2026-05-02: 4-6-4-9 13-14-11-13

• Log: 2026-05-02 4-6-4-9 13-14-11-13
• Cast: Futaba Sakura, Ren Amamiya, Ichika Kawase, Tsubasa Seki, Yusuke Kitagawa, Ryuji Sakamoto, Haru Okumura, Ann Takamaki, Makoto Niijima
• Where: Futaba Sakura's Palace
• OOC Date: May 02, 2026
• IC Date: Saturday, November 03, 2012
• Summary: The Phantom Thieves plumb the depths of Futaba Sakura's Palace, until her Shadow greets them with an impassable barrier: the door to Futaba's room.

---

<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.

 
And so, it came to pass that the Phantom Thieves of Hearts returned to this accursed tomb.

The journey in was relatively uneventful. Time it for when the old man is out and try not to track mud into the house. For a blessing, the Phantom Thieves did not arrive several hours' Monabus ride through an arid desert; instead, they arrive in that sand-scraped plaza, with its mournful lingering scaffolds and the nearby oasis, with its silty but drinkable pool of water.

The alert might notice that the pool seems a bit shallower and siltier than it was last time.

Other than hot sun and dressed stone, there is nothing to be found on the outside of the pyramid, and the stone blocks are simply too steep to try climbing. A much more inviting stairwell -- the same stairwell that the group had climbed before -- leads up to those same great stone doors.

And inside... the gates are still shut. There's a route to hop skip and jump across the lava-moat that would keep out the unwary, but the gate is an enormous slab of dense, heavy stone, thrust down like a guillotine to block the exit.

It might be time to reconsider your approach - until a voice calls out, from behind you!

Look back - there's a stone balcony facing the doorway, which had been hidden from view as you come in.

Shadow Futaba is there, her yellow eyes gazing at the party.

"Welcome back," she says, raising her voice a little -- only a little, since the acoustics in this room are curiously good -- while gazing upon the party. "I had thought that I would never see you again."

"If you're that determined," says the Shadow, "I suppose you deserve acknowledgement. To your left - press the hieroglyph of a falcon at the base of that statue. A way will open. You'll learn all the information you need to know on the way."

A beat passes.

"And, your efforts will earn a reward."

The Shadow watches. Whoever finds and pushes that hieroglyph -- which is really easy to find, as the statue bases do not have big complex engravings -- will hear stone slide away, as one of the dressed-sandstone blocks that form the interior of the chamber shifts down and reveals a narrow passage. A way through!

The Shadow does not follow. Those who address her may receive a reply.

AND THROUGH THAT PASSAGE...

It's quite narrow, narrow enough to require single file (maybe not with Mona) for what feels like twenty or so meters, before turning right. It opens up into another vaulted chamber, dimly illuminated by some hidden sources of a subtle twilight-green glow. The chamber recedes, but there is another gap, too large to vault across and with no handy anchor-points for a heroic swing.

The good news is that there is a bridge over this gulf.

The bad news is that the bridge is guarded by Shadows!! A cluster of them; four snakelike androgynous figures that seem to be lounging at their ease, two of them talking to each other about what they should get before the pyramid's finished and they're sealed inside. Ramen or takoyaki?

NAGA x4 - HERMIT - "If I'd known things would end like this, I wish I had found the courage to ask that girl out..."

A squadron of gloomy snake-people. They fight with great spear-thrusts and swings of their shields, punctuated by shield blows and blasts of thunder! The big challenge is the periodic reinforcing of everyone's defense...

They're weak to Wind, but Electricity won't work!

THOTH - EMPEROR - "Why you fight and put yourself in harm's way?"

Someone has given a monkey a book, leading to it gaining knowledge, and thus power, and thus being corrupted. Thoth does not exert himself much, inflicting bursts of Nuclear damage with the occasional enormous wave of Almighty force, with the rest of his efforts oriented on rage-baiting friend and foe alike.

Nuclear and Bless skills won't work, but Psychic is its weakness!

                TAKE OVER
                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqFXJGTUeZE

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    Earlier today, Ren Amamiya purchased a few new model guns--one for themself, one for Makoto, and one from Ann, during a trip to Untouchable. When they all convene back outside Sojiro's place, they hand them out, then nod to everyone.
    
    This feels better. This feels right. This is what they should've been doing all along.
    
    "It's showtime," they announce, and activate the Meta-Nav.
    
    A reality-warping moment later, and they're all in costume and in the plaza just outside the pyramid. Joker does note the change in the pool, and frowns to see it.
    
    The inside is still blocked--but an unexpected face appears to help them, indicating the stone balcony. Joker looks at it, then at Shadow Futaba.
    
    "We promised we'd save you," Joker replies. They consider her advice, and look back at the team. Considering how last time went, there's cause to be cautious here, but... "Thank you," they tell the Shadow.
    
    "Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Mona says, though he too looks suspicious at this advice. "Everyone, stay on guard." He presses his paw to that hieroglyph, and--!
    
    No boulders come barreling down at all of them. Stone does move, but only to open the way. Joker once again looks back at the Shadow, and notes when she doesn't follow, but they and Mona head inside, trusting the others to follow.
    
    ~ * ~
    
    On the other side, there is a chamber with an odd, almost radioactive-green glow. A bridge passes over a gulf, but on that bridge... are Shadows!! Joker raises a red-gloved hand to signal to the others behind them; then they fire their grappling hook at one of them. It snares the Shadow by the neck, and Joker hurtles towards them, initiating a surprise attack.
    
    "Show me your true form," they declare with the grin of someone who's having the time of their life. And, at the end of rousing combat that may or may not leave just one of the Nagas knocked down to the floor, Joker and their friends point their guns for a hold up.
    
    "Join our cause," Joker demands, still grinning. One of the Nagas remembers what they really are, and dissolves into a mask that shoots over to join theirs... Joker's grin slides into a smirk.
    
    But that's at the very end. How do the Phantom Thieves deal with the Thoth and the Nagas before then?

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

Ogre is here, ready to support the group as best she can. That includes by noticing, "Water's crappier than it was..." She looks at it thoughtfully as they pass by. "Guess the place isn't so friendly anymore."

She trudges onward, in her heavy shoes. nd then--

Shadow Futaba. "We don't give up so easy," Ogre tells the Shadow. "Thanks."

Acknolwedgement...? "...Huh. Okay. Thanks."

As they reach the statue and the stone slides away, Ogre looks back to Shadow Futaba. "You're being really helpful, uh... Shadow-san."

Speaking to the Shadow still kind of freaks her out.

On the other side... Ogre can handle bridges, but Shadows?

Their 'true form' turns out to be a Naga. And wind? Well...

Momiji has Force. "PERSONA!" Windy Force slams one fo the Nagas down, as Ogre has a chance to do something that isn't healing this time. She can get them on the back foot for sure with her Mazan.

But the Thoth--

"Balls!" Ogre calls. "This is ridiculous!"

She throws out Patras to do away with rage, and Dias to help patch people up, but--

She's gonna be real busy with both. Especially because, "PHOENIX! Pay attention to your defense!"

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.

    Tsubasa explained, awkwardly, on the threshold: "Uh... can't take ya shoes off when you breakin' in. ... eh? I look weird 'bout it 'cuz we ain't never hit residential, man! This ain't my beat!"

    They do, in fact, notice the pool, just like Ogre does. "Yeah... it's cool, I brought water." Wait, where is it? It's safely stowed in their feather-cloak. (How much space does that thing have??? Ninja tech is fearsome...)

    Hop, skip, jump -- all these things are bread and butter, to a Thief, and Phoenix wears theirs with a capital T these days. They look up at that guillotine, and...

    "That's right, we ain't givin' up," Phoenix promises, on Ogre's heels, thumping a hand to their chest in a thorny salute. They help find that other bird, then -- and Phoenix is surprised at how easy it is, though it just comes out as, "what, for real?", and then double-taking at Ogre, with a broad shrug as they silently remark on having apparently been infected with Skull's thing.

    YOU HANG OUT WITH SOMEONE LONG ENOUGH, MAN!

    The narrow bridge doesn't freak Phoenix out, luckily, even if Tsubasa might flinch for a second at being high up with no guardrails. (What? Shut up. The weird thing is NOT being freaked out by heights. You can't fly, stupid! Sky's for the birds!!) And on they go, until --

    "That fuckin' monkey got a book," Phoenix remarks, pointing, blatantly, at Thoth.

    Thoth elects to respond to this insult with a nice little explosion -- of MEGIDO!

    "THAT FUCKIN' MONKEY GOT A BOOK!" Phoenix yelps, as they leap back, their ninja robes fluttering in the force of the explosion as they hit the bridge and roll. When they come up, in a fluid motion, they pull out their greatsword in the same motion and charge forward -- only for Naga to intercept their path with spear and shield!

    "Arright, motherfucker, let's GO!" Is how Phoenix clashes against it, that spear grazing their hip before they swing their heavy, massive blade around to break through its shield defence.

    Their titanic force might dissolve one of the Nagas, but it's not nearly as striking as how Joker defeats another of those slithery warriors. "Holy shit," they stare at him, for a moment. "That's next-level, boss."

    They've never seen Joker do that before, they gotta take a minute to be impressed! Just the one minute, though, because they have to duck another of those Megidos, a thing they're reminded to do just in the nick of time by Ogre's warning. "-- FUCK!" Luckily, getting slammed into the back of the bridge doesn't keep them down for long, because Ogre's sparkly Dia settles over them. They issue a shaky thumbs-up... before springing right back into action.

    Who can stop that goddamn monkey and its book?! Phoenix is all stabbing, man! Well, stabbing and fire, but they forgot they can set things on fire...

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.

It's time.

As the twisting disorientation passes and they stand before the pyramid, Fox looks up at it, then down to the pool. His brow furrows, but he silently follows Joker into the tomb, sword in his left hand waiting to be drawn.

"A retreat does not necessarily mean defeat," he says to Shadow Futaba's surprise at their return. When she offers them guidance, he tilts his head in curiosity, and when she's gone, he remarks "Tombs full of secret passages... of course that would be an embellishment of a space like this."

====== ======

But of course it would not be easy - Shadows bar their path. Fox nods as Joker signals to them to attack, running in to follow their leader - as Joker rips the Naga's mask away, he darts past, closing on the shadow-form of Thoth as it raises its book.

He realises too late what's coming, throwing himself aside and at least able to avoid the worst of the incandescent Almighty blast.

"Damnation!" Fox pulls himself to his feet, squaring back off against the ape - and ignoring the voice in his head insisting that it should have a bird's head.

<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.

Ryuji usually finds a reason to be unhappy in these Palaces. For the last one....it was actually a lot of things. The less said about it the better.

 This time it was the heat. The heat even in the temple was more that the blonde delinquent would like...especially in all black.

 Ryuji is mostly silent when Shadow Futaba is speaking. He just stares blankly as the Shadow lords over them. "Huh. Yeeeeaaaah, you can't get rid of us."

 Offering nothing else, Ryuji heads toward the passage and hums a tune as they look over toward the shadows, cocking his shotgun cinematically. "Alright, I'll handle the way behind us cuz this strikes me as the place where it likes to get tricky."

<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.

The Phantom Thieves are back in the building AGAIN. As they approach Shadow Futaba, Noir offers Futaba a gentle smile - as gentle as a smile can look under Noir's mask. "Please don't worry yourself for us. It'll take more than that to keep us away forever." She says, readying her axe for the next tribulations they are to face. Futaba offers them some guidance at that - a first for a Shadow, but they'll have to rely on all the help that they can get.

Something about the thin, narrow bridge is thrilling to Noir... even if rationally, she should probably be a little scared. The Shadows present a very different problem, however. Even with the upper hand - thanks to Joker - Noir finds the Thoth's calculated approach with nuclear attacks especially difficult to defend against. "Milady! Come to me!" Noir shouts, as her beauty of a Persona creates a psychic barrier before her, which shatters against the force of nuclear energy.

"Phoenix!" Noir calls out. "Please overextend yourself... these foes are dangerous!" She warns, leveraging Milady forward as she struggles to endure another powerful Megido explosion. She doesn't share Fox's complaints about the monkey not having the head of a bird - if anything, the Shadow could part with having a head at all. Instead, she use Fox's attack as an opportunity to attack in tandem. "Milady, a Psi attack, if you will!" She commands, aiming to give that Thoth a headache if nothing else.

<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.

Never has Ann Takamaki never been more grateful for the fact that cognitive leather is not real leather. The heat of the desert is stifling; the air conditioning of the pyramid (again, cognitions are so confusing) is only marginally better. Somehow dying of chafing has become a real concern in a place like this.

Of course, one could rightly point out that cognitive heat also isn't real heat and so what's the difference? And it's an astute observation! But you see, the key difference is--

Shut up.

The point is

"Whew! I need to never be away from AC, like. Ever again. This is awfulllll...!"

thank god for cognitive leather.

This is Panther, fanning herself with a pout as the Phantom Thieves make their approach towards the sacred tomb of Futaba Sakura. With the entrance still gated off, that pout intensifies to BLACKWATCH PLAID levels of adorable discontent that is only redoubled by the way she immediately slumps and whines.

"Are we gonna have to scale the building and find a really small airduct" ann doesn't know how pyramids work "to crawl through again? It's so uncomfortabhuh?"

And suddenly, Shadow Sakura! To her credit, Ann doesn't let out a yelp; she does start a bit, but only a bit, because it's just so hot. One little hop and scoot to the backlines later, though, Ann catches a glimpse of who it is, and blinks.

"You're -- helping us? Are you sure you're allowed to do that--?" Of course, before Ann can try to Roll Persuasion yet again on trying to convince the Shadow to just direct them to the Treasure (if you keep doing it, it will eventually work: that's just called playing the odds, friends! try it at home! (DON'T TRY IT AT HOME)) -- the others are already moving on to that passage.

"H-hey, wait up -- um, thank you for the help, err -- I really dunno what to call you..." How do you even address a friendly Shadow-- "But we're definitely gonna help you out!"

And off Ann goes, to squirm through that passageway with a complaint of, "It's not an airduct but it's still sooooo narrowwwwwww--"

                                  ~ <3 ~

THAT FUCKIN' MONKEY GOT A BOOK!

"I don't think you can just say that-- ACK!!"

And now this is Panther, scrambling out of the way of thundercrack after thundercrack courtesy of one of those Nagas now chasing after her. Ducking, tucking, and rolling, the cat burglar extraordinaire (is she, though) springs out of the path of the last lightning blast and makes a less-than-graceful landing that sees her skidding across the stone floors of the pyramid. It seems like the others have the monkey with a book (it just doesn't sound acceptable--) in hand, so Ann refocuses on the Naga giving her the business.

Ren managed to snare one with his crazy Joker Pokemon Powers (her technical term for however he's doing whatever he does (yes she's already forgotten)); maybe she can try a unique approach, too?

Sky blue eyes narrow. And as the tide of the battle turns, Panther--

"Hey. It's okay. I know it's tough, being all alone, riiiii~iiiiight~~~?"

croons

in the most terribly lilting, off-tune tone ever imagined.

"But life is so short, and you shouldn't be wasting it here with us, when you could be confessing your feelings to that girl you like! Trust me -- she'll totally appreciate your confidence, as long as you're giving her space, and not suffocating her! I believe in you!"

And here, Ann winks. Offers a thumbs up, even! Places her hand encouragingly on her hip holster!

"Sooooo--"

wait, what

And for the third time, this is Panther, brandishing her new, black and red submachine gun emblazoned with rose and thorn-vine decals across the top, unloading a full spray-and-pray clip all along the area surrounding the Naga as her eyes widen DANGEROUSLY.

"--GIVE US ALL YOUR MONEY AND SCRAM!!"

PANTHER HAS DEPLOYED: <3 GIRL TALK <3

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.

    "...We do sort of have Futaba-chan's permission," Makoto responds to Tsubasa's point about shoes, "but Sakura-san would notice if there were a pile of shoes by the door. Fortunately we don't have to go all the way in this time." She's very pointed trying to ignore the remaining context of that sentence, though. Look she's trying very hard not to acknowledge why Tsubasa happens to have this knowledge and what she might have to consider in that case.

    The fact that they no longer have to travel for hours in an overheating Monabus is more than welcome, as far as Queen's concerned.

    The new revolver is a bonus, even if it's slightly garish- the barrel is significantly chunkier than her old revolver and the thing is gold plated with a wooden handle. On the other hand, ice bullets might be a boon in a desert dungeon. Indeed, upon entering the Metaverse, one of the first things Queen does is test her quickdraw with it, the loading mechanism and then- tests how well she can spin it around her finger, flip it, and catch it and then pose coolly. "Hmm. The balance is a little different, and it feels like it'll pack more of a punch. Nice find, Joker."

    "You made a request," Makoto answers to Futaba's shadow, though despite the fact that she's going for flippancy, there's a definite serious, maybe even worried tone in her voice, "and the Phantom Thieves don't give up once they take on a request to change a heart."

    Skull declares an intent to watch people's backs, and Queen nods. "Keep an eye out, and don't fall too far back. We don't want to get separated or isolated."

    Look some parts of The Mummy were legit scary and *maybe* she doesn't want an evil mummy sucking out people's organs and using them to revive!!

    Fortunately, the shadows aren't mummies! Or at least mostly aren't mummies. At least not yet. They're Nagas and a Thoth instead- or as Tsubasa points out 'a monkey with a book'. "Give me a second to work out their weaknesseses," she calls, as Joker initiates in their usual bombastic manner. "Don't overcommit on the attack!"

    Unfortunately, as good as she's gotten at analysis, it takes time to see how they operate- and Thoth particular presents a problem for Queen, given her "They snake ones are weak to wind! Mona, Ogre, we need you on offense but be careful of the lightning! Noir, take down the monkey! Panther, you're with me on support!" Queen shouts- trusting Joker to adapt to the knowledge with his many masks. "Everyone else, focus on physical attacks or gunfire!"

    How much of the strategy is followed at the end of the day, well... Girl Talk is support, in a way. Queen, for her part, is focused on bolstering defenses and backing up Ichika's healing interspersed with wind attacks. And briefly staring at Panther's way of dealing with the enemy and, possibly, her singing voice.

    But with the battle won, Queen looks to her allies. "Everyone alright? We're still not that far in, we need to be careful with our resources."

    Someone has to care about that sort of thing so everyone else can get wild, and Queen drew the short straw.

<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.

 
It is Ann Takamaki who receives Shadow Futaba's first reply. "In this tomb, the only law is that of inevitable entropy." A beat passes. "But, even you Phantom Thieves may not be able to overcome the challenges. Even so... no officer of the law may enter these sacred precincts." Her head turns a bit to the side.

To Joker, she replies: "So you did."

It sounds, somehow, weary. Too weary for someone so young. Her head turns for a moment, the glasses gleaming in the unusual light. "... Hm. Is that so?" she answers. A hand rises, adjusting the glasses. "... The worst that can happen is that you fail, after all."

"A strategic perspective," the Shadow answers Fox. "Worthy of praise... whatever it may get you." Her head then turns to look at Ryuji, with wordless intensity, for a moment. Shadow Futaba is not a super emotive person, but he may have a sense of an upraised eyebrow. What this portends... is unclear.

She watches nevertheless, as the Phantom Thieves move deeper within.

-=-=-=-

Momiji's winds slam one of the Nagas down, throwing them off balance. Another Naga's invocation reinforces them but that Naga's stunned for now - no counter-strike!

Phoenix observes the Book of Thoth.

Thoth brings his lips back into what is, no doubt, a simian expression of fury and force. And yet it also looks like a coprophagic grin on the face of the ape. "Indeed," Thoth says in a high nasal voice, at which point Phoenix receives a stern rebuttal in the form of Freila!! It hurts and stings -- to say the least!

Fox is able to avoid getting his portion of Phoenix's blast, which is good, because he's probably less likely to be reborn in a birth of flame. An over-committed Naga lunges to try to catch him, but manages to miss *that* way too -- uh oh! He surges forwards, scoring a sword hit - which knocks the book out of Thoth's hand. "What!! How uncouthful!"

One ape finger is pointed directly at Fox as the ape leans forwards to reclaim his book. "Mad?" Thoth asks. And if Fox cannot endure it, the very *question* seems to be *utterly* infuriating!

"Huh?" a Naga asks Thoth. Thoth turns to look towards that Naga and points at them: "You mad?"

"What? What?! What!?!? Arrrgh!!" That Naga, driven to fury, lunges forwards to try and stab Joker about their feeling! (The Naga's feelings, not Joker's.)

Thoth looks proud of himself. Then his head pivots to look at the rising form of Milady. "Huh? Arrrrgh!!!" Both hands come up to clutch at his head! He's off balance, too! Yet it is the earlier Naga, the one who had lunges at Fox, who looks at Ann as she speaks... winks... and...

Out comes the gun. "Wait," says the Naga, before DAKKADAKKADAKKADAKKADAKKA. A strange Shadowy scream followed by the clang and clatter of a *really* surprising number of fifty-yen coins (plus two fives, for change) ring out as the Shadow rejoins the great flow of the multiverse, but - and this is important - gives up the money first.

At this point, it has become a matter of cleanup. Brutal chops - bursts of sorcery - the Thoth falls onto his gruesome red baboon ass, and is soon enough overwhelmed by a follow-up strike. The enraged Naga, while a threat in hand to hand, swiftly succumbs to a foe that has brought low many Shadows since the world was young: Automatic weapons fire.

One of the Nagas - the one on the edge, who Ogre had stunned almost instantly - is all that's left. They rise up, battered and hesitant, leaning on their spear-tip, when Joker speaks to them: "Yeah? Someone like you... following a doomed cause... But I'm going to be entombed in this place, myself. So it's not like I have room to talk..." A beat or two, and the Naga raises their head: "I just remembered! We're the same! Hope you've got what it takes to survive in the lonesome places..."

-=-=-=-

Now that the obstacles are cleared, the Phantom Thieves can cross the great bridge... and now you can tell just where that light is coming from.

Great monolithic plinths, topped with precious-metal cradles holding vast luminous crystals, rest at intervals across a long rising stepped-level gallery. Rays of light originate from somewhere, transmitted through great carven holes high up and glinting off of reflective surfaces. The beams reflect and shine, seemingly at random, the jewels pivoting the light that shines into them. Everything seems to have ninety-degree angles.

This great hidden funereal procession has scaffolds and crates here and there - while substantially complete, it's not quite done. Those great objects -- once you get yourself up to them -- will move easily with a press of more falcon-hieroglyphs, facing left or right respectively. Room to experiment.

Further reaches of the huge avenue are dark, but pivoting the jewels will send the beams of light casting forwards -- and in some cases, upwards, reflecting off of jewels in the almost-inconcievably-high ceiling. There are four levels of this nonsense, but it seems to be going in one direction, and you have to crane your neck to see just how high up the central stairway goes.

There will surely be mishaps, misadventures, and false leads. But at the top - once you've gotten some of the great rays of light turned in that direction, shining forwards and up - there seems to be a door. A different sort of door than the one that had so-rudely slammed shut in front of you. One with a dark translucent jewel, much like the ones refracting the light rays.

Draw upon ACADEMICS to reason out the underlying concepts of this -- it can only be -- a *puzzle*.

Rely on your PROFICIENCY to adroitly maneuver through the space.

One thing that might stand out, too, is that other than those guards lingering at the bridge you've crossed, there is nothing else in here that moves, unless you make it move.

It's quiet.

Peaceful, almost.

No Shadows. Not even Cognitions.

But then... it is a tomb, isn't it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjnuRcc_RBo

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    "Yeah," Joker remarks to Ogre of the water, their tone a bit grim.
    
    It lightens when Queen twirls her new firearm, the Icy Revolver, as it was called in Iwai's shop, and finds it pleasing. "Thank the Untouchable," they reply, pleased themself.
    
    There is a rebalancing at the weariness in Shadow Futaba's reply, shown in the concern in Joker's dark eyes; however...
    
    When Fox muses on the tomb's secret passages, they grin. "Exciting, isn't it?"
    
    Before combat, Skull says he'll cover their backs, and Joker nods to him. "We're counting on you, Skull."
    
    Partway through combat, Mona joins his Garu attacks with Ogre's Zan attacks. "They're nothing before our might!" he boasts.
    
    However: that fuckin' monkey got a book. Fortunately, Noir has just the ticket to smack it to the ground and leave it open to the others' attacks. "Well done," Joker calls to her.
    
    Panther's girl talk is on point. So is her new firearm--the Scarlet Rose. Panther continues to be Joker's funniest friend, by far. When Joker catches her eye next, they wink in approval.
    
    The MVP is still Queen, though, who's able to identify the Shadows' various weaknesses in the first place and let everyone direct their attacks appropriately towards victory. It might take a while, but... it's not like they've got a Navigator on their team.
    
    At the end of combat, Phoenix marvels at how Joker took in that Naga as a new Persona. They shoot them a grin of their own and a low 'heh.' It was a forceful approach, but clearly the correct one--whatever the Naga thought of the cause itself, death is a familiar thing in a tomb.
    
    "We do. And we will," they promise the empty air.
    
    Some well-placed Dias later, and the Shadows are all defeated. Joker dismisses their weapons and tucks their hands in their pockets, looking around at everyone as Queen asks if they're all okay, watching for both verbal responses and body language. As tough as the Thoth was, it seems like they're doing all right so far, but Queen's right about resources. (The spray of cash will help a lot, but only after they've all left.)
    
    Fortunately, as the team progresses, there aren't any more Shadows to fight. The tomb is empty. It's honestly creepy--maybe creepier than The Mummy was, in a way. Sometimes, it's the anticipation that kills you.
    
    Joker presses the falcon hieroglyphs this way and that. Mona meanwhile climbs up the holes to inspect the jewels. Beautiful as they are, they're merely treasure, not Treasure, though. He pushes those too, causing the jewels to change position, and thus change the direction of the light beams.
    
    "This way!" Mona shouts to the others. "The solution's gotta have something to do with these beams!"
    
    Joker steps back and looks up towards him, the jewels, and the beams. It seems apparent to them that he's right. "Let's start hitting different ones--push them around and see how they work. Once we know that, we ought to be able to figure out the correct position," they tell the others.
    
    With a snap of their left hand, they fire off their grappling hook again, this time to hurtle them up towards the upper levels in the blink of an eye. However, it'll take everyone's cooperation to get them through this puzzle.

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

"You really said it," Ogre points out to Phoenix. "Heheh." They've both been around Skull enough...

but as the monkey has a book... It may or may not be acceptable to say it, but said it is.

"Remember you can use fire too!" Ogre shouts after Phoenix. She tries to back Noir up, too, though her weapon is a different kind of heavy, and mostly good for defense. And Girl Talk, well...

"Nice," Ogre says to Panther. "Think we oughta use the proceeds to get some new shoes? I've got my eye on these back in Shibuya..."

Well, they could get sensible equipment, instead, but where's the fun in that?

Ogre is glad to have makoto focusing on strategy; luckily, lightning isn't her main problem, so she can shield Mona from it.

"I'm good," Ogre says when the battle is over. "Might need to top up after another battle like that, though."

She's pretty sure from how they're talking though--tht Joker is into this. She smiles at them after the battle. "Awesome," she says. "That how you get all those masks, then?"

But it is creepy down here... Ogre, unfortunately, is not as stupid as she thinks she is but doesn't trust her instincts at all when it comes to smarts; she's not going to figure it out about the beams.

However, once it's out...

"If you look," Ogre says, "The dust along the ground--it has different concentrations. You can tell where these things have been moved before..."

And when it comes to raw muscle moving the jewels, well. Ogre's 5'7". She can do a lot with leverage. She is using PROFICIENCY today.

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.

    It's fine, Makoto. Tsubasa's cutting back on the criminal enterprise shit. Don't even worry about it!!

    "Watch our back, yeah?" Phoenix asks Skull, as he realises just how complicated the exit might get. Bumping their fist to his, they issue to him: "Countin' on ya."

    Freila toasts Phoenix, right up to the point where the microwave dings, but they keep charging forward through it all. (They do, indeed, arise reborn.) "I've got 'em right where I want 'em!" They crow, as they turn in three-sixty revolution with their executing blade, even though they have to carve through another spell to get there...

    AIN'T NO COMMITMENT LIKE OVERCOMMITMENT!

    "We can say what we want!" They add, vicious in their victoriousness, to Panther -- "You heard her Shadow, ain't no cops here to book us!"

    (Makoto doesn't count, she's just got family.)

    And since there are no cops, Panther holds the Shadows up, and Phoenix grins, beneath their witch-hat mask. "Sick."

    Despite charging into everything, Phoenix doesn't seem like they're fronting when they assure Joker they're good, though. (Thanks to Ogre, that is.)

    When the dust settles, and they come to the next challenge --

    "It's usin' refraction," Phoenix says, as they look up at those statues. "Looks like it's reflective... get th' prisms inta them beams, an' they'll bounce off a 'em int' a new path."

    wait, what

    who the fuck said the berserker bird was good at science

<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.

It was a tough battle, but they managed to cut through - not in the least thanks to Queen's strategy and Skull's watching from behind to protect them.

"I took some serious hits... but I can keep going!" Noir nods to Queen. Joker congratulating her on a job well done only makes victory feel more sweet at that... "Thanks, Joker! You were quite impressive yourself." Joker's mastery over winning over new Personas and switching between them on the fly continues to amaze her.

"Way to go, Panther! I could truly see the fear in that Shadow's face." Noir cheers, when Panther makes effective use of girl power. "Equipment is important... but some new shoes would be nice, too. We still owe Queen that shopping trip, don't we?~" Noir asides to Ogre.

"Oh, isn't that wonderful?" Noir asides to Phoenix as they gloat about the lack of police presence. She's not fond of the police either! "It does mean we'll need to keep our guard up against everything else, though..." Noir says that, but ever since the initial group of Shadows, it becomes eerily quiet as they progress through the Palace. If anything, Noir almost feels like she prefers the Shadows over the dark, empty silence of the tomb.

It's not long before they make it to the next challenge. Jewels and beams... "I may not quite understand the theory behind it... but I think I understand how they move." She nods, as Phoenix suggests they're dealing with refraction. Just knowing isn't enough - they'll have to coordinate and time themselves perfectly if they're going to get anywhere with this puzzle.

Fortunately, thanks to Milady's psychic power, that comes a little easier to Noir. Of course, that comes in the form of telekinetically lifting the jewels to get them where they need to be just a little faster!

<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.

"Hee hee! Score~!"

One threat neutralized with using the twin guns of grace and tact, Panther - after flashing Joker a wink, v-sign, and a "this gun is SO GREAT, JOKER" - is currently crouched over the pile of pillaged yen in the process of scooping it all up (where's she even going to put it--?) when she realizes there are eyes on her.

It's utterly and disarmingly guileless, the way those big blue eyes look blinkingly Queen's way after she literally just got done extorting a Shadow with threats and violence.

"Umm. What's up, Queen? --Oh, right. I was supposed to stick to the backline with you, right? Sorry!!" is that really the issue here "I promise I'll stick to that next time! --Oh! Can you help me carry some of this yen~? -- Oo, yes, Ogre, Noir! That's a great idea! I saw the cutest pair of sandals for this summer--"

And so it goes.

                                  ~ <3 ~

"Err. I'm pretty sure pyramids didn't have lasers..."

Ann Takamaki, who once pulled a heist in a literal flying bank, has issues with this mind-pyramid. She can't help it; much like Makoto, she's still got The Mummy on the brain.

Still, Ann doesn't actually grouse about this. She just looks kind of bemused about it as she squints at the scaffoldings and almost ethereal green rays of light that reflect from jewel to jewel. It's seriously really pretty, even if it isn't historically accurate: Panther can't help the impressed little "Wow..." that escapes her lips as she observes what's going on.

"So, um. What's the deal here, exactly? Are we supposed to just steal the jewels...?" no ann not everything is about stealing (maybe) "Or... uh..."

Phoenix mentions refractions. Panther squints, a frown creasing her lips.

"Ugh. Seriously? I'm terrible at regular fractions."

...

LOOK: once someone ELI5's the situation to Ann, she's very quick on the uptake, with raising brows and a gloved fist pounding into her opposing palm. "Oh! Okay! ... I'm still terrible at that." Like. At least she's honest.

"But!!" And here, with a flash of blue fire, Panther unfurls her whip. "-- I've been doing a lot of training lately so I'm pretty sure I can get to the hard to reach areas, if one of you can direct me on what I should be doing! Just tell me where to point the thing!"

And with that, Panther will unfurl her whip and crack it into the nearest scaffolding, yanking herself up through the air with feline grace as she hops from point to point on her way towards the closest available jewel refracting all that light.

Still a very deceptive name. ENGLISH: Ann's great at it and she still hates it.

buncha nonsense

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.

    "I'm going to have to check that place out sometime myself," Queen confirms. "I don't suppose you get a referral discount?"

    Because Iwai reacts so well to new unknown customers.

    Makoto is observing the hallway now they're moving, and she's getting more relaxed now. Johanna and her Rebellious Armour make it easier for Makoto to handle the darkness of the tomb, and well, it's relatively well lit. Pitch black would be a different thing.

    Still, when Noir mentions she took some rough hits, Queen does go over to check on her personally. "Let me take a look." She is making sure Noir's not injured, very attentively- but Noir is one of her closest friends now. It would be weird not to worry. "Johanna, Diarama!" Makoto calls- being backup left her more energy to spare as she uses the healing energy on Noir. "Does that help? Let me know if you need more time to recover, okay?" Damn, the heat in here is getting to her face a bit. "I-I mean, you're one of our better frontline damage dealers, so we don't need you getting worn out early." Especially with Phoenix currently cutting loose and Ryuji on the backline.

    Queen sighs, but at least Ann promises to listen next time. "It worked this time, but the shadows are only going to be stronger the further in we get. We don't know how deep the treasure is yet, right Mona?"

    Panther asks for help carrying the cash, and it's not like she can say no, even though she and Panther have the same number of pockets on their skintight leather outfits. "S-sure." She says, a little awkwardly, but she does take the armful of coings offered her- then though, Queen's gaze turns to Ogre and Panther with a very sudden and intense look behind it. "We need to be careful with our mission funds, and unexpectedly splashing cash around could draw attention." Still, Panther wants "...You know, it's weird. We can use the yen the shadows drop, but the gold bars from Kaneshiro's palace ended up just being play money. If it was counterfeit someone would have noticed somehow..." Oh great now she's going to be thinking about this the whole time. Is it duplicated? Can Mementos and Palaces replace a mint? If they can do that, wouldn't people be taking advantage of it?

    Queen does facepalm a little at Phoenix's joyous taunting of the police- but they're not wrong. It IS a lot easier working where the cops aren't. "...unless Akechi-kun turns up," Makoto says a little quietly.

    Still, when Phoenix is talking about the refraction and reflection, Queen smiles. Now *this* is like old times. "Glad to see you've still got it," Queen says, as she starts looking around the room- and sees other's needing explanation. "Basically, we'll need to use the gems to reflect the beam of light into a particular point." An idea comes to mind- and for once, a common language. "Remember, like in the movie, where the American guy walks into the treasure room and shoots the mirror to light it up?" Look, she complained it wouldn't work in real life but... this is a palace. Now she kind of wants to try. Maybe there will be a mirror or crystal they can only hit at range... Queen smirks. "Feel like a trickshot competition, Joker?" Oh no, this is gonna be Queen and Fox's shadow hunting all over again- they are the primary pistol users after all.

    "It looks complicated, but I think we can get this working. Who feels like doing some climbing?" She does watch Joker fly up with her grappling hook and sighs a bit. "Joker, can you let us know what you can see from up there? That'll help us map it out! Mona, can you get up as well?" She does trust the not-a-cat's agility quite a lot, and his vision.

    There are also advantages to a dusty and sandy stone floor- one can use it for mapping. "Phoenix, help me out here," she asks, as she starts drawing a rough shape of the area- and then additional shapes for the scaffolding, layer by layer.

    it's a pain to get her notebook out outside of a safe room, okay.

    Still, pretty quickly Queen goes into organizing mode, directing people where they need to go. After all, solving a horrible tomb puzzle will be harder than managing Student Council- but not that much harder, surely. It's just logic and science, none of that... interpersonal management stuff she's not as good at.

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.

"Technically, it's just focused sunlight," Fox points out as Panther wonders why there are lasers inside a pyramid, though privately he suspects that it's the same reason there's air conditioning.

After all, Futaba Sakura is a tech-head, and tech needs to be kept cool, right?

He's probably barking up the wrong tree, but it's an idle musing, anyway.

"There are likely ideal angles to rotate each prism towards," he suggests, as Ogre points out the dust markings. "They all need to be focused on a central point... likely without crossing over, in order to not disrupt the light patterns..."

Also because crossing the streams is notoriously bad.

"I can help reposition, too, if needed," he offers.

<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.

 
When Mona gets up top and takes a look at the jewels, he can swiftly define that they're... probably mostly quartz or something. They're huge, and seem flawless, but it'd be difficult to steal 'em -- especially with his tragically petite form. But the facings they're set in are beautiful: ancient copper and bronzes moving with slick, oiled ease.

Don't get hit by the ray, Mona! (It's actually just a beam of light, so it'd just be sort of warm. Maybe with a weird faint sensation of being pushed.)

Joker quickly gets up high, giving them an angle on the entire situation. A place where advice and planning can be made, because the entire thing is irritatingly uphill. Joker's viewpoint and cunning grapple-hook probably saved them an hour of frustration, at least.

The dust *does* tell. It seems to be present on any flat surface, really, although it is very fine and easy to overlook if you aren't keeping a specific eye out for it. Perhaps this tomb, in its promise of eternal stagnation and burial, is itself already beginning to fall apart... a slow collapse which shall surely entomb its destined occupant.

The interesting thing that Ogre might divine is that while there's signs of *Shadows* moving through the area, there aren't *human* prints (nor precious little pawsie prints, for that matter). Mostly snake-wiggles and a couple vaguely-human that may have come from Thoth.

Those couldn't have been literally the only Shadows in this entire place, right?

Phoenix gets their eyes turned up. The refraction turns out to be right - two 'levels' up, several of the icons with the sparkle-bzowt crystals on top have different metal 'furniture' and turn out to have forty-five-degree beam splits. In the end, the secret here is that the light all seems to be interchangeable, and even consistent, after a split beam might send one ray of light to illuminate some chunk of masonry.

All that matters, perhaps, is that the charge gets where it needs to go. Noir's psychokinetic self-idealization is able to catch a couple of the jewels on plinths in really annoying-to-reach places. Of course - it's hard to hit what you can't see, isn't it? And on the third level, there are several on extremely annoying angles and positions. One, indeed, is not just shrouded from direct view but is on a platform that could only be reached two ways. (Assuming you can't fly.)

Painstaking climbing up the smooth stone of the wall...

Or a whip! Panther strikes, and with a glamorous swing and a body-twisting leap at its apex to land on the annoyingly-isolated platform, she can push a button and pivot a jewel. The light beam is nearly to the door! The last push!

Which is a genuine pain in the ass, because at the very, very last level, there are just like sixteen of the refractive plinth-and-jewels in one big cluster. Wiggling around - psychokinesis - Mona's size advantage - all of them are critical to do this enormous complex loop around that *somehow* uses fifteen out of sixteen of the jewels in order to bounce the light BACK into half of the great gallery -

- Through that refraction that seemed pointless, but which interference casts ANOTHER beam forwards -

- and that beam of light hits the door. There is a sound like an enormous deadbolt lock being pulled back, and the door swings open just a bit.

As this door opens for the Phantom Thieves, something else goes THUNK. It's a profound noise, almost like if an earthquake was happening but in a single and decisive way. The door opens into a hallway which... immediately turns right.

Cross through it. There is a detour that crosses one of the landings on that great stairwell the Thieves ascended on their first business. Looking down shows that one of the barriers between you and the main entrance has arisen, which shall make departure easier.

Perhaps the Shadow's heart is easing. Perhaps Futaba-herself is.

Keep going. And... there's a left turn, and through there, another wide open space.

This one, unfortunately, isn't as simple as jumping and puzzle manipulation.

A long space with two sub-chambers, marked by knee-high stone walls, decoratively defining space in this vast dead void.

Coming in, there are eight great sarcophagi, four to either side. Above each of them, a lingering shape projected from some unseen tiny point - in a pallid green aura, a simple shape is made. It seems to be one of two options: either a face that resembles that of Futaba Sakura herself (if we presume that her Shadow has the same face, or nearly the same face, as the girl herself) or a simple, stark sarcophagus, standing on its 'feet' and facing outwards.

In between the two chambers, there is an black obelisk sitting on a square pedestal. On the four sides of that pedestal are inscribed dully glowing text, largely a muted, faded green with the exception of several words, curiously highlighted. It reads:

I lay myself to rest, a nice disposal of something unneeded.
Of something that brought nothing but woe to others.
Meet it is to dispose of a nuisance.
I hope that you, who reads this, shall accept my apology.

Past the obelisk and its inscription rests another space like the first: eight sarcophagi, four on either side. If you press that falcon-hieroglyph (which keeps coming up) at the foot of each coffin, the hologram above it changes - sarcophagus to Futaba, Futaba to sarcophagus.

The exact state of the holograms as the Phantom Thieves enter:

1st chamber, right side - Sarcophagus, Sarcophagus, Futaba, Sarcophagus.
1st chamber, left side - Sarcophagus, Sarcophagus, Sarcophagus, Futaba.
2nd chamber, right side - Sarcophagus, Futaba, Sarcophagus, Futaba
2nd chamber, left side - Sarcophagus, Sarcophagus, Futaba, Sarcophagus.

(Welcome to the Puzzle Zone. If you can read this closely and solve it, feel free to page me, Futaba, with your solution.)

(However.)

(If you would like to receive a clue - or an outright 'pose this detail using your character's Academics or Guts to explain how they figured it out' - just page me. For the sake of Choreography, I may ask for these revelations to come in a certain order. Don't worry: the goal is to be rad and figure it out. There IS a correct answer.)

(If you DID figure it out there WILL be a prize, but I may ask you to take a specific part in the SOLUTION SEQUENCE.)

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    Noir's counter-compliment gets her a courtly joke of a bow--which might just appeal to her even more, even if it is a joke. As they rise, she and Panther and Ogre start talking about using the proceeds to buy shoes. Joker opens their mouth to remind them that Metaverse proceeds are for funding the team--
    
    We still owe Queen that shopping trip, don't we?~ Noir titters.
    
    Joker shuts their mouth and their eyes with a wry smile. Well... once in a while is all right. "I knew at a glance it would suit you," they tell Panther. "Splurge a little with Queen and the others. You earned it."
    
    ...Even if Queen's staring would seem to imply she thinks otherwise. Though... that otherwise thought might have nothing to do with Panther failing to stick to the backline--or even Noir getting a few extra-hard hits during the fight. It's a thought that will return to Joker later.
    
    Ogre comments on their acquisition. Joker flashes a smile back at her. "Exactly right. It's the power of the Wild Card--" A shadow crosses their face as they remember: ("You sowed the wind and reaped the whirlwind, little Wild Card. Time for your punishment."). Then they shrug, resuming their more stoic demeanor for now. "Or so I'm told."
    
    ("Though, next time if you actually came alone, I might consider humoring you.")
    
    "..."
    
    Don't linger on that. You're done, they scold themself.
    
    There's plenty else to focus on, though. Phoenix explains about refraction and how to use the beams to solve the puzzle. Science is interesting to Joker, but still not one of their better subjects, so they give them a thoughtful nod, impressed.
    
    Until Panther mentions she's already bad at regular fractions.
    
    "......."
    
    Joker turns their head away and coughs into one hand. Panther's still their funniest friend, without even trying.
    
    "Right," Mona tells Queen, nodding firmly. "I can sense we're getting closer bit by bit, but it's still a long ways away."
    
    Meanwhile, Joker glances her way. "He won't show up here, at least. There's no way he could know to," they murmur. (They may or may not get referral discounts; usually it's Ren doing the buying on the team's behalf. Still, if Makoto wants to go there personally, they'll be happy to encourage her to drop their name.) A sharp grin splits their lips at the proposal of a sharpshooting contest, and they take a moment to flourish and spin their new PMF-84W. "Always."
    
    But first, of course, they need to get to higher ground. They nod to Yusuke first when he suggests a course of action. "That sounds reasonable. But I bet we'll need your artistic eye more. Keep watch down here for the pattern while we reposition and tell us where to the point the lights," they tell him. Then, with their higher ground, they'll take on that sharpshooting contest with Makoto. (They always have gotten a thrill from competition.)
    
    However it all goes, it's still a team effort. Eventually those beams all merge, and the door is open. The exit is simple enough, however dramatic the rumbling of the door is; the next chamber is anything but.
    
    They consider the holograms over the sarcophagi of Futaba's face and the stark sarcophagus with a gloved hand on their chin. The highlighted words in the verse carved on the black obelisk immediately stand out to them: Nice to meet you.
    
    In other words, Yoroshiku, or in internet number-speak, 4649. There are eight sarcophagi, but since they're split between two chambers... maybe this is the solution for one of the rooms? Joker is dubious of that solution, but they propose it to the others all the same: press the first chamber's falcon hieroglyphs four times on the first sarcophagus, six on the second, four on the third, and nine on the fourth. Even if it's wrong, no harm in giving it a try.

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

"Phoeniiiix!"

Oh, well. They all make it through. Ogre looks to Noir--but Queen is faster this time, and Ogre smiles. "You two are pretty close, huh?" she asks guilelessly. Then a beat, as they discuss SHOES, "Right!? Sandals, I was looking at these great boots..." A laugh to Noir. "Totally, we did owe her that."

Careful with their mission funds... Ogre hmms. "I guess that's true..." But Joker to the rescue!! "Yeah!! Panther especially!"

Hut it is weird, isn't it?

"Oh," Ogre says when Phoenix mentions the refraction, and Fox says what it's for. "That makes sense."

Ogre hears Joker's explanation and nods thoughtfully. "I see... The Wild Card. Joker." She knows some card games.

Queen may not feel she's good at interpersonal management, but Ogre does feel pretty confident in that, so she takes the time to gauge everyone's spirits while they're at it. And while she's at it, she sees no human prints... "...Were those the only Shadows around?" she wonders.

but soon... there are sarcophagi.

"Huh," Ichika says. "So maybe..."

"Like, the letters..." She thinks about it. She tries to count out the numbers but...

"No, that can't be right..."

She frowns. "...Wait," she says. "So like... If we count out..." She trails off. "No, there's not 7 things there..."

"Phoenix," Ogre says. "Nerd stuff always has all those 1s and 0s on it, right? Does that have anything to do with stuff?"

Ogre sighs and takes a seat. "I don't know," she says. "I'm no good at this stuff."

She'll get up and help moving things, but she doesn't make many more suggestions.

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.

    The Wild Card power is sick as, man.

    But Phoenix's secret power -- is that they're actually a nerd!!

    "Theory's like -- light is a wave, yeah? So when it passes through solid matter, it either, like, disperses against it, that's why you don't see th' sun in a room with no windows, or it refracts through it, that's how ya got sunlight through ya window..."

    Phoenix gestures to Yusuke, as they confirm, for Ann: "Yeah, it's like, sunlight lasers. Light's been concentrated by these prisms. It's cool, this shit ain't, like, relevant to piss ninety percent a th' time. Don't reckon ya terrible at it, it jus' ain't important to what ya do. Yeah, if you can jump up there, angle that fella up to th' left -- yeah, jus' like that!"

    Ogre already knows this, of course, but Phoenix isn't the kind of smartass that likes to make other people feel stupid. They're not stupid!! Ann is smarter than any of them in Ann specific environments. You can't judge a fish on how well she climbs a tree, man.

    Noir's ability to move those massive statues is a great boon, too, and Phoenix appreciates her. (They're a little jealous... could she, like, suplex a train?)

    They do, however, flash a grin to Queen. "Yeah, yeah," they brush off still having it, casually. "Normally, this shit is a pain in th' ass, but if it's for Sakurai-san..." Together with her, they manage to map out the puzzle...!

    Together, the way is unlocked.

    When Phoenix comes to that great main entrance, to see one of the many barriers risen, they glance to the side, thoughtfully quiet. "It's like that, huh...? Yeah... give a guy an inch, ya take a mile. Sometimes a man's an island... uh, or a girl. Yeah."

    It's the kind of reflection they don't immediately explain; perhaps they're not really issuing it to their teammates, as much as just... talking in Shadow Futaba's general direction.

    And then, the sarcophagi --

    "Binary," Phoenix nods, to Ogre, when she asks. "It's like -- '1' says th' switch is 'on', 0 says th' switch is 'off'. So you countin' in base 2. Zero's 0, one's 1, but then two's 1 0, an' three's 1 1... so four's 1 0 0, five's 1 0 1, six is 1 1 0, seven's 1 1 1... then you get to eight, that's 1 0 0 0, nine's 1 0 0 1, ten's 1 0 1 1... it goes on like that."

    Eight sarcophagi, arranged in lines of four...

<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.

O-operational funds?!

"I guess..." Ann concedes, in a sad voice that suggests she's not actually conceding, which proves out the exact moment that Joker suggests it's okay to indulge a little.

"Hey! Yeah! We deserve to splurge a bit! It's, like, totally healthy -- shopping is the ultimate destresser, which is great for your mental health, and your pores, and..." And Ann will continue on and on like this, pointing and nodding at Ogre as she agrees, before she is

SUDDENLY UPON QUEEN, HANDS IN HERS

"--and YOU deserve to destress MOST of all, Queen! So c'mon! Let's get this money!"

BUT THAT WAS THEN
    AND THIS IS NOW

where Ann Takamaki is realizing that pyramids have way too many puzzles. The Mummy can only prepare you so much......

Really, Fox's explanation of the would-be lasers, combined with Queen's explanation on refraction via the time-honored tradition of The Mummy, really helps Ann grasp the concept. "Oh yeah! That was so awesome! Wow, the sun really is powerful, huh..." she muses to herself, scratching her cheek. Something they all really know already thanks to THE OPPRESSIVE HEAT OF THE DESERT, THANKS FUTABA.

With the first puzzle completed and the way open, though, Ann pumps one fist in victory -- only to sag in defeat as she beholds a new puzzle, FAR MORE COMPLEX THAN THE LAST.

"Ughhh, I'm so lost..." groans Panther, twintails dangling as she hangs her head. Still -- she's relatively quick to recover, and there is an honest curiosity in her eyes as she approaches those sarcophagi and the black obelisk. She looks up -- and then she looks to the side, where the ritual coffins and Futabas await.

"Kinda creepy, huh?" she says, to no one in particular. Blue eyes drop, absorbing the content of that message. Some of the words are... in blue? "... Nice... to... meet... you...?" she repeats, brows furrowing a bit. Like... Yoroshiku?

The talk about binary mostly goes over her head - she knows binary as it relates to gender, not to computers - but the core concept is easy to grasp. Two different states of a thing, just like nonbinary is a counterpoint to that. For right now?

For right now, Ann leaves the puzzle solving to the people primed for approaching it, and just makes her way through those sarcophagi, examining them, and the obelisk, with an expression that is growing increasingly...

... somber?

"... Is that what she thinks?" Ann wonders, almost to herself, one hand gripping at its opposing forearm with a reflexive squeeze.

"That she only hurts people...?"

Her lips press, gloved fingers clenching tighter.

She refuses to accept that.

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.

Fox looks between Joker and Phoenix, thoughtful. The deeper nuances of mathematics are not one of his strong suits, either...

... but mathematics is human interpretation of the beauty of the world... and one form of beauty is symmetry.

Joker's knowledge of internet parlance and Phoenix providing enough grounding of binary have him walking over to the holograms, studying them carefully.

"If the message translates into numbers, and the holograms translate into different numbers..." He puts his head to one side, resting it on his knuckles. "... Joker, I think your idea is nearly there. What if we match the holograms, in binary, to the numbers that mean the greeting? If we discern which sarcophagus state is which binary number..."

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.

    Makoto looks over to Joker as they recommend splurging, and she blinks. "Really? Shouldn't we be keeping our mission funds and our personal funds separate?" ...though, maybe it would mean Yusuke could take better care of himself if they shared the budget around... That's a logistical question, though, for the team. Later.

    "...Refraction and fractions are different topics, Panther. Do we need to have a study session?" If Makoto were more canny, she would make the makeover dependant on everyone's grades. Makoto is not that canny.

    A look of brief concern crosses her face when Ann insists on Queen's need to destress- among other looks. She already knows that Tsubasa is a terrible traitor from the fashion cause to the nerd cause... Fox is absolutely hopeless so she has to cast a brief look to Ren. "I'm- I don't need to destress, I'm doing fine, really!"

    "I hope so," Makoto says, after a moment. "But Sis knew about Futaba-chan before any of us, and he works with her. If he has the Metaverse app..." Well, it could be very feasible for a detective of Akechi's calibre to work things out like that- or even just put Futaba's name into the app.

    Makoto definitely isn't distracted from her mapping briefly to watch the way Haru moves things, or the way Panther moves around the obstacles. Stll, Joker being in for the sharpshooting contest gets a grin from Makoto. "Oh, I'm looking forward to it."

    But solving the puzzle however, is not something she can work out on her own. She does watch the efforts of Joker's solution. "...So, Yoroshiku is 4-6-4-9?" Queen frowns, she doesn't know this slang AT ALL. She feels a little out of her depths- and Ichika then mentions the ones and zeros, and Phoenix explains- even if they brush it off. "Maybe. Doesn't mean that you're not good at it." Honestly, she misses their study sessions a bit. Maybe Tsubasa-kun isn't into it, but maybe they could do something, for old times sake. Group study?

    "So, if we assume each set of four sarcophagi is like that, a one or zero... okay, let's try it."

    Unfortunately, the binary solution isn't that... even if they can together suss out that a Sarcophagus is a 0 and a Futaba is a 1...

    "...What if we aren't working in binary?" Makoto says, after a moment. "If they're in binary, like you said, then it's 1-2-4-8, right? But what if it's a different system like..." Makoto frowns, and after a moment, moves from room to room, setting the second sarcophagus in each of the right side rooms to Futaba, and the rest to sarcophagus. "You can get 0-15 right? if the starting digit is one, it would... be hexadecimal, right? Then 4 would be like this and..."

    She sets the middle two sarcophogi in the first chambers left room to Futaba and the outer two to sarcophogi, and then reverse that combination in the left subchamber in the second.

    "...I wonder, though, what the original formation means. 13, 14, 11, 13..."

<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.

 
Joker reads the text. The message. It's hardly the first message Futaba has sent out, even if she sure sent a bunch of big sassy talk before she admitted who she really was.

But maybe it was all a shell.

The clicking does change the hologram, but it just iterates - sarcophagus, Futaba, sarcophagus, Futaba, sarcophagus, Futaba. Nothing seems to lock or shift, even as Ogre and Phoenix muse on the mysteries of the world and observe that it is, ultimately, a sort of binary code... Indeed, they think aloud through it. Numbers stacking up in a representational manner.

But they're all representations, when you think about it.

Ann looks at the text, too. Her mind reaches not for the puzzle, but for the girl who wrote this. Even if it came out of her subconscious, something carved into the stone by that noodly looking Shadow (magic maybe?), it was a thought that came from somewhere. Even if it is a thought that no one should have. Something that *can't* be true.

It is Makoto who puts everything together. Even if she might be skeptical about this texting slang - it's actually kind of archaic, a survivor from the pager - it's hard to argue with results.

Thirteen, you see, is a simpler number in Hexadecimal - D. And fourteen would be E, and eleven would be A, and thirteen again would be D... what does that spell?

4, 6, 4, 9 is a much more pleasant sequence. It's not something clever like a letter coaxed out of a cluster of switches, but it's more heartfelt. When the last numeral is locked in at 1001, and thus 9... stone moves! Many stones.

A door -- not locked -- is revealed as two stones, apparently just an innocent patch of wall, slide apart!

And the lids of all of the sarcophagi slide thirty degrees to the left, ending the luminous glow of the holograms and revealing their contents.

The majority are empty...

Some of them contain useful items (there's a Revival Bead!)...

And several contain luminous golden lock-boxes.

In one box - cracked by pick and Proficiency - a gleaming dagger rests, a hawk-beaked carved knife whose bronze handle is chased with elegant ivory and lapis-lazuli inlays. The blade, though, is steel - new steel, with a glossy damascus-steel finish and a wickedly sharp blade coming up to a long, durable point. It isn't straight, either: a wicked curve, like a bird of prey's claw. Fortunately, it can be flipped open or shut, as necessary.

In another there are *two* boxes. Relatively big ones. It's interesting how big these cognitive boxes are, aren't they? Maybe it has something to do with a cognitive reality... Anyway:

One of the boxes contains a single long gun - it looks old fashioned, positively antique, although unlike an example from a museum, all the metal is shiny and new. It even smells like gun oil... somehow, a weapon that was lovingly cared-for. A moukahla - a snaphance gun, fitted anew with a cartridge based firing action.

Fortunately, it also has a helpful screw attachment in the middle to allow it to be transported more readily. There are several plastic decals - mostly clear, with glossy pink hiragana explaining 'You can take it apart! ->' and '<- Comfortably take your gun everywhere!' At least it's cheerful about it.

The other contains an arrayed spread of female garments. Rolls of embroidered cloth fabric, like a sarashi wrap around the chest - a head dress, a long linen skirt, armlets with drapes of gauzy cloth. Yet gazing upon this Cursed Robe seems to fill one with sorrow and forbearance... it's an outfit not unlike that of Shadow Futaba herself. (But, it is a good defense, and it does help you defend from Curses.)

-=-=-=-

And your other reward is another staircase. Narrow, cramped, rising upwards... but think about how far in you must be coming. This pyramid was the size of a district (if not a big one) in terms of footprint. You have to be like, eighty meters up at this point.

Another left turn, and another chamber. Once again, there are no Shadows, not even cognitive moving things, other than yourselves.

In this space, lit by several braziers, there is a door in front of you - which is locked and sealed - and to either side, there are mosaics.

No, there are screens with projections of mosaics. Beneath each of them is a series of shapes on a small pedestal - two of those falcon-hieroglyphs facing left and right, and two more buttons, these labelled with more stark icons of X and O. Like a video game controller?

The one on the left is difficult to read, the image in scrambled slices. There seem to be a number of figures - gray falcon-heads on individuals in black suits. The art style is impeccably Egyptian, but those are definitely black suits. Shadow Futaba sits on a throne. There is, for some reason, a bird with black feathers and multi-toned feathers on tail and head crest.

The one on the right is the same kind of scramble, but with triangular slices, some of them upside down. A... car? Caution tape? A weeping Shadow-Futaba? A harsh blue sun, a woman in a black dress?

Before the despair of another puzzle can sink in, the Shadow appears. Not hostile - Shadow Futaba seems to resolve out of the air, turning from nothing to a ghost to an actual presence, descending with an elegant float from about two meters up to stand on her two feet. She is not tall.

"You're all here. I'd thought you died at the bridge. Good work," the Shadow says, and she sounds subtly fatigued. "Behold the stele of revealing, and the stele of the act. We'll see if this one helps you understand."

The Shadow remains, looking, watching, a potential source for hints? Or something more. She seems disinclined to interfere.

Fortunately, at least, these are the kind of puzzles that just need some ACADEMICS to figure out, or some GUTS to persevere through brute-forcing 'em.

Or to endure the Shadow just *standing there*.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    "We should," Joker admits to Queen. "But it's all right, just this once."
    
    Joker tries very hard to uphold their vision of Justice and maintain integrity, but at the same time, they want their friends--and especially their girlfriend--to be happy. If the shopping trip is for her specifically, they've decided they can let it go.
    
    When she insists she doesn't need to destress, and specifically looks to them for support, though, their smile fades. "Well, if you don't want to... then maybe you're right. We shouldn't set a precedent of letting our personal and team funds bleed into each other."
    
    (If they did that all the time, it really would be better used for supporting Yusuke and Tsubasa. Sorry, Panther and pals: your Metaverse-funded shopping spree might just be ruined.)
    
    Queen, too, points out that Sae already knew Futaba, and if Akechi knew about her already, then he could well have put her name into the MetaNav already. This is an extremely good point and something Joker knows well he's prone to doing. They rest a hand on their chin and glance away in thought. "..."
    
    If the Black Mask were to also appear here, then... what would that mean?
    
    ~ * ~
    
    Being smart--or at least, being good at puzzles--isn't everything. Ogre might get frustrated by her inability to decipher it and end up sidelining herself, but because she discovered those traces in the dust, the team knows to keep watch for Shadows, just in case. Skull, Noir, and Mona thus keep a weather eye out for them in the corridor, guarding everyone else as they work it out.
    
    Likewise, because Panther doesn't bother trying to solve the puzzle, she can focus on the overall message of the verse on the obelisk, and what that says about Futaba herself and her self-cognition.
    
    How she's a nuisance. How she brings other misfortune. How she's unneeded and should be thrown away.
    How she's sorry.
    
    It reads very much like a suicide note, in that light. But that was something they all already knew about her. All the more reason for The Phantoms to commit to their promise to save Futaba Sakura.
    
    For the moment, though, Joker is still focused on solving the puzzle so they can all move forward--the current necessary step to fulfill that promise. Phoenix suggests binary, Fox suggests they combine the internet parlance with binary, and when this proves to be an insufficient solution, Queen lives up to her name and hits on the idea of using hexadecimal instead.
    
    The message hidden within the hexadecimal -- D E A D -- is unfortunately lost to them.
    
    What isn't lost is all that TREASURE. The Revival Bead is extremely good, and on top of that, there's a glittering locked box. A moment of picking the lock later with one of their homemade lockpicks, and it opens up to reveal a Harpe Knife (not, as some might claim, a Helper Knife). They pick it up and look it over with a growing grin.
    
    "Now this is a knife," they declare, snapping the blade into and out of the hilt with a flick of their hand. A moment later, it vanishes, having taken the place of their Prism Dagger.
    
    Ogre and the girls in general have plenty of goodies too in those other two boxes. Joker will wait for them to decide who gets to have what, though they'll assign equipment as necessary if they can't agree.
    
    After that, they all move on. Stairs and stairs and stairs, and then another chamber, lit and projecting mosaics. X and O, like a video game controller... And the mosaics themselves, depicting Egyptian-style scenes with black suits, a woman stumbling into the street, and...
    
    "What do you think falcons symbolize in ancient Egypt?" Joker wonders aloud, looking down again at the hieroglyphs. "They keep showing up."
    
    Their question is interrupted by the arrival of Shadow Futaba. They glance over at her, frowning in concern. "Welcome back," they say, before shaking their head slightly. "We're not that weak. We've seen your despair, just as we've each seen our own, and we'll keep on overcoming it. You will, too." They turn back to the mosaics. "Trust us."
    
    A bold declaration, considering The Phantoms haven't solved the mysteries of these mosaics yet--the stele of revealing and the stele of the act--but even if they take her claims at her word... There's got to be more to it than that.
    
    "It looks like we just need to rearrange them to form a coherent picture," they remark to the others. "Let's split up and take them both on. Queen, Phoenix, Panther, you take that one--" They point to the stele of revealing, then face the stele of the act. "Ogre, Fox, you two help me with this one. Skull, Noir, Mona, you three keep up the lookout."
    
    They still haven't seen any more Shadows, but that doesn't mean no more will appear. They've all got to stay sharp.

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

Light is a wave... Ogre doesn't get it, but Tsubasa is nice enough to contest both of them being dumb about these things, her and Panther. "I guess," she allows, "That's true."

Mental health, and pores, and--Ogre nods along, backing Ann up with her sheer presence. But... Joker comes down on it, "Well, I guess it's not like I don't have some money of my own..."

But... Binary, Phoenix calls it. "Oh so like... it's just counting 1s? That's kinda like sewing... The thread's on top or on bottom."

Ogre doesn't put the 'truth' together; she just thinks it's a nice message with the blue. But... Something does seem 'off'. Eventually though... Ogre doesn't pick locks; she has Phoenix for that. But she does stand by looking cool when Phoenix is doing it, nodding along once with the picking and then peering close to see inside the box--

Yeah, she gets an animation for that, too.

"Whoa," Ogre says of the gun. "This thing is so cool..." Beat, "Oh, sticker instructions. ...Cute. Hey, Joker, can I have this one? It's totally my style."

Ahead, though... birds, and figures, and... and..

There's the Shadow. "Heh, we're pretty tough," she says. But the stele of...

"Huh..."

She looks at the Shadow, and looks at the stele. "Well," she says. "Guess we better get to it."

She nods to Joker. "You got it, Joker. I'm in." She comes over to help. Then she pauses.

"...Do you really..." She starts to ask the Shadow something about what Ann says earlier, and just shakes her head. "I hope this helps us understand you. I really want to know you better."

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.

Yusuke looks up at the fragmented images, brow furrowing behind his mask. This, then, is something more to his skillset. Additionally:

When Joker asks what falcons represent, he's able to draw upon his myriad reading about historic art to provide an answer here: "They're the symbolic animal of Horus, the inheritor of rulership of the pantheon. Symbolically, any representation of an animal, or animal-headed being, that corresponded to a member of the pantheon, was considered to be representative of that deity's presence in the depicted scene. In other words, to simplify the depiction, these falcon-headed men in black suits... are 'authority'."

Thinking about the symbolism draws his masked gaze, unreadable, to Shadow Futaba, for a long moment... but he says nothing, for now, instead turning his attention back to the murals. "And the murals, in turn, were used to depict interpretations of historic events. ... These may be memories."

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.

    "It happens," Phoenix comments, to Ann, when she notices how Futaba thinks of herself.

    ... it's kind that she's so bothered by something like that, they think.

    "Yeah, jus' like that," they nod to Ichika, when she connects binary to sewing. Yusuke's admiration of symmetry and Makoto's own brand of nerdery are both things they appreciate, too. "Good call," they comment, when Makoto figures out it goes deeper than base 2.

    What they do -- though they don't immediately recognise the message -- is to note down the hexadecimal codes they come up with. D E A D might be lost to them off the top of their head, but...

    ... after all this, when they get back, Tsubasa will send a message to the team about what it translated to.

    Phoenix is good for picking locks, as it happens -- jigger, jigger, goes the lockpicks they pulled from their feather cloak, and once it's open they step back for Ogre to claim her prize. "Bitchin'," they grin, when she pulls it out.

    And -- "Sick knife," they add, with a firm nod, to Joker. "Oughta flip that shit, it'd look so cool."

    They can do that, probably! Rebellion power!!

    (Luckily, one notes, between Phoenix's delves into Mementos to get what is hopefully not counterfeit yen and their part-time work at the detective agency, they're doing much better than they once were for funds. Shit's still pretty tight, but, like, they don't have to shoplift most of their shit any more. ... and anything they do still need to steal, they just grab from 24-hour convenience stores during the Dark Hour. They're not into this for the thrills like the Princess is, man.)

    "Falcons are like... fast as hell, man. Defs a nine outta ten on th' bird freedom scale." Phoenix frowns, thoughtfully, as they think deeper back, their memory spurred by Yusuke's learning. "Huh, yeah... reckon I read once how they were, like... these super strong an' wise things scopin' out everythin' from high up in th' sky an' protectin' people, far as Egyptians thought of 'em."

    Phoenix, of course, was more focused on the meaning of the bird rather than the Gods associated with them. They're nothing if not predictable.

    "But what kinda shit is this?" They wonder, as they work at the puzzle. "Cars ain't exactly, like, thousands a years old... an' I mean, sure, maybe there was aliens tellin' people how to build shit that impressive with nothin' but rocks an' shit, but I don't reckon they woulda brought 'em a Puick." You know, the car? The car.

<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.

'It happens.'

"... mm." Ann Takamaki closes her eyes for a moment, before returning to the rest.

The puzzle is solved!

"Heck yeah!" Panther enthuses, pumping a fist against her side, eyes squinting shut with mirth. "Go get 'em, you guys! Queen, you've got such a cool brain! You too, Phoenix!"

The sarcophagi open up!

"H-heck no!!" Panther cries, throwing her arms up in an 'x' in front of her. "I'm not ready to deal with Imhotep!!"

These diametrically opposed reactions come in dizzyingly rapid fire. By the time the sarcophagi finish opening, Panther is already hiding behind someone tall. Probably Ogre. Ogre is tall, and strong, and likes shopping! All these things mean she is reliable and O'Connel-esque and won't get her organs eaten. She's peaking over Ogre's shoulder by the time the sarcophagi finish opening to reveal...

"... nothing?" Ann squints. She frowns. "What a letdow--ooh! Treasure chests!"

Soon enough, Ann has departed from Ichika's shoulder to peek over Ren's instead, eyes lighting up as she inspects the contents. And eventually--

"Oo, score!"

her fist pumps in victory again, coming full circle!

She has choice enthusing for everyone who has lucked out into some gear, of course ("that is so you, Ogre!") -- but soon enough, they're leaving once more, towards that staircase. As she reaches the first step, though...

Ann pauses, and looks back to that onyx slab with a frown.

"... Futaba-chan..."

She can't glean the hidden message through mathematics or numbers.

But she doesn't need to, to be able to understand what she's looking at.

'It happens.'

She gets it.

                                  ~ <3 ~

"Wh-what did you mean, you thought we were gonna die?! Did you send us there expecting to kill us!? I seriously don't get you!"

No she really gets it it's just people are frustrating sometimes when they send you to your assumed death.

Panther's grousing is light at best before she turns her attention to regard the confused, disjointed mural before them. "... The stele of revealing...?" she echoes, biting the corner of her lower lip inward toward her mouth. She listens to Yusuke -- she might not know the technical details, but she does understand art on an level a lot of people don't. And with Fox helping to fill in those technical details and blanks...

"... So they're her memories... but they're all jumbled and confused..."

... She can start filling blanks of her own.

"Is that..."

Her thought trails, for now. She chooses to chew it over internally as Joker starts assigning them to parts of the mural. The idea is a lot easier for her to understand: years of gaming and visual fluency have prepared her for this particular challenge. Moving over towards her segment with Phoenix and Queen, she places one gloved hand on her hip as she observes the disjointed piece with the tilt of her head.

"Um... hm. Okay. I think you rotate this segment twice, and that one once -- and -- oh! I see, this corner piece should be on the upper part of the mural! You gotta hit X -- hit X -- three Os on that one-- wait, aliens invented the Puick?!"

Ann is in her element, now. Distractions aside. But the more that they resolve... the more coherent the mural becomes...

... the more an uneasy feeling wells up in her gut.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.

    There's a minor look of relief on Makoto's face. Even if... maybe vetoing things came from a slightly selfish space. Sure, it's definitely responsible and a whole splurge shopping trip is too much. But mostly it's a fair bit of unconscious self denial. Maybe Ren isn't the only one who finds others doing things or buying things for them awkward.

    It takes Makoto a few moments to realize that Ann has intuited something she hadn't, wrapped up in solving the puzzle as she was. "...She feels like a burden." It comes out... more as a statement than a question. It only makes her feel worse for Futaba-chan.

    One 'burden' to another.

    Fortunately, treasure! Treasure is a mood lifter, right? (Queen, meanwhile, is basking in the joy of a puzzle well solved, for that is reward enough.)

    "...I'm starting to wonder if you look good with knives or you make knives look good," Queen comments- after all, it's hard not to see that Joker is striking and stylish with the blade- though it's certainly not the effusive commentary she had over the kimono. More a... fairly basic observation, given Makoto's tone. After all, Joker is objectively pretty stylish and cool in their manner.

    

    Shadow Futaba's reappearance gives her a moment to focus back on things. "...Joker's right. We're not giving up on you, Futaba-chan. You called us to help you- and that's what we're going to do, however we can. Even if you feel like you have to fight us."

    Makoto listens as Fox explains the artistic themes in the paintings, and gasps at the idea that they could be memories. "So... if these are Futaba-chan's memories..." Makoto looks a little worried, as she puts some things together in her head. Panther explains the controls, Makoto tries her best to understand them. She definitely turns one piece one time too many, and looks to Ann as if she's worried she's damaged it- but, you know, this is what happens when you give a girl who has never held a controller in her life control of the ancient video game.

    

    As Panther takes over explaining the controls, Makoto tries to fill it out. Like what black suits talking to someone crying might mean.

    "...the falcons in suits- the authority, like Yusuke says- I think I know what this means." Makoto says, quietly, to Panther and Phoenix at the stele of revealing.

    But she remembers. The men in black suits who came to her home, in the middle of the night- one she recognized as Dad's coworker. The ones that took her to the police station, and tried to be kind, while they waited for the others to bring Sae there.

    ...The detectives who brought her and Sae into the morgue to confirm the identity of the body, even though everyone knew already.

    "This is..." Makoto frowns. "I think they're the detectives who investigated her mother's suicide." She's not sure she even wants to say that much where even Futaba's shadow could hear it. "And that would be..."

    At least she's too distracted by this to berate Phoenix and Panther for their Puick conspiracy theories.

<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.

 
That t-t-t-t-treasure... surely, this must be a satisfaction to Mona, if perhaps not quite as much of one as if he had found an entire obese tuna in one of these treasure chests. But might that have possibly been TOO MUCH fatty tuna...?

But that was then, and this is now.

"Hm," the Shadow answers Joker. Her eyes turn downwards, slightly. "We shall see." Her eyes turn back towards the others. Towards Ogre.

"The first binary programming was done using control cards for fabric looms," the Shadow says to her. "It's unclear if they understood what they had done, but..." She trails off, looking towards Fox as he speaks up. She does not interject herself at his words. Though after that, she looks back to Phoenix as they speak of cars appearing, as well as of aliens, and what they might or might not have desired in their daily-drivers.

The Shadow raises one hand to push her glasses back up her rather small nose. "... You're well intentioned. That's undeniable. But if you lacked the strength to get past that much of a challenge, what good are your ideals? It is simple indeed to 'say' something. To show the courage of your actions is rarer."

Then she just stands there as the last of the mosaic-screens is properly given its due and returned to an organized image.

As the Stele of Revealing is completed...

https://lparchive.org/Persona-5/Update%2078/179-103.jpg

Three figures, positioned as if to deliver an address or a statement to the seated Futaba, who - now that all the pieces or together - is weeping, visibly.

Voices start echoing out.

            "I should never have had Futaba..."
        "'She was always such a bother...'"
"It seems you caused your mother a great deal of trouble, Futaba-chan..."
    "She must have had some kind of maternity neurosis..."

The Stele of the Act is completed...

https://lparchive.org/Persona-5/Update%2079/79-054.jpg

Futaba, kneeling, her face in her hands. A harsh sun, blue-hot, throwing remorseless rays on an intersection. A woman with glasses in a sleveless dress, leggings, and heels. She is shown as if mid-leap, towards a black automobile. A 'No Crossing' sign. CAUTION - KEEP OUT tape.

There is a hellish squealing sound of brakes pumped too late.

        "f... futaba..."
    "You... you aaaareeee..."

It sounds like a younger woman, but the voice is distant, distorted, slowing down towards the end.

"Do you understand?" says the Shadow Futaba. Her arms are spreading; she is already rising and fading into nothing.

The door, at least, is unlocked. And when opened it reveals...

A two hundred foot drop!!!

It crosses over the great staircase you had climbed on your first trip. Glancing back 'down' you can see that a second gate is lifted. The distant entryway is very faintly visible in the subtle glowing gamerlight that pervades much of the tomb.

The good news is that there is a glowing green bridge - made, it seems, out of light itself, although it will bear your weight - that crosses over this dizzying gap, towards another space. This one does not have a door.

Inside, another of those mosaic-screens. The same controls. The picture here is more jumbled up and there are two additional falcons, no doubt to allow for screen manipulation. The chopped-up shapes are chaotic - it's possible to make out the head of the woman from the car-crash, part of a Futaba's head, an *office chair*...

To your right as you come in is another sealed door.

When it finishes -- and by now there is no secret -- there is another spectral voice. Several of them.

One sounds like the Shadow you've spoken to, but younger, perhaps. There's a pleading tone it, along with childish frustration.

"Mom...! I'm... I'm tired of eating dinner alone all the time. It's always just convenience store bentos..."
"I wanna go somewhere..."
"Take me on a trip!"

A whispering sand-hiss of static.

And then another voice, this one audible over the static. It's the voice of an adult woman, though not an old one. There is a certain underlying weariness, but it is no worse than what any of the Thieves might have heard from a loved one - for some, perhaps, far better.

"Futaba! Don't be so selfish... you know that I'm working hard to support you, right?"
"Once--" And the sandstorm-static rises further, drowning out something else. Maybe you'd heard a 'this project' or 'this paper'?

The door makes a stony 'thump'. The way is open.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    There is NEVER too much fatty tuna, how dare you.
    
    "It's all yours," Joker tells Ogre of the gun. They've all got their own style, and if this one speaks to her, that's where it's meant to go. Meanwhile, when Panther comes to their side to peer into the chest while they unlock theirs, they grin over at her.
    
    Phoenix encourages them to flip their new Harpe, and they smirk. The knife--honestly almost a sword sword--reappears in their hand, and they flip it up in the air, catch the hilt on the back of their wrist, cycle it deftly around their arm and then snatch it smoothly from the air by the hilt.
    
    "You're right; it did look cool," they say with a grin--and then a wink to Queen when she essentially agrees, even if her tone is not quite what one would hope for from a girlfriend.
    
    They're all here for a very serious reason, one they continue to keep in the back of their mind, but these moments are fun. Just the stress relief they needed.
    
    Even so, when Panther pauses to look back at the onyx obelisk, Joker too glances back at her.
    
    Later, Ogre and Fox join Joker in front of the stele. However, more importantly, Fox shares some important information and context. Falcons represent Horus, second ruler of the pantheon, and therefore the falcon-headed suits are 'authority.' What's more, falcons represent strength, wisdom, and protection, per Phoenix, Bird Knower--and the mosaics themselves may be depictions of Futaba's memories... Memories that are jumbled and confused. Joker glance over at Fox and Panther, then at Ogre.
    
    "Then it sounds like they'll help us understand much better," they remark. To Phoenix, they add, "If Fox is right, then it only makes sense they're showing modern things."
    
    To Shadow Futaba, who averts her eyes, Joker gives a piercing look. "We will."
    
    She's right that it's easy to say things, and much harder to show one's courage. That's why they're all here now, though--and why they won't be turned back or defeated.
    
    Then Joker turns back to their stele and gets to work on rearranging the panels with Ogre and Fox's help by way of hitting the Xes and Os. It's just like the controller for their retro console.
    
    Queen speaks of the falcon-headed black suits, that they must be the detectives who investigated Futaba's mother's suicide. That's a bit more context before the steles are completed.
    
    It turns out 'Revealing' refers to the reveal of Futaba's mother's suicide note. The 'Act'... the act of suicide.
    
    Joker takes in the completed mosaics and listens to the voiceovers with mounting icy horror. Their gloves squeak faintly as they grip their hands into shaking fists, bile rising in the back of their throat.
    
    "...how dare they..."
    
    Joker clenches their teeth, then turns sharply towards the door, the tails of their jacket snapping in their wake. There is a clear rigidity in their posture, an anger in their stride.
    
    No doubt they won't be the only one. That's some comfort, at least.
    
    It's Futaba who needs comforting most of all, but she's already made it clear she doesn't want empty words. That, too, is underscored on the other side of the door, past the massive drop, past the green-light bridge, to another mosaic. It too is resolved, and it too reveals.
    
    Do you understand? Shadow Futaba had asked.
    
    Joker understands what she's trying to convey to them. Their soul rebels all the same.
    
    This isn't her fault. None of this is her fault. She's just a child. She's her child! Her mother was supposed to PROTECT her, to LOVE her, not abandon her in every possible way and then blame her for it!!
    
    "We'll save her for certain. No matter what," they announce, voice low and full of understated but intense emotion.
    
    Then they stride once more for the way forward.

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

"Awesome." New gun! Ogre poses with it briefly.

Fox's explanation at least registers for Ogre, though mythology isn't her strong suit. "Authority, huh..."

Shadow Futaba explains; the looms that were programs. "Huh," she says. "Then why's everybody think it's just for guys...?"

Puick. Ichika tilts her head. Invented by aliens? "...They're kinda old-people cars, aren't they?"

To test their 'strength'. Ichika doesn't bring up her feelings on the matter. The detectivse, though, who investigated her mother's suicide...

Those voices echoing distress Ichika, though. That's--that's awful," Ogre starts. She should never have had her? Such a bother? Ogre tenses up, hearing these things, about some kind of maternity neurosis. But--

Futaba asks if they understand. The Shadow, at least.

"I don't understand," Ogre says to the air where the Shadow was a moment ago, and her heart feels tied up.

But she keeps it to herself, for now. Just for now.

But as they continue--

"I can't understand," Ogre says, reiterating. "Feeling that way, about--about--" Her voice goes shaky. Her soul, too, rebels--this idea is something she can't accept.

The words don't sound that bad, from this one, not nearly as bad as the other one. But if it means anything--

"Damn it!" Ogre growls. "What's with this static!? How are we supposed to understand if we can't hear what's happening!?"

...But that doesn't do away with the static, either.

"We will," Ogre agrees with Joker. "...We definitely will."

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.

Fox stands before the murals, staring up at them. White gloves creak on red-lacquered wood as he grips his saya tighter. He turns towards Queen. "What manner of detectives would treat a child so callously?" He looks back at the mural of 'The Revelation'. "So many of them, too. They're quoting... something left by her mother?"

His gaze falls upon 'The Act'... but nothing comes to his mouth to describe it. He simply observes it, artist's eyes drinking in every detail, then looking back to the other to do the same again.

Once his grim observations have been satisfied, he joins his comrades, hissing sharply when the doors open to a drop, for all that that drop is spanned by a bridge of light.

With this stele-memory trivially solved, given their work in the previous room, Fox shakes his head. "These memories certainly offer insight into why Futaba believes these things." When Joker speaks up, he nods, fiercely. "No argument here, Joker."

Something isn't right. Something doesn't make sense.

What's bothering him so much, beyond Futaba's sense of guilt?

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.

    "So fuckin' cool," Phoenix is legit jazzed to see Joker flipping that knife.

    But Ann gets it...

    Truly, she's the most dangerous girl here.

    "Yeah, man," Phoenix assures her, as they work. "Bunch a shit way too advanced for humans makes sense if you figure aliens were visitin'."

    Shadow Futaba speaks of proving themselves, though, and Phoenix nods to her. "It's cool. You gotta know if we're legit."

    They complete those Steles, though, and Phoenix... grows quiet, as they listen to those voices. Their lips form a thin line, between the grey of their witch-hat mask.

    A great deal of trouble... huh.

    "Yeah," they say, quietly, as Shadow Futaba asks whether they understand.

    Another gate is lifted. Another inch given. They've seen how abandoned she was, resented by her only mother.

    It might look like Phoenix is just daunted by the drop, as they're looking down.

    They cross that strange bridge, anyway.

    They listen to the sound of a child pleading with someone too busy to bother.

    "Fuck that," Phoenix says, and this, too, is quiet.

    "Be selfish. Take shit. Drain all the fuckin' blood from the sacred cow."

    ... Tsubasa gets it, too.

<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.

My god.

It was aliens.

"For real...?!"

Only such a profound revelation could possibly merit such an equally profound response.

But...

Bit by bit, discordant images are made into a harmonious whole.

Unfortunately, coherency and harmony don't always necessarily mean something positive.

"Wha..."

For a moment, Ann Takamaki couldn't possibly form the words to describe the thoughts and emotions that punch through her like a shot as those murals are unveiled and their contents made clear in no uncertain terms. The voices. The memories. All of them coming into clarity makes the red-clad Panther take a single step backwards.

"Is this the moment when her mother-- d-did she kill herself right in front of--"

That voice. Screeching, distant. It sounds so angry.

But more than that...

It's when Panther hears those recited words from the detectives that her gaze wheels back towards the mural they completed. It seems you caused your mother a great deal of trouble...

"How..."

Gloved hands clench tremblingly tight at Ann's sides. Her head bows, jaw working with mounting frustration.

"... how could anyone tell a child something so awful...?!"

Do they understand?

"Of course we do! But that doesn't mean we have to accept it! I won't--"

The Shadow is already gone. The way is open.

Panther lingers there for a while, stewing in thoughts and emotions and the fleeting memories of someone dear to her who also felt alone and helpless before she finally pushes on.

"To hell with that!"

She's largely quiet on the way to the next mural. Like Yusuke, something feels wrong to her. She keeps returning to how jumbled and turned around those murals were. But she keeps pushing on quietly, regardless.

(there is a brief detour where she has to pause and insist "okay I'm PRETTY SURE sunlight can't do this!!" while gesturing emphatically at the bridge underneath them but otherwise)

... When they arrive at the next mural, Ann doesn't look... angry anymore, so much as contemplative.

"... Ogre's right. Something is wrong with this. Why is her mom's voice so weird...?"

It's a trailing thought, offered with a somber, hooded-eye stare as Ann ponders the ground beneath her feet. And it's one she doesn't really have an answer to, in the immediate moment. Maybe it doesn't matter. Maybe it does. It's something that is going to stick with her regardless.

"..."

But it doesn't change the fact...

"We came here to help her," Panther suddenly cuts in, voice firm, on the heels of Joker's declaration.

"So we'll make sure she understands.

"She's not alone.

"And she's not unloved."

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.

    Sometimes, Makoto hates it when she's right. Especially with those voices at the end. That's...

    "...how could they be so cruel?" Makoto finds herself asking, a lump developing in her throat. Police have to deliver bad news, sure, but... they're not supposed to blame the people who survived. It's a betrayal for everything they're supposed to stand for-

    And Fox says out loud what Makoto is trying not to voice. "...I don't know." Makoto says quietly, with some horror in her voice. On paper, she knows that there's more corruption than she wants to acknowledge- but something like this... "This is just... evil."

    So when she turns to look at the other stelae when the woman's voice speaks- the woman, blaming Futaba...

    "...Sakura-san said that Isshiki-san could be socially awkward but... this doesn't match with what he told us at all. Didn't he say she loved Futaba-chan?"

    Usually, when confronted with something like this, Queen would be angry, white hot. Right now, though, she just seems chilled to the bone. "How could..."

    How could a mother do something like that, Queen wants to ask- but then Tsubasa is right there, carrying all the anger, and it dies in her throat. Indeed, Ren's own fury is up there with Tsubasa's, and it makes Makoto try to level herself out. Someone has to be calm.

    It makes Makoto's silence when Shadow Futaba asks if they understand more pronounced. "...Let's keep moving."

    What awaits them past the door, the bridge, and the drop is even crueler.

    Makoto doesn't remember much of her own mother, or even the time when she was dying. But those requests.... they're not unreasonable for a child. They're far from unreasonable.

    She remembers the times she spent wanting her father to spend more time with her. She remembers the requests she'd make of Sae, when Dad was working late and it was just them at home.

    Why don't you grow up and realize? Right now you're useless to me! All you do is eat away at my life!

    Makoto remains quiet. Futaba-chan wasn't selfish to want that, right? They were such small asks, from a lonely child. She's a kid, not nearly an adult like Makoto. She should be allowed to want such little things...

    Joker's determination- and Panther's support of it- seem to snap her back to reality right now. "...yeah. We have to save her.

<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.

 
Somewhere else:

After hearing everyone move around - Futaba had gotten up. She'd even, with effort, staged a commando raid downstairs, managing to complete the challenge of getting hot water into an instant yakisoba bowl. Back upstairs, and she'd hardly spilled anything. The yakisoba was set aside to cook.

She then started looking at videos, with her headphones on.

Right now, it's videos of people walking through weird backstreets in mountain towns. It's dull; the equivalent of chewing gum with her eyes. Something to mark time.

One of Futaba's eyes twitches.

A moment later, it happens again. Her nose wrinkles. She blinks, blinks again, and -- did something get into her eyes? Dust in the AC? She takes her glasses off, wiping over her eyes with her wrist and finding that - it's not that they itch. Her face trembles, then twitches, and she looks down at the round lenses as tears drip down onto them.

Why? Why is it happening? She tries to think back to the last half a minute, what could it be? She's -

Why am I crying, thinks Futaba.

Here, in the tomb:

No one looks in, quite, the right direction to see the slight discontinuity in the stone walls that rise up implausibly high into the vaulted reaches of this great pyramid. If they had, they would have seen two faint gleams of light, reflecting. The lenses of Shadow Futaba's glasses.

It is hard, perhaps, to be sure what happens in the mind of a Shadow, even one as prominent and individualized as the Ruler of a Palace. Do they even have minds at all, or are they themselves manifestation of the mind? Nevertheless, something like satisfaction crosses through Shadow Futaba.

A memory, perhaps, of another time. When wants and needs were simpler, even if they were rendered in the glorious though sometimes-harsh illumination of Futaba's less-than-usual mind. A time before...

The Shadow turns around and walks into the solid wall. There is no sound.

The open door leads to another close hallway, but this one banks right, and there is no door, and at the opening you are suddenly faced with another door. But NOT one of those implacable things of hundreds of tons of stone and copper-cladding.

It's stone, certainly, and threaded with more of those glow-green lines, a dense thicket of circuitry... but what is clearer is the signs on it. And the caution tape.

        PRIVATE - DO NOT ENTER
    CAUTION - CAUTION - CAUTION - CAUTION

It resembles nothing more than an impossibly huge replica of Futaba's door.

"I'm surprised that you made it this far," says the Shadow Futaba, appearing from a corner where no one is lurking. She keeps staring.

"Beyond lies the Pharaoh's Chamber. 'I' cannot open this door... 'she' must."

Shadow Futaba raises one hand, to touch her chin with a slightly curled index finger. It is perhaps the first non-poised gesture, beyond various Looks and Glances, that she's made in the presence of the Phantom Thieves.

"Considering that you made it all the way here, you may be able to do it..."

Shadow Futaba's head turns downwards. It's a thoughtful posture.

"... ...I'm counting on you."

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    It helps a lot too that Queen and, to a lesser extent, Fox and Panther are able to keep their cool about all this and point out the things that don't make sense clearly. As much as this cuts to the quick for Joker--it's not how Futaba experienced it, but certainly they have their fair share of experiencing parents treating them like a nuisance for being a human being with their own wants and needs--the anger and distress that Phoenix and Ogre express would only pull them further into an upset.
    
    There's something wrong here. The story told here doesn't match what Sojiro told them. The voice of Futaba's mother is distorted and masked by static. These are things that wouldn't have occurred to Joker without more level heads.
    
    Even if there is something wrong, though, Fox is right: it's still new insight.
    
    They take a deep breath; they let it out. In; out.
    
    Then they straighten their back and slip their hands into their pockets.
    
    "Let's go," they command, low and yet clear.
    
    The team returns to the stairs leading to the top of the pyramid's interior. There is a massive door there, one that everyone will recognize. It's Futaba's door, and it will not open.
    
    Joker turns to Shadow Futaba when she appears and explains. "I see. We've got to change her cognition." Their stoic expression softens at her final words. They look up and around at everyone, with whom they share a nod, and then faces Shadow Futaba once more.
    
    "Leave it to us."