The Puppet on the Strings

Familiar Face With a New Look

My eyes are still adjusting. Anytime I blink, I can feel my mask move. My gloved fingers shift the mask into a better position. "Ready, Joker?" 

Morgana's voice brings me back to my surroundings. "Yeah." I look towards Ann and Ryuji. "You two ready for this?"

Ann nodded. 

"I've been ready! Let's go kick his ass!" Ryuji exclaims.

I can't stop the smirk on my face. "Let's go."

Now that we know the layout of his palace, making it to the treasure is easy work. There were a few guards wandering through the halls, but avoiding them was simple enough. 

"Where is everybody?" Ryuji questions, visibly struggling to keep up with my pace.

"What is it now?" Morgana snips, a glare aimed at Ryuji. 

"Kamoshida's security level is through the roof, so why aren't there many guards?"

He has a point. I can feel how tense Kamoshida's cognition is. There's no doubt he knows we're here, so where are the guards?

"Is this really a time to think about that? The treasure is just up ahead!" Morgana exclaims cheerfully. Ryuji shrugs, continuing his climb up the stairs.

When we reach the door to his throne, it is no longer closed like yesterday, but there are no guards, either. Even Kamoshida fails to be present. "Still nobody?" Ryuji mentions, but we push on to the treasure.

Once the door was opened, a large crown was revealed to us. "How do we get this out of here...?" I mutter to myself as the others continue. 

"Awww yeeeeaaaahh! The treasure has appeared!"

"Man, it's huge!"

"What do you think!? It's just as I said! Now we can steal it!" Morgana's eyes never left the crown. "Ahh... the shine brings tears to my eyes..."

Ann shifts her weight to her right side. "It kinda pisses me off..."

I glance at Ann, seeing her eyes set in a glare. She isn't wrong. "Why is it so pretty? Isn't this Kamoshida's desires?"

Before I could respond, Morgana had a shine in his eyes. "T-treasure..."

"Uh, the cat's actin' awfully excited."

"What's wrong? Is something-?"

Morgana's meows cut Ann off, Morgana now clutching the crown excitedly.

"Meeeeeooooooww! Mrrrooowww!"

"That's not catnip, Mona..." I speak up, approaching Morgana and pulling him off the crown. He began to hiss and scratch, trying to reach the crown again. I set him on his feet, Morgana seemingly regaining his senses. "Oh... um, yeah... Forgive me for displaying such an insolent sight in front of a lady..."

"You were completely out of character, too. What was that about?" Ann spoke up.

"I couldn't stop it, either... To think I'd be drawn to human desires this much..." His once embarrassed expression brightens into pure joy. "Doesn't that prove that I'm human?!"

"How should we know?!" Ryuji snapped at Morgana.

"A-anyway, you guys need to carry it!"

"All you do is bark orders," Ryuji mumbled, approaching the treasure. "Still, that was easier than I thought! I thought for sure there'd be some insane trap or something!"

"His palace will disappear if we take this back, right?" Ann asks, sounding a bit nervous. "And Kamoshida will change too..." 

I step over to the crown, ready to grab one side of the rim. "That should be the case," Morgana states.