There then followed an extended period where Morgana led the two of them -- well, as he put it, led Kurusu and graciously permitted Ann to trail along behind the two of them -- through the twisting corners of the Palace, in the process teaching them about the need to ambush their opponents while also minimizing the chances that they might call for reinforcements. They were shown how Morgana could call upon his own Persona, a masked swordsman whom he called Zorro. (Ann was disappointed that said gigantic hologram or whatever it was didn't look like Antonio Banderas. She was also a bit surprised that Morgana didn't have Puss in Boots as a Persona, which could also have brought Antonio Banderas into the situation.)
During a rest stop in one of the rooms in the palace where Kamoshida's influence over the area was comparatively weak -- bits of the actual school room kept flickering in and out alongside bits of the dank dungeon -- the cat also explained his theory about how they could put an end to all this. "Deep in the heart of the Palace, there is an object -- a precious object, a treasure -- that is central to this Kamoshida's delusions about himself. If we were to steal it and take it away from here, his identity would collapse, and he would no longer be able to sustain the palace. Why, I daresay that, without his distorted desires to drive him onward, he might even completely reform and strive to live a virtuous life thereafter! Wouldn't that be just lovely?"
"Uh-huh," said Ann, regarding the cat with a dubious expression as he stood, declaiming all this, from the top a table, flickering between being covered with discarded mugs and dirty dishes or some kind of arts project. "And it's really just that simple? Sneak in, steal the sparkly, then saunter off whistling?"
"Wwwwwellll," said Morgana, tapping his forepaws together in the manner of someone twiddling their fingers.
"I knew it," Ann muttered, looking down in annoyance.
"What else, Morgana?" Kurusu pressed. She sounded patient, but as always there was something that was anything but tranquil in her eyes and the lines of her face.
"I was going to reveal it at the proper time, really," he assured them in a somewhat less-than-reassuring way. "Right now, the treasure only exists as an idea, not something we can cart away in our pockets. In order for that to change, we would have to alert the version of Kamoshida who exists in the material world to the idea that something will be stolen from him. The Kamoshida here knows everything that the Kamoshida there knows, you see. Which in turn means that the Kamoshida here would know to set up traps and, um, well, probably ambush us."
"So, that means you end up fighting him, anyway," Ann groaned, glancing briefly at Kurusu, and then flinching a bit.
"I'm not seeing a problem, here," Kurusu replied. "Morgana, what happens if the Kamoshida here should ... not survive ... the fight that he starts?"
Morgana looked extremely uncomfortable to be asked. "Well, ah, I guess he would probably die in the real world, too. But, I mean, we should probably try to avoid that, because we're thieves, not murderers."
"Oh," she said, without blinking once.
Despite everything, they decided to head into the dungeon to see whether either of them could try to recognize the faces of any of the students being tortured there. Unfortunately, Ann proved to be just as incapable of doing this as she'd predicted, and Kurusu had no better luck. Perhaps, if either of them had been more artistically gifted, or even devoted manga readers, things might have been different. But Ann was only a subject of art, and the only arts that Kurusu currently cared about were martial.
Resignedly, then, they decided to head out of the palace for today, at least. "So through here," said Morgana, leading them into the palace's foyer, "we can get back to the way we came in, and --"
"Well, well, what have we here, again?" said a familiar voice.
"Awwww, come on!" Ann groaned as she once more watched her doppleganger flip over the balcony to land before them.
"Wow!" said Morgana, eyes wide. "You were right! She doesn't look a thing like you!"
"Thank --"
"She's much sexier!"
"Awwww," said the cognitive version of Ann, blowing a kiss in Morgana's direction before sticking out her tongue at the infuriated material girl.
"I swear, once we get out of here, I'm going to make a pair of catskin gloves out of --"
"Yeah, yeah, save it," said cognitive Ann, as she -- again -- snapped her fingers. And, once again, castle guards seemed to materialize behind the three explorers and grab them. This time, though, Morgana and Kurusu were able to struggle free of their grip and pull away. Ann, of course, was in no position to do that.
"Let her go," said Kurusu, glaring at the false Ann.
"Hm, no, don't think so," replied that Ann, with a shake of her head. "But ... y'know, I've heard that thieves are all about making deals, right? Why not make a deal with me? I will let the two of you go, pretend to King Kamoshida that I never even saw you, and you can go your merry way." She seemed to saunter over to where Ann was being held above the ground, mouth firmly covered by the guards' hands. "I bet I could become much more like the real Takamaki if I tore her apart and incorporated parts of her into this mask that I'm wearing," she said, softy, as she reached up to run one gloved finger down the real Ann's cheek.
"I will never --" Kurusu started to say.
The cognitive Ann wheeled to glare at her. "Then I guess I'll sound the alarm instead, and countless guards will converge on this position to beat the shit out of you until you either flee or die. I get what I want either way. And what's the point of fighting for this one, anyway? She doesn't care about you. She doesn't care about anyone but herself! Her best friend has been aching to quit volleyball, and only staying on the team because she was scared that something would happen to her, but did she even notice? It's not that this girl doesn't love Kamoshida-sama, which I could vaguely understand, because not everybody will get the appeal. She just doesn't love anyone!"
"That's not true," Kurusu said.
Or did she say that? All of a sudden, it was hard for Ann to hear or even see what was going on around her. A roaring noise was filling her mind, and it hurt so much and --
Of course this pale imitation is never going to get it. It's not that you don't love, it's that you love who you love, not who loves you and feels entitled to be loved in return. And those whom you love should be on guard. Are you ready to show them how much love hurts?
I am thou, thou art I. Thou who wilt lure the fools to their doom and make them crave it. Call upon my name and unleash thy wrath!
Remembering, she forced her mouth opened and bit into the flesh of the hand that was holding her. With a muffled yelp, the hands around her face let go. With only one of the guards still restraining her, it was easy to get free -- as she dropped down and reached up to tear the mask she was wearing off her face.
"CARMEN!" she shrieked. There was a whip in her hand, now, and the false Ann was staring at her in shock as she slashed her across the face with it.
That face, nothing like her own, distorted further. Quite suddenly, there was a tiny, red-haired woman with wings in a blue dress in place of the false Ann. "Y'know, it's almost worth it to see something this beautiful?" said the Pixy in the moment before Ann slashed her once again.