The pulse of Mementos hummed around them like a heartbeat. Red lights pulsed along the cavernous walls, and distant echoes stirred beneath the tracks as if the depths themselves breathed in anticipation.
Tae Takemi adjusted her black gloves as she took a slow breath, eyes narrowed behind sleek glasses. Her newly-donned Phantom Thief outfit—a tailored, high-slit coat lined with surgical motifs and toxin green—hugged her body like it had always belonged to her. A wickedly thin syringe-staff rested across her shoulders, filled with an ever-shifting violet liquid that glowed faintly.
"Still getting used to all this," she murmured.
Ren smiled slightly at her side. "It takes time. But you're part of this now."
"Yeah, Doc!" Ryuji—now in her transformed, curvier self—grinned. "You're kinda badass, y'know that?"
Tae raised an eyebrow at Ryuji's upbeat tone, then at the subtle changes in her. She hadn't brought it up—yet. But Takemi had always been perceptive. She could see something had shifted deeper than appearance in all of them.
Ahead, the shadows stirred—twisted figures manifesting along the tracks.
"Here they come!" Makoto called out, falling into formation. "Tae, follow our lead!"
Takemi stepped forward. "No," she said firmly. "I want to see what I can do."
With a flick of her wrist, her Persona surged behind her—Apotheka, a hauntingly elegant figure draped in surgical robes and stained glass wings shaped like ampoules. Her eyes glowed with an eerie mix of empathy and menace.
Tae's voice rang out:"Administering dose: Pain and Clarity!"
Violet mist surged from Apotheka's hands, weaving through the battlefield like intelligent smoke. The shadows froze in confusion—then screamed as status effects piled onto them: despair, fear, confusion. The others jumped in, picking off the helpless enemies with practiced skill.
"Whoa," Futaba muttered from the support screen. "Doc's Persona is all debuffs and control... It's like you weaken them psychologically before we move in."
Takemi exhaled slowly. "Makes sense. I never liked hurting people. Just... helping them face what they're avoiding."
"Symbolism checks out," Morgana noted. "Your Persona represents both medicine and poison. Just like your job... sometimes the cure is the thing that hurts most."
Takemi was quiet for a long moment. Then: "That's what I've always feared. That I became more poison than cure."
Ren stepped closer, watching her carefully. "But now you're both. That's power. That's... balance."
Their eyes locked.
Then, the deeper levels of Mementos rumbled.
Futaba's eyes widened. "Heads up! Something's coming from below. Strong reading!"
Takemi gripped her weapon tighter. "Then let's see what else this Persona of mine can do."
And with that, the team pressed onward—now seven strong—into the heart of Mementos, where shadows twisted into truths and every step deeper revealed not only enemies, but fragments of their own souls.