A short, intro chapter. The mess will follow shortly.

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"That it? Did we win?"

Akira glanced over at Ryuji's question, noting his friend's hunched posture and laboured breathing. The rest of the group wasn't faring much better, sweat and blood staining their costumes. Makoto, Ryuji, and himself were the only three still on their feet, everyone else was slumped on the floor, recuperating from the fight.

"I...think so," Makoto panted, wiping a stray tendril of blood off her forehead. "At least it doesn't seem to be getting up again."

"Thank fuck," Ryuji muttered, letting himself drop to his butt on the ground.

"Hey guys, I don't mean to be the bearer of bad tidings, but there's no treasure," Futaba said.

"Oracle's right," Morgana agreed, bounding over. "There was a reading, but it's completely vanished. Like it was never here."

"That's...really bad, isn't it?" Ann asked, struggling to her feet and walking over to them.

"...have we failed?" Haru asked, looking at them worriedly.

"There must be something-" Yusuke began, almost on top of her.

"Please, I can't keep this up..." Ann muttered.

Akira raised a hand, stepping away from Ryuji and Futaba. "We didn't get the treasure, but the shrine is still here. We just have to keep going."

"Seriously?" complained Ryuji. "My feet feel like they're gonna fall off."

"I know," Akira said calmly. "Let's head back to the entrance and take ten."

It was a disgruntled group that crowded around as he took out a Goho-M and activated it. Nobody complained, however, and within moments they were back in the prison square, watching over the crowds vying to get inside.

"...it's so twisted." Ann's voice broke the silence first.

"Agreed. But let's not forget that these aren't real people," Yusuke said.

"No, just the physical reflection of their inner feelings." Makoto sounded grim.

Akira tuned out the discussion, stepping up to the entrance of the Velvet Room and allowing the twins to escort him inside. Stepping up to the cell bars, he grasped the cold iron in his bare hands, staring across the empty space to where Igor lounged behind his desk.

"It seems you have failed." That grating voice was no more welcome than it had been on every previous visit-but Igor had been incredibly helpful thus far, so here was where Akira was going to seek answers. He had no other options, after all. "That is most...disappointing."

"We haven't failed, we just...need some help," Akira forced out reluctantly. It did feel a bit like failure.

Okay, a lot.

"You wish for help in your rehabilitation?"

"The Treasure's missing."

"So it is, if indeed it was ever there. Without it, however, you have failed, and humanity's doom is nigh."

"There must be something we can do. This can't be it..."

"There is nothing that can be done. Humanity has failed. You have failed."

In a fit of pique, Akira rattled the cell door. "No! I won't accept that! We haven't done all of this to fail now! There must be something we can do! Igor!"

The creepy man fell silent for a long while, his beady eyes meeting Akira's steady, unwavering gaze. Eventually, he sat back, frowning. "Perhaps, if you face Death itself and prevail..."

"Death? What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, Igor simply grinned demonically. A moment later, the Velvet Room faded from view, and he was back in the square with his exhausted teammates.

"Face death?" he muttered to himself, glancing back at Josephine and Caroline. Raising his voice, he continued, "What does he mean?"

With a scowl, Caroline gestured to a previously unnoticed trapdoor in the centre of their meeting place. "There."

Mystified, he took a step towards it, only to freeze at a sharp bark from Caroline. "Wait, inmate! Forgetting something?"

Before he could ask what, she had waved her crop, and within an instant, he felt the bulk of his fatigue lift away. A quick glance confirmed that his teammates were also feeling it. When he glanced back at Caroline, she was simply watching with a stony face. Nodding his thanks, he turned back and jogged away, waving his friends over as he did so. Within moments, they were gathered around the trap door.

"I definitely smell something," Morgana said after a moment. "I'm not sure what, though."

"Let's open it!" Ryuji said, storming forward and grasping the handle. Before anyone could make a move, he had pulled open the door. Darkness met their eyes, sinking down, down, down...

"Well that's ominous," Futaba said, frowning down into the pit. "Its reading is off the charts."

Akira moved to the edge, squinting as he struggled to pierce the impenetrable blackness. No ladder or staircase led down, just four, unmarked walls.

"What do you think it is? It wasn't here before," Makoto said softly.

"It's death," Akira replied grimly. That was what Igor had said, right? Face death.

"Well, that is a tad grim..." Yusuke commented.

"Maybe. But it's our next challenge." Without a second thought, Akira stepped off the edge and fell into the abyss. The startled cries of his teammates followed him down.