#I am actually proud of the lore behind Idia and Vil's friendship tbh

[lowkeyclueless5137]

Palace of faiytales (III)

:3c

*shamelessly slides in* the clown is back!

It's me... I'm the clown. :'3

Back at it again, this time with: Dun Dun Dun! The ending of the 1st palace Saga!

:0c shocker, I know...

I mean... It's short... Like only 3 parts... But then again, it's already pretty much settled and we got the deadline to tend to. Not to mention already we have a team of 4 thieves so. :3

What we will cover:

-the treasure route secured

-the boss fight with Neige

-the change of heart

-the aftermath

Now let's move onto the action!

With the addition of Vil to the team, they had to get him a codename too. And while everyone suggested a royalty kind of codename, Vil himself chose Poison. It was simple, not so lavish, but it did say tones about the real Vil. A poisonous beauty to say the least. :3

Hours of exploring every nook and canny of the palace, discovering every secret and opening every door. The treasure did not show up until they found a button in the throne room, which was all in a deplorable state.

Once pressed, the button changed the throne room into a lavish one, walls made out of glass and cristal, an ornate Chandelier above the throne as the room itself was decorated with carpets and textile decorations which screamed rich.

The treasure was an immaterial Bloob of light that seemed to be above the throne.

While in there, Riddle gained more personas and Igor introduced him to the fusion system. Fun times with Silver and a chainsaw! :D

Now it came the part where Joker insisted to make a meeting at LeBlanc, like the old days. But this time, Ortho, Deuce, Riddle, Ace and Vil were present as well.

Now it was the time to discuss. Sure, they were targeting a minor this time. Or more like the kids targeted another kid. They needed to be discret about it. After all, Neige was a raising star in acting. Vil was just a simple model in a small industry, more focused on his schoolwork.

It was explained that they needed a calling card to get Neige's treasure to materialise. The adults voiced their own concerns, since they had to steal the treasure on the same day, while Neige was alert about it.

Ace and Ortho decided to write the calling card and another of the Phanthom thieves, who the kids did not yet meet, will make sure Neige will see it. To have some sort of guide of how it can look like, Yusuke had copies of their previous calling cards.

Of course Ortho recognized some names from the news or online articles. Riddle recognised almost all of them since he did his own little lookout on such cases. From Kamoshida to the Prime Minister...

Tomorrow it was the last day before Neige would hand the pictures and account to the police. They had to do it tomorrow.

Unfortunately, the only adult thieves available were Queen, Oracle, Panther, Skull and Fox. Deuce still was a bit shook to know his mama was a thief too.

So the big day comes. At the end of the last class, Neige got his notebook when something fell out of it, on the floor. It seemed like he did not notice it up until now.

And they decided to read it out loud, so the whole class could hear. The lil note was not signed, but the message spoke for itself.

'Dear, Neige LeBlanche, deceitful prince of vanity. You have committed grave sins of oppression, manipulation, ordering and abusing students who were unfairly deemed as evils of your fairytale. So in accordance, we will steal those scummy desires and make you pay with your own hand for your wrongs.'

One other classmate grabbed it tho, asking Neige what was this about. The boy played the innocent and scared lil lamb card, gaining the sympathy of others who tried to reassure that it was all a prank.

But Riddle knew. He knew the glare Neige gave to the card. He knew the shadow was most likely taking all precautions possible to make sure the treasure won't be stolen.

And it was time to steal his heart!

With Queen and Skull taking over the main defenders as Oracle was guiding them through the palace, to the treasure room.

Except that in the throne room, shadow Neige was staying on the throne, guards on every inch of the room itself.

Meanwhile, a certain ginger got into the palace by pure accident. :'3

On our thieves's end, they decided to use Riddle as he was the lightest, in order to get on the Chandelier and swipe off the treasure.

They also needed a distraction too.

So they all looked at Skull. >:3

Making a commotion on the hall, most of the guards were off to see what was going on. So with that, the other guards were not a problem.

The problem came tho... When Riddle swiped off the treasure. A guard spotted him and they shook the Chandelier, putting Riddle on the spot. Even with the others intervening, the treasure ended up back in the hands of the palace ruler.

~~~~~~~~

"You fools! To think you would try and be so crafty to steal my crown?!" Shadow Neige boasted, his garments turning into far more dirty and tattered versions. He grew in size, fair skin becoming a sicklish green, full of imperfections. His nose was long and hunched as the one glimmering yellow eyes were now bobbling up, full of bloodlust.

"You are all just a bunch of villains that can never win!" the monster roared. "here he comes!" Oracle announced as all of them took their defensive stances.

~~~~~~~~

This was the boss form or the ultimate form of the palace ruler. They needed to take it out without killing it.

And this boss's thing was that he was summoning guards by slamming a spoon to a triangle. The annoying thing it was that it kept happening. It didn't matter if the guards were defeated or not. They would come more and more.

Oracle unfortunately revealed that Neige was weak to Wind attacks. Attacks which no one else besides Rose could use. The guards were fortunately weak to ice, so Spade and Fox could take care of them.

But they needed to get to Neige somehow.

~~~~~~~~

"We need to deploy someone to get to LeBlanche via the Chandelier! Someone needs to get that triangle and spoon..." Oracle demanded. "I think I can do it..." Panther offered.

SWOSH! CRASH!

A gush of powerful wind entered the room, throwing off Neige and swiping away the guards. The thieves group stuck closer to one another as to not be thrown off as well. The chandelier was what broke and crashed onto a bunch of guards.

"Are we late to the party?" "Hell yeah!" 2 voices, one being recognized as Skull's, were heard.

On the wide open double doors, Skull and another individual were staying. The new guy's attire was in black, white and red, with a police like yellow and black band wrapped around the shoulder. It was clear as day that it was Ace, as he didn't have a mask on, behind him, what one would assume it would be his persona, let out a battle cry, sweeping yet another gush of wind with it's tails.

Ace smiled mischievously at Neige, who glared at him. "Ya think I'm just a mere peasant? Well it's time for a revolution!"

~~~~~~~~

Riddle carves violence and death yet again... :'3

But at least now, Ace was a life savior, since his persona had wind attacks. Panther was still deployed to take out the triangle and spoon, getting rid successfully of the guards as well as leaving Neige to he defeated by the thieves more easily.

But still he wasn't letting anything down without a fight. Ace seemed the same as boy was ready to decapitate Neige then and there.

It seems like out of everyone in there, Ace, Oracle, Fox and Flame were the most affected by Neige. For different motives, but still.

In the end, the palace ruler had to go back to normal and the treasure, which was a crown, rolled down to the thieves's feet.

Although, it seemed something else was watching them too.

~~~~~~~~

"It's over, Neige..." Rose pointed his tip of the rapier towards the shadow's head. "I-I-it's not over... I am the hero! I should always win!" The shadow demanded through heavy breaths.

"But a hero doesn't rely on fame to trick others into doing the dirty work..." Spade spoke up. "A hero accepts that some may not like them. It's natural..." Vil added. "And a hero most certainly doesn't push others to death with their own hands! This is what makes a criminal!" Flame added.

"If you really want to be a hero... No one is stopping you... But it would be hard to fix what you've done... So be wise for once, because the truth will come out one way or another... A hero is always trying to pick the wisest decision..." Ace mused, holding the said treasure crown.

It was a small silence. "I... Will be wise.... Thank you... For making me see the truth..." The palace ruler slowly dissappeared with a soft glow. "Is he dead?!" Ace looked around. "No... It means tha-" Queen trailed.

The ground shook, the walls were crumbling down and the ceiling was falling off.

"It means we are gonna be dead if we don't move!" Panther piped in. "RUN!" "YOUR PE HOMEWORK FOR TODAY IS TO GET OUT ALIVE!" "WE HAVE HOMEWORK FOR PE?!" "THIS IS YOUR CONCERN, ROSE?!" "YES?!" "LESS CHATTING, MORE RUNNING!"

They were close to the main entrance. Oh so close to getting out. "Wait! I'm getting some wierd readin-" Oracle tried to keep up the pace. Something shadowy was lurking from behind a pillar, looking at the group with hunger.

THUD!

Oracle let out a pained yell as something put her to the ground. "ORACLE!" Fox immediately tried to reach to his wife, but the beast seemed to aim for something else.

Necronomicon forcefully hot out, the persona crying in pain as it was dissolved to little particles, Futaba returning to her normal attire. "Johanna!" Queen summoned her persona. "I will get Oracle back! You run!" she demanded. Fox nodded as he quickly nudged the kids to go out with Skull and Panther. "Mama!" Flame called, but in vain. He got no answer. Spade gently patted his back. "It will be alright..." He tried to reassure.

The world seemed to distort again as the thieves found themselves back in the real world. "Alright... 1... 2... 3... All 5 are here..." Ann called. "Yusuke... Bro..." Ryuji patted his friend's shoulder. "They will be alright... They know what they are doing..." The man tried to reassure, although it was more for himself.

"Whatcha weeping about?"

The group looked at both Makoto and Futaba coming to them, the 2 leaning on each other for support. "You've made it!" Ann cheered, but the frown on Makoto's face told them that it wasn't something good.

"We... Lost Johanna and Necronomicon..." The police woman mused.

Silence...

"For real?! How is that even possible?!" Ryuji gasped. "We don't know... We didn't get any kind of physical or mental shift... But we weren't able to summon our personas..." Futaba cleared it out. "Well... At least that thing is most likely dead as well..." Ann theorised. "It is certainly dead... It couldn't have made it out anyway since it got stuck as we ran away from there..." Makoto recalled.

"Mama..." Deuce cautiously approached his mother. "I am alright, Deucey... I am not that easy to fall..." The woman reassured as she kissed her son's forehead. Futaba hugged Ortho without any protest from the other. "At least the treasure is secured..." The woman exhaled.

"Yeah... It turned into this thing as we got out..." Ace mused as he showed. The said papers. "It's Neige and I's first big play... I played the Villain in there... It was also Neige's raise as an acting star..." Vil mused.

~~~~~~~~

With the treasure being a script, the group now had to wait for the change.

Unfortunately, tomorrow Neige promised to give those photos and account to the authorities. So they had to hope that it will be alright.

Mr Kurusu got informed about the happenings too. Sure he was taken aback by the apparition of the creature and the persona dissappearings. Futaba and Makoto told them that still their personas were in them, but unable to get out at all... It was as if their magical energy used to get out was sucked away. Which also meant no more metaverse costumes and no more persona usings from the 2.

The next day, it was the big day!

In the morning, the group meet up at Leblanc, where a shook Ortho told them what actually Idia was doing into those photos. Vil wasn't there due to a morning photoshoot.

He was getting anime merch and pieces of metal junk for his project.

They risked their asses just so Idia could get without any complications his anime merch. (this was actually a smol comic I drew for an workshop) :'3

But as they were proceeding with the classes, Neige's sudden absence made our group a bit wary. The teachers said that suddenly Neige got sick, so he was staying in bed and couldn't attend classes.

In 3 days tho, Neige seemed to return to classes.

And it was even more weirder when poor Idia was passing through the hall to get to the toilet, but Neige dropped at his feet, begging for forgiveness. In the middle of the goddamn hall. In front of both students and teachers.

Poor Idia... He just wanted to go to the bathroom... :'3

Of course, when Neige brought up the Shroud case, even more gasps were heard around. It seemed like that switched something in Idia as his expression turned into a grimm one. He leaned down and whispered something to Neige, which immediately got the other to raise and bow, promising that he would do that as fast as possible.

No one knew what Idia told Neige and neither Neige mentioned about it, as he turned himself in and currently was under police investigation regarding the Shroud case and may other cases of bullying. In response to that, apparently Neige was also expelled.

Vil seemed happy that Idia at least got a bit of his courage back. So he wanted to face him about it, by the end of the classes, in an empty classroom the 2 were put on cleaning duty. Idia because it was his turn and Vil because he insisted to be on cleaning duty today.

~~~~~~~~

"I am curious, Idia..." Vil broke the awkward silence. "What did you tell Neige?" he asked, seeing how the other tensed up. It was a small silence before Idia exhaled.

"I told him... That no matter how much he will beg for forgiveness... I will never give it to him... I told him to scram and never cross my path or Ortho's again..." The dyed haired boy mumbled, fist clenched over the little board sponge. Vil looked at him with a raised brow. "You are one mercyless guy..." The blonde mused. Idia looked down, the silence overtaking them."

"If... You were given a chance... To punish someone who is doing bad... Even if you knew the consequences... Would you take it?"

Vil was silent, looking at the other. "I would take it..." "But what about the-" "Consequences come with everything... My silence costed your expense..." Vil made a pause.

"It costed our friend too, Idia..."

"You never mentioned them up until now..." "Because it was too painful... To know I could've done something against it..." Vil slammed his fist to the board.

"I was useless then... But now I will not be silent anymore... I am sorry... I couldn't be better then..."

Idia was silent. "Apology accepted..." "Then... Can we be friends again? Like the good times..." "You jump the gun now..." Idia backed out, raising his hands in the air. It was a small silence, the 2 finishing the clean-up. The black and blue haired boy grabbed his bag, getting out a small sandwich, which he split in 2 parts.

Vil was rummaging through the social media, when he felt a nudge. Raising his gaze, he spotted one of the sandwich halves. Smiling he accepted the part, taking a bite out of it.

"I guess you are jumping the gun too, Idia..."

~~~~~~~~

Once the news were out, of course scandals were commencing. I mean... A beloved celebrity turned out to be a very shitty person... And a minor on top of it just made things worse.

But Neige's confession was enough to close the Shroud case successfully. Idia's confession wasn't needed anymore.

So with that, the group of kids and adults decided to celebrate. For a successful heist and also the kids's first palace mission ending successfully.

So for starters... Something small: a remote party at LeBlanc. More or so a sleepover in the attic/Riddle's room.

Ortho also mentioned that Idia showed him his project. He wasn't going to give any details, but it was pretty awesome. Idia told him he would want it to present to the school on the culture fair. Maybe that would give him a small recognition for possible colleges.

At night tho, Riddle is again dragged to the Velvet Room.

Igor congratulates him on a well done job, but mentions that it is not over. The threat that was uncovered is quite enigmatic and dangerous. Silver warns that far more obstacles would come in his way, trying to stop him from having his story be told.

But for now, Igor nudges Riddle to celebrate, as this kind of moments would soon be expensive.

Meanwhile, a small chat occurs in 2 cases: a pair of young brothers... And an uncle with his nephew...

Aaaaaaaaannnndd DONE!

The palace of fairytales arc is done!

Now I am debating if I should make an extra chapter which would cover the mechanics of the palace/team dynamics/daily life. Kinda like if this was a game, it must have some mechanics behind it.

What do you think? And do you have any speculations on who we might be next? Or... A better question: who we will get beef with?

Until next time! Buh bye!