Of Phantoms and Thieves

Swayed

(Artwork by me, I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!)

"That is how we'll play? So be it. If guessing games are not your forte, then how about we have a contest?"

The unnatural laughter boomed as the Phantom Thieves stumbled in the dark, the ground still tilted.

"Ugh, I don't think there's a way to fix this," Futaba growled. "Mona, couldn't you have changed the floor before you destroyed the controls?"

"Hey, what's done is done!" Morgana bit back. "I didn't think the floor would be stuck like this!"

The lights turned back on, causing the Phantom Thieves to shield their eyes from the bright light that greeted them. Music began to play, and the sound of sliding feet graced their ears. As each of them looked around, they realized they had been transported to the tilted stage, and they were front and center.

"Help..." a soft voice called.

Haru stood, stumbling as she rose. She looked up to find a Shadow of herself moving past, along with...

"It's his mother again," Morgana breathed. "But why is she dancing with Haru?"

"And why Haru alone?" Yusuke wondered aloud.

"Guys, look above them," Futaba exclaimed, pointing.

They looked up to find strings attached to their wrists and ankles.

"It's like they're puppets," Morgana observed.

"It appears that they are getting tangled," Yusuke noted.

Just then, an unseen force knocked everyone off the stage except Haru.

"You extras shouldn't be getting in the way!" Joker's voice sneered. "Now, protagonist!"

Haru pointed to herself. "M-Me?"

"Don't play coy... Get rid of the villain and save the victim! You've done this before!"

Haru stood frozen as the puppets danced, becoming more tangled as time wore on.

"Noir!" Ann shouted. "Something bad might happen if we don't do anything! We have to play his games for now until we can get to the treasure!"

Haru nodded. "O-Of course!" She took a deep breath and drew her axe. "I guess this means we must dance!"

She charged and swung her axe, slicing through the Shadow and nicking Ren's mother. She let out a gasp and backed up as blood ran down the white gown.

"Watch it," Joker growled.

Haru watched as the Shadow of herself reformed as if nothing had happened. It began to dance again, moving close to Haru. Once it was near enough to touch her, it reared back its fist, striking Haru in the face.

"Noir!" the others shouted.

Haru stumbled, a hand on her jaw. She slowly pulled her hand away and glared at the Shadow.

"That didn't work at all..." she murmured.

"Try attacking the strings?" Yusuke contemplated.

Haru hefted her axe and sliced the strings, cutting all the ones connected to the Shadow. It fell to the floor and melted into a pool of blood.

The Shadow of Ren's mother gasped out once again. Haru glanced up at the tangled strings that dangled, only three of them connected to the Shadow now. Her arm hung limp and she stared at Haru with eyes devoid of life.

"Not the best I've seen," Joker sighed.

Haru was dragged off the stage and Futaba was then pulled up. A Shadow of herself appeared and began to act in a similar fashion to Haru's.

"If cutting the strings is the answer, then I'm going to need a weapon," Futaba mentioned.

"Here, Oracle!" Morgana said, offering up his sword. "It should be easier than anyone else's weapon to wield."

"Mona is right," Ann stated. "We'll need blades to cut them, and Mona has the smallest blade."

"It's not as heavy as the other's," Morgana added.

Futaba took the sword and turned around, only to be kicked in the gut by the Shadow of herself. She grunted and fell backwards. The other Phantom Thieves caught her and pushed her back onto the stage before she could fall off. Futaba slashed the sword at the strings, the puppet disappearing.

"No, no, no! You must go without a scratch! You hear me?!?"

Futaba was brought off the stage by the invisible force. The group of friends watched as another Shadow appeared, yet it didn't resemble any of their features.

"It's going backwards in the order that we joined the Phantom Thieves," Ann observed, staring at Makoto's Shadow. "Why didn't it show Akechi at all?"

"We beat that Shadow, remember?" Morgana reminded her. "We haven't fought the other ones. It would make sense that he didn't appear."

"Fools..." Joker murmured, startling the thieves. "You were all fools..."

There was a scream of pain and the teens watched as the Shadow was lifted into the air. Its arms and legs were twisted unnaturally. It let out another scream before its neck was twisted and the Shadow fell limb by limb. They stared in horror at the pool of blood surrounding the body parts, the only thing left hanging were a torso and a head.

"You failed to realize that something was wrong... You failed to save her before it was too late...! Now look at her! LOOK AT HER AND TELL ME THAT EVERYTHING IS OKAY!!!"

The palace shook as more blood pooled down the walls, screams reverberating from every direction.

"He saw what happened to her..." Haru breathed. "He blames himself for her condition..."

Four more Shadows came on stage, standing below the remains of Makoto's.

"Come! We must end this quickly!" Yusuke shouted, leaping onto the stage.

"Right!" Ann replied, lifting Morgana up and climbing herself.

Yusuke drew his katana and cut the strings of Ryuji's Shadow. It melted into a pool of blood just as the others had. Ann held back Yusuke's and Morgana's as Morgana cut the strings of Ann's. Morgana and Yusuke then took care of the other Shadows before they could damage Ann.

"Well played, well played," Joker complimented. "I think you're ready to rescue the hostage."

Haru and Futaba pulled themselves onto the stage. One more Shadow appeared before them.

"Let's see if you can negotiate with the perpetrator."

The Phantom Thieves watched as the dark Shadow of Joker grabbed hold of his mother and began to dance.