The Rebel Persona, Strikers

Shadow Mariko

(The Next Day, Noon, Sapporo)

"Good day, everyone, are we ready to make Sapporo a paradise as pure as snow", Mariko asked, "then remember, on election day, please vote Mariko Hyodo",

Mariko was soon interrupted by gossip about a calling card

"What's going on", Mariko asked, stepping off of the podium and walking up towards a billboard, where calling cards were posted, she then began reading it out loud

"Mariko Hyodo, the false empress with a frozen heart, you are a cold manipulator who treats people as tools to be discarded, we find this unforgivable, and will end your reign of abuse, in fact, we will take back the desires you stole this very night,

-Phantom Thieves

"This is...", Mariko began

"The Phantom Thieves, and they say they're going to steal my desires, what a bald-faced lie, those desires are mine and mine alone, as long as I am the monarch, I won't let anyone stop me, very well, I was just beginning to work up an appetite, I wonder what you'll taste like... perhaps I should gobble you up and find out",

"Why are you just standing there, take these wretched things down", Mariko ordered, meanwhile, somewhere nearby, the thieves watched

"Wait for us, Mari-San... it'll all be over soon", Haru muttered

"Let's begin the operation", Akira said as everyone nodded their heads and activated EMMA

(Metaverse)

the thieves all ran in the jail, just like the others, all were able to reach the birdcage with ease and enter the top part of the palace

"Sorry 'bout the wait, were here to... whaaaaaa", Skull said, stopping as he saw Shadow Mariko, she was obeast, a whole buffet of food on a table in front of her, she was currently eating too.

"Silence, impudent whelp", Shadow Mariko sneered

"W-Who is she", Skull asked

"That... that couldn't be... Mari-San", Noir asked

"What on earth happened to her", Queen asked

"I'm guessing this is her distorted form", Mona stated

"What do you people want", Shadow Mariko asked with a rude tone, "you had best... best not get in my way, I'm almost there... only a few more votes and I'll win re-election",

"This is wrong Mari-San", Noir announced, "Those votes you gathered by twisting the people's hearts are worthless",

"If you don't stop your tyranny, your staff will collapse one by one", Queen warned

"I get why it's hard for you to trust people, but you still have to treat them with decency", Panther stated

"You shut your impudent mounts, I've done nothing wrong", Shadow Mariko yelled, "I will wring out every last ounce of corruption from my staff by working them into the ground, I'll silence all charlatans who betray me, and I will consume every last vote in the city, whether these people agree with me or not, only then can I build a safe haven, a radiant snow city that sparkles like winter",

"This isn't the way to do it", Joker announced

"Listen to him, when you take away someone's desire, you rob them of their agency, the ability to make their own decisions", Noir explained, "so what good does it do to turn your loyal citizens into mindless drones, isn't it better to let them arrive at their own conclusions, to follow their own hearts",

"How dare you lecture me", Shadow Mariko sneered

"Good job, Noir, you tell her", Sophie cheered

"Mari-San, say goodbye to the countless desires you stole...", Noir stated, "because Beauty Thief and the Phantom Thieves are about to take them back",

"I thought you stopped with the Beauty Thief thing", Light muttered, Noir gave her a light smile and returned to look at Shadow Mariko, she was angrily eating her food, and sending a death glare to the thieves

"Honestly, *chomp* they're all in my way, *chomp*, this is the last straw, *chomp*", Shadow Mariko stated, while eating, she got up and began growing, "you've made me so very hungry, it's dinnertime, and the main course... is you",

Shadow Mariko transformed into a giant face, eating the whole table in front of the thieves, not even caring in the food on it fell to the ground, there, the battle began, everyone was cautious, especially when she began to eat a few members of the thieves, after awhile of battling, Shadow Mariko fell, defeated, changing back to her normal distorted self.

"Wait, not yet, I won't let it end this way", Shadow Mariko said, "I need to wipe out all of Sapporo's injustice",

"Please stop... haven't you done enough", Noir asked

"What", Shadow Mariko asked

"You're a kind person, Mari-San, and I know you've tried to shoulder all of this alone", Noir stated, "the staff member who took bribes, the councilman who tried to set you up... even the girl who died in the accident... each of those things grieved you, and in order to make a city where none of it could reoccur, you took action as you saw fit, am I right",

"As the mayor, I know very well that little girl's death was ultimately my fault", Shadow Mariko said, "but my staff betrayed me, all for their insatiable greed, I thought I could leave that awful position behind, unfortunately, it wasn't as simple as that, had I gone, I'd only be replaced by greedy scum, that's why I never stepped down, in this world, it's either eat or be eaten, and with circumstances so cruel, I decided to be the one doing the eating, even if every last one of my votes were false, at least I could use them to make the world a better place, but if I was replaced as mayor... who would be there to honor that little girl's memory, an innocent girl lost her life, yet I could do nothing to stop the evil still afoot",

"It's not too late to set this right, first, you must tell the people everything that happened", Noir explained, "then can you get a fresh start, but this time, on your own strength",

"That would be... impossible", Shadow Mariko said, "I cooperated with those awful men to hide the truth... that way, I could continue being mayor, there's nothing else I can do",

"Stand up, Mariko Hyodo", Noir ordered, shocking Shadow Mariko, "are you just going to stay knocked down, you are a kind and strong woman, not someone who collapses over mistakes, so stand up, and hold your head up high, because no matter how many times you fall, you can always get back up and start again",

"Isn't that...", Shadow Mariko began

"Yes, you said that to me a long time ago", Noir said, "even if you told the people the truth about the incident, there are those who would still see the good in you, don't let your position ruin you, think back what you stood for... when my father died, I felt like my heart was going to break... but thanks to the Phantom Thieves, I was able to stand strong and move forward, that's why I know you can too",

"Yes, you're right, thank you, Haru-Chan. what I've done... was wrong", Shadow Mariko confessed, "I drove my employees to the brink and used a strange power to manipulate the votes... I was so driven by my personal agenda, I lost sight of how I originally felt... and why I ran for mayor in the first place, to make a city beloved by everyone... to give back to the home where I was raised, that's reason enough to take another stand, I won't make this mistake again, I never needed this power from the start",

Shadow Mariko took off her crown and threw it off to the side

"Haru-Chan, you've grown so much, your father must be so happy in heaven...", Shadow Mariko said, disappearing in front of everyone, not long after, the jail began to collapse, forcing everyone to flee.