Lee looked around the now open area, the ornate door lead him into what looked like a Jazz lounge; The walls were lined with posters of various musicians and the lighting was a dimmed royal blue along with an elegant doll gently singing an aria of the soul that echoed through the lounge and filled Lee with renewed sense of clarity.
"Welcome, Trickster…To your True Velvet Room." Igor would say as he appeared at the centre table in front of Lee and gestured for him to pull up a chair; "I have been able to wrestle with the malignant presence enough so that we can establish this safe space for you, it may not be the Velvet room of this "Time" but I can assure you; this pocket of your own time will serve just as well as the Velvet Room that you had been used to." He explained as Lavenza found her own spot next to Igor and waved at Lee.
"So this is what my Velvet Room really looks like? I have to say, it's a lot more welcoming than a jail cell." Lee mentioned as he saw the empty spaces on the wall behind the singer; Judging from how many and the symbols over each column, these were where the Personas were meant to go similar to the pictures of celebrities on the walls of bars and restaurants.
"Indeed; The Velvet room typically reflects the heart of the chosen Trickster, I can only guess that the Malevolent Will that watched over you before was responsible for your initial Velvet Room." Lavenza explained; "Here, you are free to act without worry since only myself, Master Igor and you are the only people who have access to this particular room."
"But what about the other place, the one with the Twins…Won't that thing get suspicious if I don't show up to it's "Room" anymore?" Lee asked as he realised that the Grail would definitely notice his favourite cosmic plaything was nowhere to be found.
"It will, This room may be a safe place for you to utilise your Persona and to discuss how to operate but you must remain open to it's games…Even I am uncertain as to how this new revelation will affect how the Grail's "game" in the long term." Igor elaborated, explaining that even though Lee could find a safer place to talk and work then in the Cell; it was safer to keep the impression that he was under the Grail's thumb.
"Speaking of revelations…Did you know that this would happen to the others?" Lee would ask the two with some confused looks from both of them; "When I first did this, Ryuji was a guy and I didn't meet Morgana until WAY later…So how come I've got them with me after I left the Castle for the first time and Ryuji is now a punk girl named Ryoko?"
Lavenza looked rather shocked that something like this changed in such a way, but she was also pondering something in the back of her mind as she mulled over his words.
Igor had a rare look of surprise on his face as he twirled a card between his fingers; "I see…When I spoke with you, back when we first discussed your second attempt; I had anticipated that there would be some minor deviations in the grand scheme of things but what you've said about this is rather surprising…Perhaps this could be more than a mere drop in Time's bucket, leave it with me and I shall try to decipher what may have caused this tangle in the world's weave." He explained to a rather confused looking Lee as he flicked some cards through his hands.
"So if this place can help me…Perhaps I can get my old Personas back? That could help me out a LOT when we're up against the worst kind of Shadows." Lee mentioned as he grew more excited at the prospect however this sentiment was not shared as Lavenza leafed through her Compendium.
"I am sorry Trickster, but despite all I have tried; it looks as though everything is gone…" Lavenza mentioned with a gloomy and apologetic tone. "The Jacks…The Angels…Everything…."
"All my Personas…All that work to get everyone is gone?" Lee frowned but then felt his body grow heavy once he realised that all his efforts in fighting and careful planning in the hopes of getting bigger and better Persona on his side had now gone down the drain. He staggered a little and collapsed back into his booth with a heavy slump.
"T-Trickster!" Lavenza yelped as she rushed over to him; "I-It'll be alright, we can figure something out to try recovering what was lost." She mentioned to reassure him as she tried to get his attention.
Igor sighed as he looked over Lavenza's discarded Compendium, true to what she said; every entry that was there was now empty…From Kelpie to Thor and from Jack Frost to Black Frost, it was pretty much a brand new journal. "I see…This is rather perplexing, I've never seen this happen before to a chosen Trickster…Then again, I don't think I've ever seen a journey get warped like this before."
Lee was still trying to wrap his head around shrugged as he got up out of the booth and headed for the door; "I should probably focus on recovering the basics of the Metaverse before I can think of getting better Persona."
Igor nodded in approval; "One more thing, Trickster…Remember the strongest tool in your arsenal; the bonds with those who share your drive and your will: Form them once more, strengthen them to their highest and embrace their power. Once you accomplish that than a whole new meaning to your potential and your freedom can be sooner found." He reminded Lee as he stepped through the door and vanished, though he peeked down at the deck of tarot cards he carried nearby and then raised an eyebrow as it looked like something new had been brought about without his knowing.
"Master? What is it?" Lavenza asked out of curiosity as she looked over at the deck and noticed that alongside the 13 Arcana that were present with Igor on every journey; there was now a stack of new cards on top of the pile, each one of them had a detailed blue outline like the others did but their names were blurred out into runes and their images were a solid black.
"This IS interesting…It looks like we have something else besides Young Master Lee's interesting findings to watch for." Igor noted as he, Lavenza and the room faded to white once the door to the Velvet Room closed.
Once Lee had left the comforts of the Lounge, he found himself straining at the contrasting colours of Kamoshida's Castle of Lust and seedy desires; "Man, I did not miss this…" He thought; but with some adjusting blinks, he found himself face to face with Ryoko; his dark eyes gazing into her's and the fact that they were almost close enough to do more than stare caused him to yelp out in surprise. "GAH! Ryoko!"
Equally startled by his sudden reaction, Ryoko jumped back with a rather girlish yelp; "Dude! Don't scare me like that! You were standing there and not moving so I got annoyed that you were off daydreaming or somethin'…" Ryoko huffed as she was calming herself down with her hand on her chest like she almost had a heart attack.
"She got worried you passed out and leaned in to your face to look closer but you came to before she could do anyth-MMPH!"
"What the cat means…" Ryoko growled after clamping her hand over Morgana's mouth; "Is that you were a little spaced out but now you're all good, we can make our way in now…Right Morgana~?" Ryoko asked in a rather forced, sweet voice as she let go of the cat.
"Alright, alright…This way." Morgana grumbled as they lead the two in through the window that they broke out of before and followed into the corridor where they saw the giant portrait of Kamoshida.
"Damn it…I forgot how much of an egomaniac that asshole is." Ryoko growled as she glowered at the portrait of Kamoshida dressed as what he thought was a knight before giving it a stern flick of her middle finger as they crossed the empty hall; "So, we just have to find our way back into the dungeons…Seems pretty quiet in here anyway, we were pretty packed in the last time we were here."
"Don't jinx it, She-Ape! Just because we have no one here on guard duty doesn't mean no one is gonna show up! We shouldn't hang around too long." Morgana pointed out as they guided the way through and down the stairs where the first batch of guards were patrolling the hallway to the dungeons. "Alright Lee, let's see if we can put that theory into action…" They mentioned before gesturing to Ryoko.
"Oh right!" She whispered as she handed the gun over to Lee who twirled it in his hand and gestured with it to get used to the weight of it, giving off the impression of a gunslinger as he aimed down the sights and then holstered it in his coat.
"So if I remember my directions right, all we have to do is get as deep down into the basement that we can and that'll lead us right to the dungeons." Lee mentioned as they walked along and kept a cautious eye out for Shadows that were either watching for them or ready to defend their king.
"Correct, The Palace may be on a higher security notice than before due to your escape but I don't think it's anything to worry about." Morgana pointed out before ducking behind a corner; "Hide!"
Luckily for them, both Ryoko and Lee managed to get behind cover before a Shadow could spot them in the long corridor that lead to their objective; "Looks like we really pissed him off before." Ryoko mentioned as she saw the surly looking knight clutching it's sword in preparation for any would-be intruders.
Lee focused himself and when the knight had his back turned, he rushed forward and then leapt on top of the knight to grab it's mask; "Let's see what you're hiding!"
The knight could barely react as it felt the mask come off and erupted into a black ooze once Lee jumped off of it's back, however once the ooze cleared up; there was a small fairy looking creature that floated in the air blocking their path.
"You're kidding right? Kamoshida's king of the fairy knights?" Ryoko asked in derision as she eyes up what looked a Pixie fluttering innocently.
"Looks like he just exposed what that knight's true form is…Like how your friend ripped his mask off to awaken his Persona." Morgana explained before looking to Lee; "Now might be a good time to think of a strategy before they call fo-"
BANG!
Lee took the gun he was given and aimed a shot to hit Pixie in the chest; "I'm no sharpshooter so this'll have to do…"
"For help…But for now let's take our chances and see what we can get from this Shadow!" Morgana said as they drew their slingshot to aim at the Pixie for an extra help; "Alright, if you wanna keep moving around here, cough up whatever info or goodies you got and maybe we'll let you go."
The Pixie squirmed about when they were floored but they acknowledged; "The…The dungeons are back this way, King Kamoshida told us to guard the way since it's on the way to his treasure room." They squeaked as they tried to bargain; "A-As for money or stuff, I don't actually keep anything on me…"
Morgana huffed; "Half of what we already knew, if that's all you got then we're done here." They remarked before tugging the elastic back on their slingshot, aiming directly at the Pixie with a "No Witnesses" level of directness.
"W-Wait, I know! Let me come with…I might not have anything now but I can join you guys and help you out if you keep me alive!" Pixie would beg as they looked up at Lee with a rather nervous gaze.
"Sorry but we're already full up on annoying talking shorties." Ryoko snarked as she stood behind the two, slightly enjoying the fact that they had the upper hand.
"That better not be aimed at me, She-Ape!"
Lee rolled his eyes; part of the perks that came with his memory returning was that he remembered his gift with Persona gathering. "You come along and join our cause, then we can make sure you don't get punished." Lee acknowledged and then held his hand out to the now brightly glowing Pixie as she fluttered happily.
"You drive a hard bargain; I am thou and Thou art I, I come from the Sea of Souls as Pixie and now I become your Mask." Pixie declared before flying into Lee's face and got assimilated into his mask, leaving Ryoko confused and Morgana shocked.
"Uh…Cat, is that normal with you guys?" Ryoko asked as they relaxed now that the bout was over.
"No way, I've never seen someone absorb a Shadow like that let alone gain another Persona on top of that." Morgana shook their head as they walked over to Lee; "That was incredible! Why didn't you tell me that you could do something like this?"
"Come on, Morgana….I thought a true thief doesn't reveal their hand." Lee teased Morgana as he holstered the gun and headed through the doors into the lower parts of the castle.
"Y'know, he's got you there."Ryoko smirked as she followed soon after into the dank deep that was Kamoshida's dungeons; "Now that we can actually explore this dump, it's really surprising how much effort that Kamoshida put into making this place look as scummy as it does."
Morgana shushed Ryoko as they wandered past the other cells; "Quiet, you idiot…We may be in the dungeons but places like this still have guards!" They whispered as they kept watch while Lee took out more of the patrolling knights further ahead; "Not to mention the fact that with you not having a Persona, that makes it dangerous to attract attention when we don't need it."
Ryoko huffed as Morgana pulled the liability card once again; "Look I can handle myself fine, okay? I've been on the track team so I can dupe around those weird knights no problem, with or without that Persona thing!"
Morgana shook their head; "Shadows aren't like regular people, you might be able to evade them but they're not exactly bound by normal rules; if you HAVE to run then go hide otherwise they'll chase you until they catch you, got it?"
Ryoko was about to say something when they heard the sound of a loud whacking followed by groaning; rushing towards a set of bars, they could see into one of the larger cells and saw a bunch of what looked like guys in the Shujin Gym uniforms getting flogged by rods. "That son of a bitch!"
"Okay, you can't say that this isn't something a normal person would think up." Lee mentioned as he watched this happen; "If Kamoshida has this in his Palace then wouldn't he…"
Morgana thought on this but nodded; "Usually, Palaces are a reflection of a person's mind; In most cases, they are either something that the person wants to do or hides what they do."
"I heard that he uses "Corporal" Punishment but this is too much! There has to be a door somewhere we can get these guys out." Ryoko mentioned as they scanned around to try and find something.
"Hold on…Are they what you're coming here to accomplish? I already told you, these people aren't real…They're just cognitions created by Kamoshida, at the very most; they're just convincing looking puppets…But considering what I went through here, it's hardly a stretch to think that this guy does something similar out in the real world." Morgana surmised as they carried on to check other cells.
Ryoko looked back at Lee and then pulled out her phone; "I don't care what that cat says, I'm not leaving here without hard evidence that this guy is scu-Wait a minute…Phones don't work here?" She tapped her phone impatiently and growled in frustration.
"It must be because of the Metaverse, I don't think phone signals or apps would work in a place like this." Lee mentioned as he held up his own phone which had a black screen regardless of his battery life.
Ryoko sighed but wasn't ready to give up yet and pressed her face to the bars; "Alright, I'll do it the old fashioned way! I'll get a good look at their faces, if they're cognition whatevers then they're based on real people Kamoshida knows so we could track them down in the Real World." Ryoko mentioned as she went to each cell and scanned each of the "people" in there.
Lee would follow after, keeping an eye out for any guards patrolling or coming back to check on the prisoners but even he couldn't help but grow to hate Kamoshida as he watched each cell getting worse and worse with each new punishment. "You almost done yet? There might be more of them coming back."
Okay! Got it…I know most of these guys so trying to find 'em should be pretty easy." Ryoko mentioned as she started to march her way back to join Lee and Morgana; "Let's get out of here, I don't know what it is exactly but being here gives me such a pain in the head."
"Alright, if we've got everything then there's one more place that we should check out." Morgana mentioned as they got to the door; "You mentioned that Kamoshida talked about a treasure room right?" They quizzed Lee who nodded briefly and headed through.
"Scumbag thought I was there to steal from him but I have no clue what he even calls a treasure here besides the one you keep talking about." Lee mentioned as they climbed up the stairs; "Plus he didn't exactly say where it was so it could be anywhere in the ca-"
"You knaves again? I swear, you bunch of rats have no idea when to quit do you?!" Shadow Kamoshida snarled as he was standing in the corridor with a squad of knights on either side of him in the main hall.
"We know what you're doing here Kamoshida! We'll expose you and your scummy behaviour to anyone we can find!" Ryoko yelled at him as she clenched her fist.
"Such a fiery temperament, I still can't believe you haven't grown out of that…" Shadow Kamoshida leered as his greedy eyes scanned her up and down; "And after everything I did for you…Or have you forgotten the utter charity I did for you and the others hat I supervised for track practice?"
Lee could feel the deja vu as this vain excuse of a gym teacher gloated about his supposed goodwill; "What we saw in that dungeon is not a good sign of your supposed "Charity" and you are hardly what I'd call a good person!"
Ryoko growled; "Damn right! What you did wasn't training or supervising! It was physical abuse…And on top of that you just took every chance to get your hands on any girl that was part of your class…All because you didn't even like our team!"
"And why should I? The only person who should be successful and making results is me and me alone! That coach in charge of you could've kept his job if he didn't try to rat me out.." Kamoshida barked as his face warped into a more feral look; "Besides, I wasn't all bad…I did give YOU the chance to make me see you and your group in a more favourable light if you…contributed to me~" He smirked which caused not only Morgana and Lee to glare at him in disgust but Ryoko to get more and more incensed.
"You didn't want to uphold that in the first place, you just wanted to get me alone! If I had known that was what you were after then I'd have gone with the other coach, you perverted motherfu-"
"Such a shame too…If you hadn't kicked me off then I wouldn't have had to resorted to breaking the star runner's leg…All you did was make it harder for everyone else and no one in your team could ever hope to succeed if you have me holding up a red flag." Shadow Kamoshida smirked and revealed his intentions; "Because I can't say it enough; I AM KING HERE! This school is my playground and everyone who lives in it serves to my every whim…The guys can either fall in line or get executed…The girls…hehehe~ They have their own place in my grand scheme."
Lee was finding it harder and harder to restrain himself from pulling out the gun in his coat and taking a shot but he knew that the Leading Shadow was too much for just him and Morgana.
Shadow Kamoshida snapped his fingers and watched as a herd of Bicorn appeared in front of them; "Now that I know you three aren't going to accept whatever I say…I think I'll stick to my own plan: Execute you and the Cat…And for the Monkey Girl? She can join you too…Once I break her into a more…Obedient little servant…Now go get them!"
Once Kamoshida gave the order; The Bicorn whinnied and began charging them down, moving much too fast for Morgana and even Lee to be able to evade. "Damn it…I haven't bulked up enough to stop this but I'm gonna try regardless!" Lee got to his feet while Morgana had collapsed; "Alright Pixie, uphold your deal! ZIO!" He ordered as that same Pixie appeared and thrust her hands forward; hitting one of the charging Bicorn with a zap of electricity, stunning it and making it fall to it's knees. "Awesome! Looks like I lucked out, but I can't hold it out for long…just enough to get an opening.."
"Get 'em! I know you can kick their ass!" Ryoko cheered for them as she watched the first go down.
Lee would aim the next one at the second Bicorn but it was moving too fast and hit Lee square in the ribs; "GAH! Shit!" He would wheeze as the wind was knocked out of him and joined Morgana on the floor.
With a triumphant laugh, Shadow Kamoshida then trod on top of Morgana; "You see this? This is the natural order of things…All those who live in the shade of my castle shall bend themselves to my very whims, those who can't will simply be tossed out like trash!"
"No…Lee, get up! You can still do this!" Ryoko yelled out as she tried to look around for something to use as a weapon.
"It's kind of sad, you were always so mouthy towards me…So fiery and defiant yet now I have you right where I want you…You shiver like a leaf.." Shadow Kamoshida smirked as he watched Ryoko slowly back up but she kept her trademark snarl on her face.
"Oh King Kamoshida~ I'm bored!" Yelled a familiar voice as the clacking of heels could be heard and a girl clad in a leopard print bikini with a cat ear headband trotted over to her "King" proudly.
"Who's that?" Morgana would wheeze as they tried to get up.
"Takamaki?/Ann?" Both Lee and Ryoko said out loud as they recognised the blonde when she clung to Kamoshida with a blissful look on her face.
"Jealous much? This little kitten here is the only one of you two who actually sees sense here…And unlike you, Sakamoto. She actually delights in trying to please me~" Kamoshida smirked as his hand gripped onto "Ann's" body and roamed it with no restraint.
"Let..Let her go, you perv!" Ryoko barked at him as she stomped forward but found herself staring at the swords pointed at her.
"It's just a cognition, if it's a girl you know..that's not really her." Morgana tried to calm the both of them down since they could see not only Ryoko with an even more angry look on her face but also Lee who despite wearing a mask, had a very visible look on his face that promised a lot of pain once he got back up.
"This could be you on my other arm Sakamoto, but right now you're being very selfish again…ignoring the well being of your friends just so you can keep up your tough girl act…Just be a good girl and accept it all."
"It's happening all over again…My leg…My team and it was all HIS fault…No..It's all my fau-"
"Ryoko! You're not just going to sit there and take that scumbag's crap, are you?!" Lee yelled loud enough to snap her out of it. "You're better then he is! So why are you letting that coward push you around?!" He kept trying to push her and motivate her.
"The longer you put this off, the more I'll draw out these peon's suffering…Heck, I'll even put you in the knight's barracks and make you into their plaything to ensure you behave!" Kamoshida taunted her as he saw the more downtrodden look on Ryoko's face and REALLY wanted to rub it in.
"I've been listening to you and your rambling bullshit go on and on…Yeah, you may have broken my leg and promised worse…But I will never…EVER let you have that kind of hold on me ever again, so stop looking down on me WITH THAT STUPID SMILE ON YOUR FACE!" Ryoko finally yelled out as she finally transitioned from minor insolence to full rebellion before she collapsed to the floor in pain, feeling like her head was getting ripped open.
"Took you quite a while but you finally decided to set a course, you were branded an outlaw by everyone around you so why not just hoist up your flag and make it an open admission…I am thou and thou art I, you've thrashed and screamed with all you had! So now wear the skull of rebellion as your badge of Honour!" An ethereal voice echoed in her head as a steel grey skull materialised over her face as a mask.
Ryoko staggered to her feet and gripped the sides of her mask to start pulling; "Any thug can prove their strength so take that resentment and prove those who doubt you wrong!" That same voice roared as Ryoko ripped the mask off and erupted into a pillar of blue flame much like Lee did in the jail cell.
Lee smirked as he realised what was happening as the sound of thunder rumbled overhead; "About time you showed up…Skull…"