The Phantom Lady

Chapter 15: Into the Castle walls

The next day, on Wednesday, the gang decided to head into the castle on. After school, and after Akira left for to help out Sojiro in Leblanc, the four gathered in the ally and proceeded to activate the navigation app. Their goal for now was to find the path to the treasure in the Palace.

"Damn..." Ryuji said as they approach the front gate, checking out Ann's outfit.

"Hmm? What it is?" The said ash-blonde girl asked.

"N-Nothing. I-I was just thinking we should choose a code name for you." The boy replied. Yeah, right.

"A code name?" Ann questioned. Guess they didn't explain.

"I'm Skull, he's Joker, and that's Mona." Skull listed off.

"Judging by your costume..." Mona pondered.

"I mean, she's got that tail and stuff, so... Huh? What do you think, Renren?" Skull asked Joker. The boy thought about it, then said the first thing that came to mind.

"Cat, girl...?" He suggests. Though he himself wasn't too sure.

"It, sounds okay. But I think I'd like my code name to be a bit more, ferocious." She says.

"Well, what do you want to be called?" Skull asked.

"Hmm... Something better that just a little cat." Ann replies, thinking. "Maybe... "Panther"? That sounds pretty cool, doesn't it." She says.

"I guess...?" Skull agreed.

"She's a cougar..." Mona said wistfully, not realizing what that implied.

"Don't call me that!" Ann, or rather Panther, scolds him. "More importantly: Kamoshida!" She says, getting back on track.

"Oh, right. Let's go!" Skull says and they make their way across the bridge. "All right, let's start fresh and get going!" The blonde exclaims.

"It's game time from this point on. I'll teach you guys the basics of infiltrating a Palace as we go." Mona announced. The team then begins to walk towards their entry point, when a flash of blue light caught Joker's attention. He turns to see a barred door, like for a cell, open on its own leading to a velvet blue space, and standing next to it, was Justine.

"The master would like to have a word with you." The girl tells him. Not sure what Igor would want with him, or how he could contact him out of his sleep. He even pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Either way, he steps through the door and finds himself in his cell in the velvet room.

"Master, the prisoner Ren Amamiya has returned!" Caroline announced loudly, her sister Justine with them.

"Well done. It seems you have remembered my words... You truly make it worth rehabilitating you." Igor says to him. Cryptic as ever.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ren asked. The long nosed man chuckles.

"I am not attempting to withhold information from you. The essence of the rehabilitation that you must complete will be explained in all due time. Once you encounter allies who share your ideals and discover your place in reality... Only then, will I explain everything. Such a day, shall not be far off." The man tells him.

"Why am I here?" Ren asked.

"This time, I wish to introduce you to the aid we provide." Igor replies.

"What kind of aid do you mean?" The ravenette questions.

"Due to your potential of wielding the power of the wild card, you can handle more than one Persona. This power holds infinite possibilities. We will assist you in nurturing that potential. To that end, we must execute your Persona." The man says. Wait, what?! Igor just chuckles at his expression.