Chapter Text
Chapter 4: Shadow Convoy of Violet
“Looks like we are in the clear. They haven’t followed us here.” Erina tells everyone, sitting on one of the stools. “How are they?”
“They just woke up a few minutes ago.” Shiho reveals, nodding her head to a nearby booth with Haru and Yusuke, each nursing a coffee.
“And everyone has just finished regaling us on everything that has transpired.” Yusuke says with a frown before glancing up at Erina. “Even so, you have our undying gratitude for freeing us from Marie’s control.”
“Indeed.” Haru agrees with a nod. “To hear her laughter in our head…it was a distressing situation…”
“I’m sorry you all had to go through that. And don’t worry. The feeling is mutual. The Phantom Thieves have been a tremendous help with the Rebel Corps.” Erina replies with a grin. “Now then, how many more of you are we missing, other than your leaders, Ren and Makoto?”
“That would be Hifumi and Sumire.” Sojiro responds, wiping down a glass, before casting a glance at Akechi. “And one of them is special to Akechi.”
“Oh?” Erina asks, looking at him, with Toshiro glancing at Akechi as well. With a deep sigh, Akechi turns back to them. A frown on his face.
“Sumire is my girlfriend…” He tells them sadly, with Erina’s eye-widening in response.
“Oh… I see. Sorry for asking.” She says quickly, feeling the mood come crashing down. But Akechi shakes her off.
“It’s nothing. You didn’t know.” He tells her, turning back to his coffee. “But still, where is she and the others?” Silence fills the air as Tae and Iwai head back upstairs to check on their respective areas. Toshiro stood near Yoshida, deep in thought, while the others hung around near the entrance. Until Haru decided to ask a question.
“About this café…do you suppose it could be considered a safe room?” She asks, drawing the team's attention.
“Well, I believe so.” Morgana replies. “I know that when we were in here, none of Marie’s Legionnaires have entered. Let alone walk past.”
“That, and we are not in our Thief outfits.” Sae points out. “But that raises the question of why Leblanc is a safe room anyway…”
“Ermmm. What’s a safe room?” Erina asks with a hand in the air. Causing the team to face fault for a moment.
“Right…we never explained that.” Akechi remarks, shaking his head. “To put it simply, safe rooms are areas in which a ruler’s authority is at its weakest in the Cognitive World. These areas are the safest places to be, regardless of what is happening outside.”
“The Cognitive world…” Toshiro says quietly as Yoshida looks at him.
“That would be the Metaverse, Toshiro.” Yoshida gently reminds him. “A world from the human mind, built by one's cognition.”
“To be honest, Yoshida-san, I only just get the theory behind it, but I fail to grasp the concept in its entirety.” Toshiro admits. “It’s so hard to accept, even when it’s in front of you or you are standing in it.”
“Same here. When I first heard about it, I was beyond shocked…” Erina chimes in with her hands on her hips.
“Actually, you were really quick to grasp it, Erina.” Morgana says, tilting his head slightly. Toshiro almost falls over his feet at the comment as Erina gives off a weak chuckle.
“I guess I just don’t let the details get to me. That’s just how I’ve always been.” Erina remarks with a grin while rubbing her head.
“I wish I could do the same whenever convenient…” Toshiro remarks as Yoshida chuckles at him. “But seeing how we are inside said Metaverse at this very moment, as much as I find it hard to believe, I’ve no choice but to accept your claims as factual. At the very least, I have witnessed your outfits magically change in the blink of an eye.”
“It’s pretty cool, huh? Changin’ at the drop of a hat.” Ryuji asks with a grin.
“Cool for you perhaps, but for me, it is startling!” Toshiro replies, fixing his tie. “Honestly, even now, I sometimes catch myself wondering if this is all some sort of simulation. I’ve barely gotten used to the talk eel—I mean—talking cat.”
“What did you call me…” Morgana growls as Haru picks him up, stroking his back to calm him down.
“Behave, Mona-chan.” She tells him as he quietly acquests. “But I suppose the big issue right now is why we all ended up here in the first place. None of us had any access to the Metaverse, meaning that something dragged us here against our wills.”
“Seriously… I’m putting down a hundred yen; it's some form of deranged god thinking he’s doing the right thing.” Ann comments, placing some yen on the table.
“No bet.” Ryuji, Shiho and Mishima reply as one, agreeing with Ann. Sae and Akechi shake their heads at them before glancing at Futaba who had her screens open.
“Okay, I just did a check.” She says, getting the team's attention. “Just like all of us, Yusuke and Haru are following the same pattern. Yusuke can only use ice magic, while Haru can only use Psi magic, but she can also heal status aliments as well. That will take some pressure off you, Shiho.”
“I’ll take that. Being the dedicated healer is stressful at times.” Shiho admits, rubbing her head. Just as everyone begins to settle down, a yellow scout rushes into the Café. Breathing hard.
“C-C-Captain! Terrible news!” He shouts in fear, grabbing the attention of all.
“What is it?” Erina asks, suddenly feeling uneasy.
“There’s a prison caravan not far from the hideout!” The scout yells with sheer panic as Erina’s eyes narrow in anger.
“A prison caravan… You are certain?” She asks again, with the scout nodding.
“Yes! And we spotted three unknown individuals among the prisoners! Along with one of the Dominated Thieves!”
“One of us is there as well? Who is it?” Sae asks, eyes locked on the scout.
“I didn’t get a good look, but she had red hair tied into a ponytail while wearing a black jacket.” The scout reports, as the sound of a cup falling to the floor turns all eyes to Akechi. Who was locked eyes with the scout.
“That’s Sumire.” He says, eyes narrowing as he stands up. “I’m going to rescue her.”
“Hold it, Akechi!” Mona says, jumping in front of him. “The guy said he only saw one of us! Marie has always had us locked in pairs! So if Sumire is ‘by herself’, then that means…!”
“Hifumi is nearby as well…” Yusuke finishes with a frown. “This is most vexing…”
“Why? Is Hifumi that dangerous?” Erina asks, suddenly feeling a sense of unease.
“Hifumi uses Psi magic, like me, but her gun is the most dangerous of all, after mine.” Haru comments, leaning forward. “She uses a sniper rifle.”
“Meaning that if we are not careful, Hifumi will be able to snipe us from wherever she is…” Sae wraps up, looking at Akechi. “If we rush in now, we will take severe injuries. There might even be a chance Hifumi is out of the Flags range and thus won’t be affected when Erina plants her own.” Akechi grumbles in response, knowing that they were right.
“But we can’t just leave them! They are family!” Ryuji shouts, slamming his hands together. Erina looks around, analysing the Thieves' reactions before nodding to herself and turning back to the scout.
“Could you point on the map where they are and what route they are taking? And can someone get Iwai? We’ll need his experience to figure out how to combat Hifumi.”
“I’ll get him.” Yoshida replies, heading up the stairs as the team gathers around the map while Erina turns to the scout.
“Alright, can you show us where they were?”
“Yes, Captain!” The scout replies before pointing at a long road nearby. “They were spotted here! Their path will take them to the mini plaza nearby, then they will make their way to the central Plaza with Marei’s statue and return to the castle.”
“Well, I, for one, don’t want to be near the central plaza again.” Ann comments, shaking her head. “That’s where we were caught before.”
“And by the time we head out, they would have left the narrow road. Meaning our only option is to ambush them at the mini plaza.” Sae replies, glancing over the map.
“A playground for a sniper. If it’s an open plaza, that is.” Iwai comments, walking down the stairs. “If you’re going in, you need to narrow down where Hifumi would be hiding. If Marie is using her smartly, that is.” Iwai glances at the map, going over the details before tapping at the centre. “This monument in the centre…it would be a major blind spot for a sniper. And if they are following this path, they would end up on this side.” He taps to the east of the monument. “Leaving these three spots as her likely locations.”
He taps to the north, south and east sides of the plaza before glancing back up. “If we want to be smart, we will need to check all three.”
“We may not have to.” Futaba replies. “I can scan the area to see if Hifumi is in one of those spots. It will save us time.”
“And if not, we could always use the Edelweiss as cover.” Haru says with a smile before noticing the fallen look on Futaba’s face. “What’s wrong, Futaba-chan?”
“About that…” She replies before ducking behind the bar and pulling out the ruined model. “We can’t use her until she’s fixed.”
“What is this….sacrilegious design!?” Yusuke says in horror, gently picking the model up. “The desecration of white and pink covering up the red and black. The changing of the lights from a soft blue to a garish red. The atrocious additions, spikes on treads, banners and strings. Even the flowers stuffed into the pods like flower baskets. This is a desecration of the highest degree!” With his eyes narrowing in anger. “Horrendous Marie. I vow to slice her to ribbons for her heresy…!”
“That sounds…extreme…” Toshiro remarks while Futaba rolls her eyes.
“Oh, stop being dramatic, Inari. You can fix her, right?” Yusuke snaps out of his gaze as he gives out an awkward cough.
“Yes. I can. But it won’t be quick…” He looks over the model, frowning at the ‘additions’ and paint. “I would first have to remove what she added and fix what has been damaged. Then, repaint it all. But I swear the Edelweiss will be fit for battle once more.” He places the model back on the bar counter as Akechi opens the café door.
“If we have our plan, let’s move out now. The longer we wait, the more likely we will miss our chance of saving them.”
Making their way to the mini plaza proved to be easier than they expected. While the paths were patrolled by Legionnaires, the roofs were left unguarded. Or rather, it was because the roofs were unguarded that made the journey so easy, thanks to their grappling hooks. Why it took them this long to remember that they had no idea.
They did come across a small unit of Legionnaires camping out on an overlook, but they passed over them in silence. No need to stir up unwanted trouble if they could afford it. But eventually, they managed to reach the mini plaza and see just what kind of monument it was.
It was actually a giant cascading fountain but with no water circulating through it. It was so large and tall that they could not see the houses on the other side of the place, apart from the ones on their left and right.
But what was more worrying was that the supposed caravan was not here.
“Don’t tell me we’re late.” Outlaw comments with a grimace while Crow bashes his hand against the roof.
“No. It looks like we are early.” Oracle comments with her screen up. “I’m detecting Violet’s signal approaching the plaza, alongside a large number of Legionnaires and… Oh, you have to be kidding me…”
“Oracle? What’s wrong? Did you find Shadow?” Athena asks, ducking her head under the roof.
“Oh yeah…I found her. She is on one of the houses on the other side of the fountain. But that’s not what’s worrying me…” Oracle replies, showing a blinking pink dot to the north of them before scrolling over to the caravan approaching them. Three long carts, represented by grey boxes being pulled by brutes, represented by large purple dots, flanked on each side by a single row of troopers, marked in smaller purple dots, with a pink dot leading them, indicating Violet.
In the carts were several green dots, indicating the hat people captured, but it was the three blue dots in the middle cart that were of great concern.
“These blue dots, are the same that Sojiro, Iwai and the others display.” Oracle tells them with a frown.
“So, that means more of our confidants are trapped in here?” Spring asks with wide eyes. “Just what is going on?”
“This is starting to get ridiculous.” Panther remarks while shaking her head. “Are ALL of our confidants dragged into here?”
“If they are, then I am more concerned than before.” Athena remarks, glancing at the fountain. “We need to get people over to Shadow before Violet and Marie’s troops arrive…”
“I’ll head over.” Fox volunteers. “I am the quickest among us.”
“Spring and I will join you.” Outlaw replies, with Spring nodding her head. “Just in case Marie sends some backup to Shadow.”
“And I appreciate it.” Fox nods back before looking at the others. “Wish us luck.” He says before the trio leap from the roof and dive into an alleyway, aiming to approach from below.
“I hope they know what they're doing…” Skull remarks with a worried frown.
“Not like we have a choice.” Iwai replies, taking his toothpick out. “Oracle, can you bring up a map of the area?”
“Sure.” With a few clicks, Oracle brings a map up showing the plaza with the predicted route highlighted in pink. Their position was marked by red & black circles with blue outlines. Iwai gave the area a good look over, carefully analysing the best place to ambush from.
“Judging by what I can see, the best spot to attack is from the fountain.” Iwai remarks. “It’s large enough to hide in and has enough outcrops to provide protection. It’s our best spot.”
“Then we should head over to it now.” Crow comments, standing up. “If we wait up here any longer, we will be spotted when we rush for it.” Before anyone could reply, Crow had already leapt to the ground and rushed to the fountain.
“He’s being reckless. Then again…I would probably do the same if it was my sister who was here.” Athena remarks before jumping down after him. The rest of the team follows, with Iwai dropping down via grappling hook and joining Crow in the empty fountain. Just as the sound of marching footsteps echoes from the road.
Glancing towards it, the Thieves see M-Violet leading the prison caravan with a more prominent aura than the others. The Thieves watch in silence as the caravan turns left, heading round to the north as predicted. The carts were nothing but cages on wheels, with the lead one having a Flag of Domination bolted to its roof. As they passed, the team managed to see who was in the middle cart, but what they saw was not what they were expecting.
Inside, with handcuffs chaining them to the floor, were Sadayo Kawakami, Shinya Oda, and a very angry Tao.
“Let us out, you bastards!” Tao shouts as she tries to break free. “Don’t think we’ll just give up so easily!”
“Oh, come on….Can’t you shut up already? You’ve said that about five times already…” M-Violet asks in an annoyed tone, hopping onto the cart to look at Tao. “Seriously. You are just like those other rats who refuse to bow down to me…”
“Shut up, you crazy bitch! Get your mind out of Violet’s head right now!” Tao shouts back as M-Violet does a mock think.
“Hm… How about no?” She says before giving off a snobbish laugh that only makes Tao even angrier. And judging by how Sadayo and Shinya looked, they were equally angry as well.
“Lady Marie!” One of the Legionnaires speaks up as the convoy comes to a halt. “We are ready to start searching for the Rebel’s Hideout!”
“Well? What are you waiting for? Get searching already!” M-Violet shouts in annoyance as the troopers turn around, ready to give out orders to the others. M-Violet gives out an annoyed sigh. “How long will these rats keep hiding from me? It doesn’t matter. I WILL find them and make them mine!”
The Thieves hidden in the fountain look on with anger as the troopers start to bash down doors and enter the homes. Screams echo from inside as Hat people are brought out and thrown into the caged trucks.
“We have to help them!” Panther whispers, already going for her SMG, before Iwai stops her.
“No. Look up.” He says, drawing their eyes to the rooftops. There, standing next to a sort of bell tower, was a faint pink aura hidden by the pinkish sky.
“Shadow…she’s keeping watch from up high…” Athena remarks in annoyance. If they moved now, Shadow would just snipe them down.
“Come one, Fox…where are you?” Skull asks, glancing at the roof. Just as they began to get antsy, the pink aura suddenly moved, with gunfire echoing from above. Drawing the attention of M-Violet and the guards.
“What is going on!?” M-Violet asks, before a shot rings out from behind with one of her guards dropping. Spinning around, she finds, to her annoyance, the Thieves revealing themselves from the fountain, Crow’s gun smoking. “You!”
“Us.” Crow simply replies, aiming his gun as Sadayo, Shinya, and Tao look on with relief in their eyes. “You have two options here, Marie. Let Violet and the others go quietly, or we will take them back by force.” His voice filled with a wave of calm anger as M-Violet scoffs at him in amusem*nt.
“What makes you think I would hand them over to you?” M-Violet questions, hand resting on her gun. “These minds belong to me. And soon, all of you will join them once more! Seize them!” M-Violet shouts, firing a shot off as the troopers open fire on the Thieves while the three brutes charge forward.
“Shining Partisan!” Erina commands, hitting all three of the brutes with the AOE spear. All three of them leap forward at once, falling short of the Thieves as they were soon enveloped by curse magic from Athena.
Sending all three into the ostrich position before Iwai, Panther, and Erina finished them off. M-Violet grows in annoyance, attacking with a beam of light towards the Thieves as the troopers attempt to flank them.
“Mapsi!” Noir shouts, hitting the small group with the psionic spell and dragging them out towards them, with Skull following up and blasting all of them with a Mazio spell.
“What’s wrong, Marie? Your troops not doing so well when you are the one being ambushed?” Skull taunts, firing his shotgun towards M-Violet, forcing her into cover.
“You damn brats! This will not go your way again!” M-Violet shouts back, firing her repeating rifle before a powerful rifle fires from up high. Lodging a bullet right next to Crow as he ducks into cover. While M-Violet smirks. “And you really didn’t think I sent this one here all alone, did you?”
“Shadow’s firing at us!” Mona yelps as another round lands near them. “What happened to Fox and the others!?”
Earlier.
Moving through the alleyways was easy. But finding them devoid of Legionnaires was concerning. They would have thought that a convoy would have some groups ahead of it, making sure the area was clear.
Unless that was all being done by Shadow.
Speaking of Shadow, as the trio uses their grapples to climb to the top of a house, they find her standing next to a bell tower. Looking over the plaza with her sniper rifle next to her. Glowing in the pink aura of Marie’s Domination. But what was concerning was that she was alone.
“This is too easy…” Spring whispers. “There’s no way Marie would leave Shadow all by herself…”
“It would be wise to assume reinforcements will appear when we engage her.” Fox agrees with narrow eyes. Outlaw glances at them, then back to M-Shadow before taking a breath.
“In that case, I’ll go up alone and start fighting.” He says, grabbing their attention. “If we are right, Marie will summon help to assist her so that Shadow will turn her attention to the others.”
“Indeed… The moment we engage, the ones down below will hear us.” Fox comments, slowly nodding his head. “If this is what you want, then we shall wait in the dark, Outlaw.” Spring was unsure if this was a good idea. For all they know, this could be what Marie wants them to do. But…at the same time, it is the safest option.
“Just promise me you’ll be safe, Outlaw.” She tells him with a stern face. “Don’t do anything stupid. I don’t want you pulling a Skull on us, okay?” Outlaw nods, giving her a swift kiss before silently moving onto the roof. It was strange that there were some boxes up here to hide behind, but he wasn’t complaining.
Moving into position, Outlaw aims his gun at M-Shadow, being careful not to actually aim at her before pulling the trigger. Shooting at the tower next to her and sending pieces of marble into her shoulder, jolting her in shock.
“What the—!?” M-Shadow asks, spinning around and seeing Outlaw glaring at her. “How did you sneak up here, you rat!?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Outlaw remarks, firing again and forcing M-Shadow into cover. She aims her sniper rifle at him, letting loose a powerful round that pushes the air out of its path as it sails past Outlaw. Almost blowing his hat off as he changes location.
Outlaw fires back, attacking with a Snap as M-Shadow uses her psionic magic to launch a box at him, the two attacks cancelling each other out. Just as M-Shadow was about to fire another round, gunfire from below drew her eyes over the roof. Spotting the rest of the Thieves attacking the convoy.
“So… that’s all this was. A distraction.” M-Shadow comments. “Not bad. But…” Two brutes appear behind Outlaw, pinning him in place as M-Shadow turns to the plaza. “So easily predictable.” She casually says before aiming her rifle at the Thieves. “Now then. I spy… with my little eye… something that begins with ‘V’.” She fires a sniper round, groaning in annoyance as her round misses.
Meanwhile, the brutes continued to hold Outlaw in place before they were both suddenly encased in ice before two arrows pierced through their heads, with Fox and Spring joining Outlaw as he rolled his arms.
“You okay?” Spring asks, casting a Dia on him.
“Yeah. I’m good. But man, do they have a strong grip. Now I know how they managed to pin Joker and Queen.” Outlaw replies before another shot from M-Shadow draws their eyes along with another annoyed groan.
“Oh, come on! Stop hiding like rats and fall, you vermin!” M-Shadow shouts, racking the rifle and letting a new round fill the chamber. Once more aiming, she spies Iwai, taking a few shots out of cover, aiming the crosshair on his exposed arm. “Say goodbye to your arm…”
“No you don’t!” Fox shouts as he, Outlaw and Spring tackle M-Shadow off the roof and down to the ground. M-Violet looks up in surprise as M-Shadow uses her kunai and chain to stop her descent while Fox, Outlaw and Spring grapple onto a street lamp and fling their way over to the others. “Apologies for the wait.”
“We thought you were caught!” Erina replies, firing an automatic burst at a Legionnaire, dissolving it into darkness.
“Only for a moment.” Outlaw admits, sending a round down the range as M-Violet and M-Shadow take cover near the flag. “How many are left?”
“At my last count, about half.” Oracle replies, ducking under an orb of light from M-Violet. “But there’s still too much heat for Erina to move. Marie will focus on her the moment she appears.”
“How about another flanking move?” Iwai suggests. “This fountain is huge. Erina could use it as cover and grapple to the houses above us. When she gets into position, one of us can shoot out the Flag, giving her a clear shot.”
“It’s risky, but it's our only shot.” Mona remarks, ducking under a sniper round. “You good to go, Erina?”
“I am.” Erina replies, ready to move. On a silent countdown, Erina waited until the Thieves unleashed a volley of fire, giving Erina the opening she needed to rush back behind the fountain. M-Violet and M-Shadow were unaware, ducking behind the cover as it was.
“Damn rats! You will not win this time!” M-Shadow shouts, blasting the team with psionic energy as M-Violet joins in with a blast of light. Their attacks gradually wearing down the cover the Thieves were using.
While up above, Erina slowly made her way around, heading for the bell tower where M-Shadow was originally. She glances down at every moment, watching as the Thieves continue to take down more troopers while M-Shadow and M-Violet focus squarely on them.
“It’s pointless to continue! Give yourselves up to me now!” M-Violet shouts, firing her gun three times before noticing something. “Wait… where is Erina?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Outlaw remarks, catching a glimpse of Erina waiting in position. Aiming his gun up, he fires at the Flag. Taking it down in one shot. “NOW ERINA!”
The two mind-controlled Thieves gasp in shock as Erina jumps from above. Her flag aiming for the empty spot. M-Violet fires at her as she dives, clipping her in the arm and leg. But it wasn’t enough as Erina rammed her flag into the empty spot. Light explodes from the Flag, with the remaining Legionnaires vanishing into smoke as M-Violet and M-Shadow scream in pain as the light envelops them all before collapsing to the ground. The aura and collars gone, and their masks returned to normal.
“Sumire!” Crow shouts, rushing over before cradling her in his arms. “It’s going to be okay…You’re safe now.” He tells her even though she is unconscious. Spring tends to Erina’s wounds, with Panther seeing to Shadow. While the others burst open the cages and release the prisoners.
“Man, you guys are a sight for sore eyes!” Tao says happily as she and the others are freed. “I hope you don’t mind telling us what is going on.”
“We can explain everything once we are back at Leblanc.” Athena remarks, watching as Skull helps Shinya to the ground. “But still…I can’t believe you all got brought her as well.”
“I don’t even know how I got here.” Shinya replies. “I was just playing Gun About when there was an earthquake all of a sudden. Then I wake up next to Kawakami-sensei and Tao-san.”
“It is the same with me. Although I was busy dealing with paperwork back at Shujin.” Kawakami reveals before glancing over to the unconscious Shadow and Violet. “Are they going to be okay?”
“They just need some sleep.” Iwai tells them, drawing surprised gasps from them. “But we should head back to Leblanc. We’ve worn out our stay here.”
“Agreed.” Crow replies, picking Violet up and noticeably more calmer. “Let’s head back.”
“THOSE BLASTED RATS!!!” Marie screams in rage from the inside of her tank. “HOW THE HELL ARE THEY ALWAYS BEATING ME!?!” She tosses out a wine bottle, letting it slam against a wall, before looking herself over with a grimace. It had happened when she managed to Dominate all eleven of them.
Some form of backlash had hit her hard, making it painful for her to move without her tank. That, and she was covered in marks depicting different spells each of her playthings used. To say nothing of the random torn marks and black stains that appeared over her perfectly white gown. As though something was both mocking and attacking her.
“Just what the hell is happening to me?” She asks in annoyance, leaning back. Admittedly, whenever one of her playthings was freed, she felt less pain in her. Perhaps it was some form of natural defence they had? They did seem to summon some strange creatures to help them. Could they be causing this? She should have noticed it when she Dominated those two. Speaking of those two… “Is everything ready for the trap?” She asks, glancing over to M-Joker and M-Queen.
“Yes, Great Lady Marie.” M-Joker replies in a monotone voice.
“The rebels are all ready for the trap. Including the two unknowns.” M-Queen adds, with the two glancing over to the two ‘unknowns’ sitting in a cage.
“Listen here, you overgrown pink bitch-to-be! You won’t get away with this!” Ohya shouts, slamming a fist on the bar while Chihaya sits on the ground. Looking over her Tarot cards with a determined stare.
“Oh, come on…. Can’t people say anything else that’s not cliché?” Marie groans, looking over at the cage. “Take them to the square. We’ll let one of Erina’s scouts escape and tell them about it. And when they do and arrive at the scene…” She grins, turning to M-Joker and M-Queen with a sinister grin. “…Do whatever you want to bring them in.” Ohya and Chihaya stare in anger, watching M-Joker and M-Queen kneel to Marie, both completely under her control.
“As you command. Great Lady Marie.”
