Of Phantoms and Thieves

Sibling Thing

Makoto finally started breathing again. That had been much too close. Being at Cafe Leblanc, especially when her friends had been there without knowing she was in the room above them had caused a bit of panic. She'd made Morgana promise not to tell anyone what she and Sae had been doing. She hated how they were all lying to each other. All the lies just kept on growing and growing. First it was lying to Ren, and then she'd lied to Sae, and now to her friends. But this was serious. A bit too serious for the Phantom Thieves to get in the way of. The disappearance of Futaba and Sojiro Sakura couldn't be a coincidence. Something had happened to them, and Makoto had just found the answer.

"They're trapped in the Metaverse," Makoto breathed, picking up Futaba's phone. "She must have dropped it when she'd tried to enter, and Sojiro somehow got trapped with her. At least, that's what I think."

"It does appear that would be the case," Sae noted. "What are we going to do about it?"

"Ren will get suspicious if we're gone for too long," Makoto breathed.

"So, do you want me to distract him or lie to him?" Sae asked.

Makoto stiffened at the word "lie." "I... uh..." She hung her head. "Yes. It's the only way to keep him safe. He's so reckless, and I just don't want him to face the harsh reality of his palace... I'm not sure he could handle it..."

Sae nodded. "I trust that you'll be able to handle the Metaverse side of the situation, then?"

"Of course. I just hope that I don't run into the others."

"That would be troublesome. Alright, I'll handle Amamiya for you. When do you think you'll be back?"

"I don't know..."

Sae frowned and then sighed and shook her head.

"Well, at least try and be back at a reasonable time. I don't know what I'd do with myself if..."

"I'll be fine. There's no need to worry, Sis."

"It's not just you I'm worried about."

With that, Sae left down the stairs.

Makoto pulled her phone out of her pocket and typed in the passcode. She then tapped on the Metaverse Navigator. Her clothing changed to her Phantom Thief outfit, and she could instantly feel the rain pouring. She sighed and looked up at the theater.

"I wonder where they would have entered...?" Makoto muttered to herself.

Just then, there was a loud scraping sound and a thud, and Makoto jumped, and found cover behind a bush. She peered over the leaves and saw the other Phantom Thieves lowering themselves into a manhole. Makoto looked over her shoulder, trying to find another way into the theater. Going in through the front doors would be suspicious. Breaking down a wall would bring unwanted attention.

"Think, Makoto, think!"

Makoto walked around the building and came upon some Shadows. They seemed to be too busy to notice her, as they were unloading crates from a large truck. Makoto, far enough away not to be heard, opened one of them. She set the lid down and looked inside. There sat replicas of the Phantom Thieves' weapons.

"What in the world...?"

"Hey, you!"

Makoto's head shot up as the three Shadows noticed her. She stopped what she was doing and studied them. They didn't seem too powerful. Easy foes.

"Lady, step away from those, those aren't yours!" one of the Shadows scolded.

"You think we should teach her a lesson?" the one on the left asked, picking up a broken pipe.