Phantom Thieves of Hope - A Danganronpa X Persona 5 Story.

Chapter 13: The Dollhouse of Authoritarianism.

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Makoto still couldn't quite believe what he and his group had uncovered, but as much as he didn't want to believe it, the Metaverse Navigator did indeed take them into the Metaverse, right there and then, after punching Fuhito Kirigiri's name into it.

As the world started to shift and morph around them, Makoto saw himself gradually change into his Phantom Thief attire. He turned his attention up towards the Kirigiri Detective Agency and saw it change form as well.

The building was already big, but it exploded into something so much bigger once it finally took a proper form. Towering above Makoto and his fellow thieves was a huge theater, decorated with multicolored lights and flashy signs. The layout itself was organized and symmetrical, and the entrance to the building was an arch-shaped, pearly, almost heavenly-looking gate.

"Huh...It's a lot more...quaint...than I thought it would be," Razor commented, "big, but pretty tidy and clean for a place made with distortion."

"Yeah, but then again, since our last heist was a prison, anything is really an upgrade from that..." Highwayman considered. Monomi, now in her regular cartoony Usami form, heaved a sigh.

"A Palace is a Palace," she reminded them, "don't expect an infiltration here to go any differently than it did with Towa's. You'll need to be on your guard at all times, got it?"

"You got it teach..." Highwayman saluted, "but I'm still shocked this even happened. Of all people to have a Palace, why Fuhito Kirigiri?"

"Are we sure this is his place?" Razor gestured toward the Palace, "isn't this a little too flashy and exciting for such an old-fashioned geezer?"

"Palace's are delusions; mental images warped by desire," Leprechaun recalled, "in the eyes of Fuhito Kirigiri, this is just how his agency looks. The question is why is it a theater of all things?"

"Kirigiri's not exactly what I would call a "public figure." He and his kid had said before how they tend to stay out of the limelight," Highwayman said, "but he is still a big and important guy, so it makes sense he has a Palace. Maybe it represents his love for mysteries and the unknown?"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that..." Usami replied bluntly, "while yes, nothing suggests it has anything to do with the harassment, I'll say it yet again for good measure: We'll know for sure once we get inside and check it out for ourselves."

"Ok, so what do we do?" Leprechaun asked, "just...walk through the front door?"

"Don't be an idiot!" Razor snapped, "I bet anything I own that we take one foot into that building through the front, and we get surrounded by Shadows."

"Razor's right. It's not ideal, especially for Phantom Thieves," Usami clarified, "we'll have to find another way in. Let's start by scaling that wall over there and finding another way in."

"Alright," Highwayman readjusted her hat, "lead the way, Leprechaun!"

DRAE-Alice in the Children's Land (2-3) - Crypt of the Necrodancer

"Alright! We're gonna have to hopscotch our way over these," once they had scaled the nearby wall, Makoto indicated to a set of small pillars in a garden, leading by example by jumping and landing on one, "just follow me."

"It's impressive how proactive and determined you become when we're inside Palaces," his sister remarked, "sometimes I wonder if Makoto and Leprechaun are the same person."

"I know what you mean. But it's not the same thing as me switching into Genocide Jack," Razor added, "it's still very much Makoto."

"While I appreciate the compliment, can you save it for later?" he looked back and whispered to them, "if you fall off these pillars because you're too distracted admiring me, it's not gonna be on me, ok?"