treasure's talking...?!"

"I am revered as the granter of dreams for all who behold me... A being most commonly known as the Holy Grail..."

"The Holy Grail..." Haru echoed.

Yusuke's eyes widened as something dawned on him. "Wait a second... You're the Big Cheese?"

Shiina's jaw dropped. "Holy shit." The Big Cheese was actually The Big Cup?!

"The Prison of Regression is representative of the collective desires of humanity." It stated. "They wish to bbe chained down, surrender their cognition, and neglect the world around them... These feeble-minded common-folk will make your 'social reform' all for naught. The shared heart of the masses has fallen into an excess of indolence and transformed into a prison."

The prisoners around them murmured in agreement.

Ryuji let out a growl. "Dammit... They're worshipin' that thing!"

"Thus," it continued. "The only suitable end for them is to perish within the prison they wished for themselves." The bulbs surrounding the cup began to glow brightly and they all stepped back, expecting an attack.

"Get ready! Here it comes!" Morgana warned. A second later he was blasted back by one of the beams.

Futaba gasped. "Mona's health is low!"

As Makoto worked on healing him, Akira brought out Trumpeter and began to Debilitate the Holy Grail.

"Matarukaja!" Ryuji ordered, increasing everyone's attacks.

A laser shot out at Ann, but she jumped out of the way and struck back with a burning Agidyne.

Haru brought Astarte out to use One-Shot Kill, showering the cup in a rampage of bullets as Kamu Susano-o worked on stabbing it with a myriad of icicles.

"Brave Blade!" He then ordered, his Persona slashing away at it. It should've given the damn thing a colossal amount of damage, but it's metal barely looked touched.

"Mudoon!" Shiina shouted, then shrieked in annoyance as the attack barely did anything.

"Loki, Eigaon!" Akechi growled, wishing to just destroy the cup already.

"I SAID STOOPPP!" A man screeched. "STOP ITTT!"

"It's healing again!" Futaba groaned out of frustration as the cup glowed. "Huh...? Wait, it's color..."

Before she could go any further, Morgana's Persona flew into the air and released a powerful blast of Garudyne that would usually send the opponent flying back several feet but it wasn't the same for the Holy Grail. It didn't budge even a centimeter.

Akira called forth Ongyo-Ki who used Mudoon.

"Watch out!" Shiina shrieked as one of the lights turned bright, a strong sign that it was about to attack. The pink laser shot out at Akira who dove to the side just in time.

"Ah! That sheen!" A girl breathed out in delight. "It'll last for all eternity!"

The cup glowed a familiar hue and they all groaned.

"It's bein' healed!" Ryuji complained. "Dammit, I can't believe we're about to get our asses whooped by a friggin' cup!"

"I knew it!" Futaba hissed. "Every time that thing heals, its color changes..."

She was right, Shiina realized. The cup was originally a dull black color, but now it was somewhat bronze-ish. Or maybe it was just a really bleak gold...?

"Dammit..." She growled under her breath, ordering Tullia to make it fall asleep. The attack hit, but... nothing happened?!

"Wait, what?! Why isn't it asleep?!" She panicked, and it retaliated by blasting her down with a laser beam. She collided onto an unfortunate Yusuke, who smashed into an even more unfortunate Akira.

"YOU CAN'T TOUCH OUR HOLY GRAIL!" A woman screamed.

"YEAH! WE'LL PROTECT IT!" Another agreed.

"It looks like they protect him from ailments..." Yusuke grunted as they crawled off of one another and stood back up.

"Just wonderful," Shiina spat bitterly. "Ailments are what I specialize in."

They resumed attacking it, but the more it healed, the brighter the cup became and the stronger it's lasers were. Each of them were struck down by it at least five times so far and they could still feel the pain from it.

"YOU'LL NEVER WIN!" A boy shouted.

"THE HOLY GRAIL WILL DEFEAT YOU!" Another said as the cup glowed bright and this time... it was finally gold.

"STOP THAT, YOU THIEVES!" A man barked.

All the millions of prisoners began their creepy chant: "GET OUT OF HERE. GET OUT OF HERE. GET OUT OF HERE."

Morgana covered his ears. "If this is really how people feel, there's no way we'll be able to steal their hearts... We've come here for nothing..."

"This is horrible..." Haru whispered.

"You imbeciles are intoxicated by an undesired 'justice'..." The Holy Grail spoke. "This is the will of the children of man who have fallen into sloth. My shine is proof that they desire my existence. As long as humanity yearns for me, I shall never perish..."

Makoto's face turned pained. "Is this really what everyone wants...? To stop thinking and be guided by the Holy Grail...?"

"We can't accept that." Akira told her firmly.

She nodded in agreement. "Yes... It's so frustrating it makes me want to cry... But I... I will never agree!

Morgana glared as the chants grew louder. "The humans I look up to aren't like that... No matter how painful reality is, it's all over if you don't try to change how things are! I'm not the only one who believes that. Everyone here agrees... We don't want to turn back into people we used to be! That's why we risked our lives coming here!"

"Mona-chan..." Haru said quietly.

"He's right!" Ann beamed.

The Holy Grail scoffed. "Humanity already wishes to lose their will to live. I am merely that being that will ultimately grant those wishes. Now, it is time I refrain from my place in this world, and begin to encroach upon reality itself." It soon began to radiate a royal blue glow.

"Encroach...? What is it gonna do...?!" Makoto fretted.

Now Shiina didn't know what 'encroach' meant, but she knew it didn't mean anything good.

"Hey, w-what's it doing?!" Ann stepped back as it glowed even brighter and the wheels and gears whirred around. It then started to emitting waves of energy, causing all of them to hastily back away.

"What should we do?" Akechi asked quickly.

Morgana seethed at the Holy Grail. "...I don't know what you are, but you can't keep arbitrarily deciding all this on your own. Humans aren't all stupid like you say they are!"

"Hmph. Indolent, foolish humans. You shall offer your hearts to me..."

Something white shot out from the center—another laser, but this one was powerful than the others. It shot out at them, moving around until it pierced through each and every one of them. They screamed at the burning pain and collapsed onto the floor.

When the light died down, the Holy Grail only appeared to have grown stronger. "Now, the time for the fusion has come..."

Yusuke sucked in a deep breath. "Hey! The ground's...!"

Shiina looked down and felt the color drain from her face. The ground was disappearing underneath them.

"It's vanishing...!" Haru said in a weak voice.

"Hell no...!" Ryuji's voice shook. His voice was the last thing Shiina heard before everything went white. For several seconds, she felt like she falling but she didn't expect to land so soon. With a pained cry, she fell to her knees as the blinding light disappeared.

Breathing heavily, she cracked her eyes open and saw the pavement underneath her palms. Wait, pavement?

"W-what is...?" She forced herself to stand up, her body aching everywhere.

"Is everyone okay?" She heard Ann say and turned to see her standing up, alert. Yusuke and Akira were up too, while Akechi, Makoto, Haru, Ryuji, Futaba, and Morgana were still on the floor trying to shake themselves off.

"Owww... Of course we are!" Ryuji growled as he got up, everyone else followed suit.

"Oh...!" Futaba suddenly gasped. "Hey, our clothes are back to normal...!"

Shiina shook her head. "That's not all... Look where we're at!"

"We're back in Shibuya...?" Akechi breathed out, puzzled.

"But how...?" Yusuke wondered.

"We didn't come back ourselves though... We must've been driven out by the Holy Grail." Morgana deduced.

Makoto paled. "Did we lose...?"

"It seems we did..." Akira mumbled.

"No..." Makoto's lips trembled.

Haru looked up. "...Huh...?"

Something wet dripped onto Shiina's nose, and then it started to fall some more. She lifted her hand to check out the droplets. But instead of seeing clear water she saw...

"The rain... it's pink? No, is it red...?" Akechi's eyes widened.

Suddenly they heard a loud noise, followed by Futaba's yelp. They whipped their heads and saw a terrifyingly familiar spine emerge from the ground, raising high until it was taller than the buildings.

"There's more of them!" Ann shrieked as the skies began to darken. Puddles of light red water formed around their feet as more towering spines grew from the ground.

"Mementos... in Shibuya...?!" Makoto said in a quivering voice. "Is this what it meant by the 'fusion'?!"

The sky then turned redder as more rain continued to pour in.

"I can't believe this is happening...!" Shiina cried out.

"Why doesn't anyone notice it...?!" Akechi bit out, looking around to see everyone's nonchalant faces.

— ❤ —

Rei was having a nice chat with one of her nurses in her bedroom when the sunlight streaming through her window suddenly turned into a violent shade of red. Her grey eyes blinked in confusion before she drew her attention out the window only to gasp out loud, every hair in her body raising as if on high alert.

The nurse, noticing the frightened expression on her face, immediately grew concerned. "Todoroki-san, are you alright?"

"H-Hayashi-san..." Rei said in a fearful voice. "The... the window..."

The nurse looked over and furrowed her brows. "Oh, did you want me to open it?" She stood up to do just that.

"No!" Rei nearly shrieked, her eyes unable to pry itself from the sight. It was obvious to her that her nurse couldn't see what was wrong. It didn't seem like anyone else in the hospital could either, since she was sure she would've heard their panicked shouts from her room.

"Are you okay, Todoroki-san? Y-you're turning very pale...!" Hayashi pointed out.

She looked down at her lap and gripped her pants tightly.

Breath in, breath out, she told herself, following her instructions.

This could have something to do with Shiina. She realized.

Breath in, breath out.

She could be in danger.

Breath in, breath out.

My children... are they alright...?

Breath in, breath out.

"Todoroki-san?" Hayashi spoke again.

Rei swallowed the lump down her throat and slowly relaxed her hands. "...Yes...?"

"Are you... are you alright?"

She forced herself to plaster on a convincing smile, unaware that her daughter had mastered the very same art.

"Yes. I'm fine, thank you."

— ❤ —

Dabi strolled into an alleyway with pockets full of stolen wallets and a shit-eating grin on his face. He couldn't help it. He got lucky when he spotted a couple of rich-looking drunkards stumbling through the bad-side his neighborhood. Even better was that he recognized them as Pro Heroes (most likely on break of course).

Much to his amusement, they were weak as shit so it was easy so him to beat them up and steal their cash before walking away without a scratch. The amount of money he had on him now would be enough to last him a month too.

He no longer had to eat those shitty instant ramen noodles from the convenience store anymore. He could eat real shit like soba—but none of that cold crap that his little brother was obsessed with for some twisted reason.

Just when he was about to step out of the alleyway, he was suddenly being pelted by water. Or at least, he hoped it was water (there was a time someone actually pissed on him from their apartment balcony, but Dabi didn't like to talk about that). He looked up to make sure it was rain only to freeze up.

The rain wasn't rain and the skies weren't blue anymore. They were red. The same sort of red he'd see back home whenever Endeavor hurt one of his siblings or his mother. He had to shove the painful memories to the back of his head when large bone structures burst from all around him.

"Shit...!" He cursed under his breath, narrowly dodging a large spine.

Thinking he was being attacked, he activated his Quirk only for nothing to happen. No blue flames came out from his palms. Even worse, the warm heat that radiated throughout his body felt like it had been sucked away. He was now left feeling cold, something he rarely ever felt thanks to his Quirk.

He hastily darted out of the alleyway and did a quick 360 and felt himself start to panic a little bit. All he could see were bones and red, and the air had a funny smell to it. He glanced around at all the faces walking by, nobody showing even the slightest hint of worry.

They don't see this shit...?! He thought. Was he the only one being affected? Fuck, did someone hit him with some sort of illusion Quirk?

He looked around once more, feeling doubt beginning to creep in. He couldn't explain how he knew, but it just couldn't be someone's Quirk. This was really happening, but why couldn't anyone else see it?

Why only him?

— ❤ —

Shouto and Fuyumi walked out of the restaurant with their arms full of plastic bags. Shouto was carrying his own order, which was, surprise surprise, cold soba.

As they walked towards Fuyumi's car, everything suddenly went to hell.

The bags in his hands nearly dropped as thousands of long bones protruded from the ground and rose to the sky. His eyes widened in horror as they took in his surroundings, and he spun around as if to make sure this was really happening.

It was.

And nobody seemed to realize it.

"Man, what great weather. Wanna go for a drive?" He heard a passerby comment.

A woman speaking into a cellphone walked past him. "Hello? Yes, it's about tomorrow's preliminary meeting..."

"The announcement for the new smartphone is tonight!" An excited teenager exclaimed.

"What were the Phantom Thieves all about anyway?"

"Oh man, hearing that brings back memories! I feel so dumb for even believing they existed."

"It was fun news, though. Well, I doubt anyone believes they're around anymore."

What are they saying? He thought. They publicly announced Shido as a fraud for all Tokyo to see! That didn't even happen too long ago!

"—to! Shouto!" Fuyumi nudged his arm.

He quickly turned to her. "Fuyumi, do you not notice what's happening?"

She blinked at him. "Huh? What do you mean? What's going on?"

She doesn't even see that there's red rain falling on her?

He shook his head wildly. This couldn't be happening.

"This can't be happening..." He heard someone breath out and turned to look.

He saw a teenage boy probably a few years older than him gazing up at the sky with a worried and horrified look on his face. His silver hair fell close to reaching his grey eyes, and he wore a simple high school uniform.

He could see it to? Shouto realized. He approached him, only to stop when he saw a flicker of vibrant red hair from the corner of his eyes. He turned away from the boy and saw Shiina and her friends, all gaping up in the air.

Dropping his bags, he made a dash for her while calling his name. Fuyumi was left forgotten in the background as she shouted for him to come back.

"Shouto!" Shiina screamed out in relief, throwing herself onto him. He grasped her back tightly, his arms shaking.

His lips parted and a flurry of words ran through him. "Shiina, what's going on?! I thought you guys were supposed to go to Mementos! Why is everything like this?!"

"I don't know...!" She bit her lip. "We—The Holy Grail—It—"

He frowned in confusion. "Holy Grail? What are you saying?"

"Mementos is fusing with reality," Akechi explained shakily and the fear in his face shook Shouto to the core.

"We—we failed..." Akira whispered.

"I-I feel cold..." Shiina whispered.

"I'll help you," Shouto said, and activated his Quirk to warm her up. Or tried in this case. He gazed at his left arm as a flicker of heat soared through his skin... only to disappear completely.

"What...?" He whispered to himself. His Quirk... wasn't working?

"...Ah...!"

Thud!

Everyone turned to see Futaba collapse. Ryuji got to her first.

"What's wrong?!" He demanded.

Futaba looked up, clutching her head. "Ohh... I feel woozy... Nngh...!"

Ann walked over to offer her hand. "Futaba, grab on!" But suddenly she collapsed too. "Argh..!"

"Ann-chan?! Nnh...!" Haru fell next.

Shouto stared at them in concern. "Are you guys—"

He was cut off by a gasp and turned to see his sister fall.

"Nngh...! It... hurts...!" She whimpered, clutching her head. Shouto bent down next to her automatically.

"What? What hurts?" He asked quickly.

"Goro!" Akira suddenly shouted. He caught Akechi before he could hit the ground, but groaned as something throbbed in his head.

"Argh...!"

Makoto let out a small cry as she fell to her knees, followed by Yusuke.

Shouto looked at them in horror. "What the hell is going on?!"

"Hurts... it hurts...!" Shiina gripped her head, desperate for the pain to end.

"Is this... by the Holy Grail too...?" Makoto whispered.

Ryuji struggled to get up. "That... son of a bitch...! Goddammit! What's this creepy-ass shit abou—Ugh!" He fell back down, his face contorting into horror as he stared at his fading hand. "AAAAAAARGH! My... My hand...!"

"Ryuji...?!" Ann turned to face him, only to fall as part of her legs started to fade away as well.

Shouto stared at the scene with wide eyes, his heart beating crazily. He had never felt so terrified in all his life. He looked around to see that everyone else was beginning to fade too. Stiffly, he turned to Shiina and felt his heart stop.

"...Sh... Shiina..." He could barely speak as he watched her begin to fade from the legs.

"No..." She croaked, backing away out of fear. "No, no, no...!"

"What is happening to us...?!" Yusuke said in a pained voice.

"Are we... are we dying...?!" Akechi asked.

Morgana weakly lifted his head. "Don't... tell me..."

Suddenly, a deep and dark chuckle echoed throughout the city. Shouto looked up to find the source, but all he could see was the blood red sky, the bones, and the static appearing on the electronic billboards.

"Indeed. This isn't my doing."

"Who is that?" Shouto whispered.

"It's the—the Holy Grail...!" Shiina said in a tiny voice.

"You imbeciles are about to disappear from the people's cognition."

Disappear? The word echoed in Shouto's head. No. They couldn't disappear. Not them. Not Shiina. He didn't want them to disappear!

"Mementos and reality have become one... Thus, those who have disappeared from cognition cannot exist anywhere."

"Disappear my ass..." Ryuji growled, dangerously close to being fully gone. "What the hell—AAAAAAAAR—!" He let out a blood-curdling scream that ended midway as he vanished into thin air.

"Ryuji!" Ann gasped, closing her eyes as she went next.

"Is this really it...? Augh!" Yusuke groaned before he was swallowed whole from the black wisps.

Tears were spilling from Futaba's eyes as she turned her head from the scene. "No! No—!" Her cries faded into nothingness as did her body.

Shouto watched as they disappeared from existence, one by one. Makoto followed afterwards, then Haru, then Akechi, and then—

"Sh-Shouto, help me!" Shiina cried out desperately.

He could barely see her clearly from his own tears that were running down his face. With shaky hands, he pushed himself forward to reach for her. Her image was flickering, he grabbed her hand and then—

"NOOO!" She screamed, shutting her eyes as she faded away completely.

"SHIINA!" Shouto cried out, lunging forward but it was already too late. She was gone. He whirled around, desperate for help.

"Kurusu, what do I do?!" He shouted at the boy on the ground. He could faintly hear Fuyumi behind him, calling out his name and demanding an explanation, but he could hardly care. "KURUSU!" He screamed hoarsely. "WHAT DO I DO?! KURUSU!"

"I didn't mean to...!" Morgana cried, shaking his head back and forth. He looked over at Akira and Shouto with watery eyes. "I'm sorry...!" He apologized to them. "The mission's... a failure..."

Those were his last words before he disappeared.

Shouto turned his desperate gaze to Akira. "Kurusu. You have to tell me what to do. What do I do?! How do I stop this?! How do I bring you all back?!"

Akira grunted. "I don't..." He fell to his side and weakly rolled over to his back. Shouto tried to help by pulling him up.

"Kurusu, please," he begged. "What do I do? Tell me what to do!"

"I can't..." He croaked. "We failed... We lost..."

Shouto shook his head in denial as Akira faded away. "No, no, you have to help me! Come back here, you have to help me!"

"Shouto!" Fuyumi suddenly shouted, kneeling down to grab his shoulders. She shook him wildly. "Shouto, what's wrong?" She asked, staring at him in concern. She had never seen him so distraught before. Not since their mother was sent away.

His large eyes stared back at her as tears rolled down his face. "You didn't see?! She—she just faded away! All of them!"

"Who?"

"SHIINA!"

She nearly jumped back, but then she asked, "Who is Shiina?"

All Shouto could hear was the blood rushing to his ears. She didn't know who Shiina was...? She didn't see what happened? What was going on...?

"Shiina... Our sister, Shiina. My younger twin sister... Nee-san, don't you remember?"

Fuyumi continued to stare at him worriedly. "Shouto, you don't have a twin... Are you sure you're alright? L-let's take you to a hospital...!"

A terrifying realization struck him.

The Holy Grail—whoever they were—not only made Shiina disappear. They had erased her completely.

— author's note —

Yaldabaoth must've watched Endgame lol