Between the sudden blow-ups and the arrival of the pair, everybody was still stunned. "I thought I was gonna die..." There was an awkward silence hanging over the group until Panther reacted, jumping off Yusuke's arms and pushing him away. "Hrgh...!" He landed on his back, the fall had been more than he could take. "Are you OK? Wake up!" Once Panther's frantic attempts to reanimate Yusuke bore fruits, the artist looked at the five strangers around him, confused and disorientated. "Who are you all!?" Then he noticed that he could identify three of them as the trio that caused him trouble yesterday. "... But I don't recall seeing that man or this... mascot." The stifled giggles made Strix glare at the boys, making them gulp sheepishly. Yusuke got up on wobbly legs. "What is this place...?" Panther explained the situation, that they were in Madarame's 'heart', but he was understandably skeptical.

"I'm sorry, Takamaki... but are you sure you're feeling OK?" Skull got angry and unloaded his feelings about the painter. "He's nothin' but a greedy money-grubber." Yusuke got irritated at the repeated accusations. "Enough of this rubbish!" Panther made an effort to get through his thickness, urging him to see Madarame's hidden side for what it was. "... This is his true nature." But it was hard for Yusuke to accept this repulsive world as Madarame's inner view. "Just who are all of you!?" The thieves patiently explained the situation to the artist. "If everything you say is true, then the man I know doesn't exist..." The facts were there for him to see, but it was difficult for Yusuke to simply uproot his entire conception about Madarame and discard it. "My gratitude for him won't just disappear..."

Then the boy collapsed to his knees, it was too much to process at once, and his emotions were running haywire. "Sorry, but we don't have time to dawdle." Mona urged them to leave the Palace, as Badou's interference had sent the security levels to an all-time high. The males offered Yusuke a shoulder to carry him to the exit, as he was still in shock, but he shook his head and stated he could walk. The museum was a wake-up call for Yusuke, chipping at his pedestal. The thieves were on high alert to avoid the Shadows, a fight could spell Yusuke's doom. The artist managed to recognize his past fellows in the paintings, it began dawning on him how Madarame saw his pupils.

~Well, you're right~

Akane groaned at Garyū's request as she clutched a pack of Snackoos. "I have to do what?!" The prosecutor had a sheepish face and kowtowed to beg. "I need you to check these paintings for covered signatures or other alterations, please?" The forensic analyst crunched her snacks like a woodchipper, making the man fear for his skin. "You want me to check all those identical paintings..." She pointed at the packed truck, it was a sardine can for paintings. "FOR TINY SIGNATURES?! THAT MIGHT NOT EXIST?! ARE THE ORIGINALS EVEN THERE?!" Badou and his fellow colleagues prudently kept themselves away from her line of sight, she looked about ready to rip off his head.

If looks could kill, the prosecutor would have been long dead, she was drilling holes with her glare. "Hōzuki, it is of great importance for the case, so I beg you to do it with haste." Garyū had his hands together, he wouldn't back down, her skills were a cut above the rest. "Haah... Well..." Akane had tired herself out from the screams and stomping her foot. "I do suppose that I could put the x-ray to use... maybe even laser imaging..." The prosecutor sighed with relief, her forensic switch had been successfully triggered and she was now convinced to get into this grueling work. "I should compensate her handsomely, Badou said that there were more than a hundred paintings to check..."

He prayed for her to get conclusive results, otherwise, he'd be in danger from her rage over wasted efforts. Badou glanced at the prosecutor with pity as he hauled the frames, that lass was a force to be reckoned. He had lots of experience with that, women could be quite bullheaded, case in point: Mikumo. The painter had bitched as the stash was taken from his shack, but there was no way for Madarame to protest legitimate procedures, Badou had used of reasonable suspicion against him to enter and locate the forgeries. And the many 'Sayuri's were more than enough proof, summed with accounts of testimonies of attempted backdoor sales by the artist.

Then Badou spotted Mikumo with a video camera pointed at the pair, sending her an exasperated glare that she shrugged off with a carefree grin. "C'mon, Uncle... A girl gotta get her dose of fun somewhere, 'kay?" He messed her hair roughly, getting an annoyed growl. "Keep at that and you'll get enemies." She rolled her eyes. "They both know I have these kinds of videos and photos, I even had to send them copies of some... events." His brow twitched, what did she mean with that last bit? "... Better not to ask." Knowing Mikumo, it was something better left unknown.

~Will you continue helping me...?~

Unfortunately, the thieves found a blockade, several Shadows cut off their path and the Ruler finally appeared, being a Madarame clad in a golden imperial kimono and with Kabuki make-up. "Talk about bullshit clothes!" The Shadow Madarame was as pompous as his appearance indicated, gaudy to the point of being nasty. "This... This is all one big lie... isn't it...?" Yusuke was still hanging on the last dregs of denial. "My usual ragged attire is nothing but an act." The thieves snarled, the painter was forcing Yusuke to a destitute life needlessly. "I have another home... under my mistress' name, of course." The Persona users shuffled their positions to surround Yusuke protectively, he was only a civilian.

Joker snorted, the painter had quite the public facade. "I'm almost impressed." The Ruler sneered at the thieves, lips twisted with disdain. "If you had the 'Sayuri', why make copies!?" Yusuke had to know, it was gnawing at his mind. The Shadow chuckled mockingly at his pupil's distress. "The theft was a false rumor! I staged it perfectly!" The detective had a venomous glare, this scum had to get his just desserts, Garyū couldn't let him get away scot-free. At Yusuke's disbelief, the Ruler explained his ploy to sell the fake paintings, cackling at how those gullible buyers believed him. "Art snobs'll eat it up, and pay good cash at that!"

"The worth of art is purely subjective..." To Madarame it was simply about the money, which was making the thieves angrier at him. "You helped me greatly as well, Yusuke..." The Ruler disdained his pupil, advising him to not bare his fangs against the master, awed at the boy's naiveté. "After all, it's much easier to steal the future of children who can't fight back." This callousness stripped the thieves qualms about stealing his Treasure, he was trash painted gold. Yusuke now saw what the Phantom Thieves were alerting him about, the scum named Madarame was a sham. "... You are unforgivable."

His heart was set, he refused to let this living rubbish keep stepping on him. "You damn brat!" The Shadow Madarame signaled his pawns to dispose of these intruders with extreme prejudice. "How amusing..." Yusuke's serenity was startling, did he go mad? But he had a mind clearer than never before, he finally saw Madarame's filth, it was repulsive, why should he bow down to that false painter? The thieves recognized the signs, Yusuke was about to break his shackles. "Though the flowers of evil blossom, be it known... Abominations are fated to perish!" Thus his Persona was awakened.

Strix had her teeth gritted at the process she just witnessed, she had heard that it was a different process from Mona, but seeing was believing. "Wait, just that?! ... this is unfair..." She had to face humiliation in that goddamned TV World, while these kids had it much easier by just ripping off their masks... "Muse has to hear this, I wonder how she will react..." The other thieves thought that the indignation oozing from Strix was aimed at Madarame and ignored it. It was time to face these guard dogs, so Joker smirked at Yusuke, one more for the team. "Let's see what you're made of."

Goemon's ice skills were effective against the Koppa Tengu the Ruler threw at them, making short work of them, the issue laid with the Ippon-Datara. The thieves threw their strongest attacks to down the bitter blacksmith fast, but Yusuke and Panther ended up getting knocked out by its Sledgehammer until Skull's Headbutt managed to down it before it could rampage more. The Ruler threw a last disdainful remark before departing, ignoring Yusuke's attempt to give chase. "What a disgrace I am..." The boy had collapsed for good, between his fall and this battle, he was pushing his limits, they had to exit the Metaverse now before anyone got harmed.

~A-Am I overdoing it...?~

A secretary was about to leave another stack of documents to examined when her superior placed down the pen and got up. "Miss Kirijo?" The woman picked her coat from the hanger, barely glancing at the confused subordinate. "Put all the pending paperwork on hold, I have far more important matters to attend to, and it was delayed more than I'd like." Whoever was harassing her through all those inquiries about her unit should be prepared, for she would have no mercy for the cause of this unneeded stress. "But-" A stern look made the young woman snap her mouth shut, she might get fired if she said more.

Mikumo was chewing on a pen, bored out of her mind when a bombshell of a woman entered the precinct, sending several single males into a stupor. "Tsk, horndogs." She got up from her desk and went to greet the newcomer. "Greetings, how may we help you?" Those sharp eyes would make a lesser mortal step back, but she had more than enough experience with steely gazes. "I want to meet Shirogane Naoto, I was led to believe that she works here." This was interesting, what did the Kirijo CEO need with her companion? "Forgive me, but she was sent into patrol today. But I do believe that you can find her at these addresses." The detective informed Kirijo of Leblanc and the courthouse.

"In fact, I believe that she is slated to go to the Prosecutor's Office, at this address, tomorrow around five in the afternoon." The Kirijo thanked Mikumo for her help. "What a pity. I have an urgent matter with her." The detective got even more curious. "If I see her today, I'll tell her that you want to meet her." The redhead sighed at the failure and left the premises. Mikumo noticed that the place was still way too silent, so she banged her fist on a table to snap her coworkers from their trance. "Back to your jobs! Wipe your drool! Seriously, haven't you seen a woman before?!" She huffed at how some men were walking awkwardly, damn overworked virgins.

~If I can do that~

Once they were in a safer location for temporary rest, Yusuke peered up at the group circling him, admitting that he knew of Madarame's crimes, yet turned a blind eye to that. His admiration and debt had shackled him to the painter, dragging him down, and apparently, the man had known his mother. "Wait, your mother...?" Strix's remark made the boy curious. "Do you know something...?" The detective thought back on what Badou had shared with her. "Please, tell me..." She felt bad for him. "Well, there's a prosecutor looking into Madarame. Maybe he can inform you better. His name is Garyū Kyouya." Yusuke marked the name in his mind, he needed to discover his past, and he wanted to know more about the 'Sayuri'. "Thanks, sir."

Skull sputtered with laughter. "Strix's a chick man! But she's very manly, eh?" The detective leveled a terrible glare at the foolish blondie, making him whimper like a puppy. "Sorry..." Then they returned to Yusuke's admission, he knew Madarame was a plagiarist, yet refused to acknowledge the truth, asking for them to forgive his refusal to see reality. "What are you going to do now?" Yusuke was in a crossroad, torn between staying away from this mess and participating in their group. But before a decision could be taken, they got found out by Shadows, forcing them to run.