I'm so sorry for the extended delay! Things have picket up quite a bit in real life these past few months, as I'm sure many of you can imagine. But we're back, and with a new chapter, setting up the next arc, and introducing changes the butterfly affect is already causing, both big and small. I hope you enjoy!

Exams went by like a breeze, as they usually did for Ren. Even without Morgana hiding out in his desk and thinking aloud about the answers, he probably could've finished those questions in his sleep. It looked like tests weren't any harder here than they were back in Inaba. As it was, Ren went into the final day of testing feeling more than a little confident.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for his friends. Both Ryuji and Ann met him at the train station, looking absolutely exhausted. "You know how they say trying to cram information in your brain the night before the test doesn't really help?" Ann said, rubbing her eyes. "I tried anyway. Here's to hoping they're wrong."

"Well at least that means it didn't really matter that I gave up studying and went to playing video games instead," Ryuji yawned.

Morgana rolled his eyes from inside Ren's bag. "That just makes it even worse, you dumb monkey."

"Oh shaddup!"

"You're both going to fail, and then I'm going to laugh at you," Ren commented dryly. Ryuji punched his arm.

"Asshole. Not all of us can be geniuses. We all know you didn't actually study for this either." Ren shrugged, not denying his words.

Morgana let out a long suffering sigh. "You're all terrible students."

"Will you guys shut up for a second? You're gonna make me forget everything I mem-" Ann cut off suddenly, looking behind her with a wary expression. "Am I imagining things?"

"You think someone's watching you again?" Ren thought about his own feelings of being watched, feelings that came and went but had showed up again and again over finals week. With all that in mind, he was certainly inclined to take Ann's feelings seriously.

"That guy. He's watching us." Morgana's voice was clipped. Ren looked around and noticed a tall figure turned their way, before their train finally came, and the four of them boarded. Even as they got on, the hairs on the back of Ren's neck still stood up.

They got off at their stop and kept moving, Ryuji walking behind Ann and Ren standing in front of her. Ann looked behind them, and her eyes widened. "The guy, the figure, he got off! He's coming this way!" Ryuji let out an involuntary yawn, and she glared at him. "Hey, at least act like you care!"

"Course I care!" Ryuji said back. "I'm just 'effin exhausted. We'll catch the bastard once we're out of the station, if he's still there." Ren looked at him curiously, wondering what he had in mind. Ryuji explained his idea, and he and Ann agreed.

Out on the sidewalk, Ann stood by herself, looking at her phone, as the person they suspected walked up to her. Ren tried to quell the nervousness in his gut, reminding himself that Ann could take care of herself, and that they were going to interfere anyways. As soon as the person got close, stretching out his hand towards Ann, he and Ryuji smoothly stepped out and in front of her, and Ren finally got a better look at her stalker.

He was wearing a uniform for another high school, Kosei, if Ren remembered right. He was tall and thin, practically a beanpole, with blue hair that was mostly swept to one side. On his belt were a bunch of keys that seemed to jingle slightly as he moved.

The boy looked at them curiously. "Is there something you want?"

"Hey, that's my line!" Ann snapped back. "You were the one stalking me!"

He looked perplexed. "Stalking you? That's absurd."

"I know you've been following me since the train," Ann countered shortly. "And today isn't the first time either!"

The boy still looked confused. "That's because-"

Before he could state his reason, a car with darkened windows pulled up, and one of said windows rolled down to reveal a familiar figure, although Ren couldn't quite remember where he had seen him. "I had wondered why you had left the car," the man said. He was older, with white hair pulled back in a ponytail. "So this is where your passion led. Well, all's well that ends well." He chuckled a bit as the window rolled back up, leaving them all to stare blankly at the car that was now pulling away.

The boy turned back to them. "Forgive me, I saw you from the car, and couldn't help but chase after you. I didn't even notice the calls from Sensei… but thank goodness I caught up to you."

Ren narrowed his eyes. After everything they had gone through, and the way Kamoshida had gone after Ann, those words left a bad taste in his mouth. "Why so eager?" He said.

The boy seemed to ignore him. "You're the woman I've been searching for all this time! Please, won't you-" he flung his arm out, nearly hitting a passerby, who yelped, "-be the model for my next art piece?"

"...Man, you really should've started with that," Ryuji told him, looking somewhere between suspicious and amused.

Ann looked a little curious. "What do you mean? Why?"

"All that I've drawn until now has been lacking, but I feel a passion from you unlike anyone else," the boy explained. "What do you say? Will you work with me?"

Ann took a step back, raising an eyebrow slightly. "I don't even know who you are."

That seemed to startle the boy. "Ah, where are my manners?" He straightened up. "I'm a second year at Kosei High's Fine Arts Division. My name is Yusuke Kitagawa. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Madarame-sensei's pupil, and I am being allowed residence at his place."

Morgana shifted in Ren's bag, and he looked at Yusuke with a bit more consideration. Madarame, huh? What were the chances it was the same Madarame as the one Nakanohara had mentioned, the man who had destroyed his life?

Ann's eyes went wide. "As in the super famous artist?" But with the way her eyes went to Ren, he knew she had remembered as well.

"The very same," Kitagawa confirmed.

"Yusuke!" The old man in the car called out. Kitagawa stiffened.

"I'll be there in a moment, Sensei!" He turned back to Ann. "Madarame-sensei's exhibition will begin at the department store near the station tomorrow. I'll be there to help out on opening day. Please come by. It would be great if you could give me your answer on being a model by then." He looked over at Ryuji with narrowed eyes. "I'm sure you have no interest in the fine arts, but I'll give you tickets too." Ryuji scoffed at him, looking unimpressed. With that, he handed Ann three tickets, bowed to her, and walked towards the car, getting in next to Madarame.

"Asshole," Ryuji muttered. "How does he know I wouldn't like the fine arts?"

"Do you like them?" Ren wondered.

"Not really," Ryuji admitted. "But that doesn't mean he can crap all over me like that! He just said that cause I look like a delinquent."

Ann patted his shoulder reassuringly. "It's okay Ryuji. Not being into art doesn't make you any less of a good guy." Ryuji gave her a thankful smile.

Ren considered the tickets. He wouldn't say he was the most interested in art museums, but they could hold his attention for an afternoon or so, especially the really good ones. But that wasn't really the point.

"I'm far more curious about Madarame than his artwork," he muttered. "Especially if it's the same Madarame that Nakanohara talked about."

Ryuji went wide-eyed, and looked past them to the car driving away. "Oh yeah, that's right! Do you think Kitagawa's in trouble then? I mean, the guys kinda a creep, but he doesn't deserve to have his life ruined, or whatever."

"I think I'll go to the exhibit tomorrow," Ann decided. "Maybe we can learn more while we're there."

"Are you sure?" Morgana asked. "I mean, that boy is highly suspicious! I wouldn't be surprised if he's up to something."

"All the better to find out what then, right?" Ann offered. "And we did promise to find out more about Madarame. If this could help, then I think we should do it."

"That's true, I suppose. And hey, appreciating fine arts builds character!" Morgana piped up. "Phantom Thieves should know the real from the fake."

Ryuji looked pretty unenthusiastic. "If everyone else is going, I'm in too. Let's hope it isn't too boring."

Still, Ren could tell the others were as apprehensive as he was. But what choice did they have?

It looked like any trip to Ashford Academy was going to be put off for the next couple days.

"Alright," Ren said, starting as soon as he and Morgana had caught up with the other two. "So I spent some time last night researching-"

"You stayed up way later than you should have!" Morgana interrupted.

"It's fine, it wasn't that late-"

"It was finals!"

"It was the last day of finals, I could stay up if I wanted to." Ren rolled his eyes, taking in Ryuji and Ann's amused expressions. "Anyways, I did some more research on Madarame."

"And what did you find?" Ann asked.

The amusement from arguing with Morgana faded away. "Well, he's an artist with so many different styles that many are surprised that one man can paint all of that. He's had many pupils before, including Nakanohara, but they all seem to disappear into obscurity as soon as he's done teaching them. There was-" he paused, and cleared his throat. "There was an article about how one of his pupils committed suicide."

Ann gasped. Ryuji looked furious. "How dare that asshole-!"

"Keep your voice down, we're not in mementos," Morgana hissed. Then he sobered. "Yeah, it's awful. And it's definitely Yusuke's teacher. They're the same Madarame. Something's definitely up with that guy." Ann looked distraught, and Ren couldn't blame her. After everything that had happened with Shiho, the knowledge that someone had possibly been driven to suicide by the artist hit even harder than it might have otherwise.

"Yeah." They approached the entrance. "Just don't stick your head out, alright? We'll be in serious trouble if someone sees you." Morgana huffed, but ducked into Ren's bag.

Kitagawa was wearing a nicer shirt and jacket, seemingly wandering around the exhibit. Then he noticed Ann and his eyes lit up. "You came!" He said, quickly walking over. His gaze fell on Ren and Ryuji, and the excitement damped. "And you two came as well."

Ren, feeling more than a little irritated at Kitagawa's attitude, put on his best smile. "Yes, well, who are we to skip the chance of appreciating the fine arts? Especially when you've been so eager to talk with our friend." He took note of the way Ryuji was standing protectively to Ann's side, and wondered if Kitagawa had noticed it as well.

Ryuji shook his head. "Seriously, what did you expect when you gave us those tickets?"

Kitagawa narrowed his eyes. "Just don't get in the way of the other visitors." He smoothly turned back to Ann. "Come, I'll show you around. I'd like to speak more about the picture I'd like to create as well."

Ann looked at them apologetically. "Well, see you guys later, I guess."

"Are you going to be alright?" Ren asked quietly. Ann gave him a thumbs up.

"After everything we've been through? I can handle this. Thank you though." She gave them both a smile and headed after Kitagawa.

"I still don't like that guy," Morgana muttered from inside the bag.

Ryuji snorted. "Yeah, that makes all of us. Come on, we're already here, so we might as well walk around, or something." They made their way through the art gallery, moving past people to look at the different paintings. They seemed to range from simple portraits to detailed and beautiful renditions of what Mt. Fuji must've looked like before the Invasion.

"These are definitely different styles," Ren murmured. "Although there's one style that seems like it's used more than most."

Ryuji sighed. "I seriously can't tell. I'm no good at this art stuff, not like you guys are." Ren was about to comfort him when the other boy perked up. "Hey, it's the old man. The one who's probably Madarame." Ren could feel Morgana trying to peak out of his bag and shoved the cat down, to the other's displeasure. They headed closer.

Sure enough, Madarame was there, dressed in a humble yukata, talking to a group of reporters, many with cameras. "Your imagination continues to astound us," one of them was saying. "You have such expansive styles that it's almost hard to believe it all stems from one person."

Because it clearly didn't. Ren was definitely getting the picture here.

"It's a bit difficult to put into words," Madarame responded. "It wells up within my heart, like bubbles from a wellspring. What's important is to distance oneself from distractions like money and fame. My altier is but a modest shack, but it is more than enough to inspire true beauty."

"Shack…" Ryuji said. Ren turned to him curiously, but before he could ask more, they were swarmed by curious visitors who had finally realized Madarame was there.

"What was it you said about a shack?" Ren wondered, when they had finally left the exhibit with Ann, and hopped into the metaverse. The department store was totally empty in the other world, which felt more than a little strange. "Before we got shoved around by that crowd."

"One of the requests on the Phansite, actually." Ryuji held his phone up to show them. "A master of the Japanese Arts is plagiarizing his pupil's work. Only his public face is shown on TV."

"So he really is plagiarizing, then." Ann wrinkled her nose. "When we were there, I got to see my favorite new piece of his. It had this really strong feeling of anger and frustration, and Kitagawa acted… weird around it. Like he had some personal connection with it, or something."

"It might be his own work," Morgana nodded.

"Yeah, and there's more." Ryuji continued to read. "His treatment of his pupils is awful. He teaches nothing, and bosses them around. He treats them inhumanely, as if disciplining a dog." He glared at the screen. "That bastard. If this is true, then I'm super for taking him down, just like Kamoshida."

"I wonder if Kitagawa posted this," Ann mused. "I mean, he is a pupil of Madarame's."

Ryuji shrugged. "Not like we can find out, since it's anonymous and all."

Ren turned to Ann. "And the modeling thing?"

"Kitagawa gave me his contact info, and the address of his Sensei's atelier," Ann informed him.

Ren let out a small smirk. "Well then, if Madarame does have a palace, we'll know where to start looking."

They took the train to Madarame's the next day, Ren and Ann sitting with Morgana in Ren's bag as usual, and Ryuji standing in front of them.

"With all this Phantom Thieves stuff, I kinda wish we had a more glamorous way to travel," Ryuji admitted to them, after being elbowed by someone the third time. "I mean, it's less annoying than it used to be cause things just seem to hurt less, but that doesn't mean it's fun."

"Yeah, but crossing mementos would take too long," Ann countered. "Plus the train allows pets."

Allows- crap. Ren coughed awkwardly. They both looked at him.

He sighed. "So. I may have forgotten about paying the pet fare. In my defense, I carry Morgana everywhere now, so it's not like I was thinking about it." Ryuji snickered, and Ann gave him an incredulous look.

"Hey, I'm not a pet!" Morgana snapped. "I don't need some stupid pet fare!"

Ryuji snickered louder. "No offense, but for all terms and purposes, you kinda are. I mean, Ren feeds you, takes you out on walks-"

"Shut up!" Morgana sputtered. "I'm the one teaching you how to be thieves and guiding you to your destination. You should be calling me Sensei!"

"Oh, kitty!" Oh, that's not good. They all turned to see a little girl walking towards them, eyes filled with delight as she looked at Morgana. "Is that your pet mister? I heard it meowing!"

"Shi-Shoot," Ann muttered under her breath, so only they could hear her. "Um, no, this is just a toy. It… meows when you press it's head."

"It's true," Ren chimed in. "It's a really neat toy, but it only meows when you press it's head." Morgana scoffed and sputtered some more in Ren's lap, moodily going silent.

A shit-eating grin grew across Ryuji's face. "You know Renren, you should give the girl a demonstration. Press on its head." Ren smiled at the girl and did just that.

"This is ridiculous," Morgana groaned. "Meowwww."

The little girl jumped on the balls of her feet, excited. "Wow! Again, again!"

"As long as you don't button mash my head or anything," Mona sighed.

After a moment's hesitation, Ren leaned closer and whispered "Sorry Mona," then processed to gently button mash. Ryuji and Ann lost it, Ann leaning on his shoulder to steady herself while she giggled, and Ryuji holding onto one of the poles to keep himself from falling over cackling.

Madarame's place…

Well.

"Yeah, that's a shack," Ren said, looking up at the decrepit building. It almost seemed like the metal walls were scarps being held together by bolts. It was hard to imagine a possible con artist living in a place like this.

Ann checked her phone. "And we're definitely at the right address. It does say Madarame."

Ryuji grimaced. "I thought Madarame was exaggerating when he talked about his so-called "humble abode". Yeesh." He looked over to Ann. "You want to ring the doorbell?"

"The walls won't collapse when I do, will they?" Ann muttered, but stepped forwards, Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana following behind her. She rang the doorbell.

"Who is it?" Kitagawa's voice echoed out from the small speaker under the bell. "Sensei is currently out of the house."

"Ah, it's Takamaki-san, from the art show," Ann said, shifting nervously.

Kitagawa's voice noticeably perked up. "I'll be right out."

A moment later, the door slid open, and the tall blue haired boy was right behind it. "Takamaki-sa-" He seemed to take in Ren and Ryuji. "...You two are here as well?" He narrowed his eyes, the excitement having drained out of his voice.

"We're here for moral support, of course," Ren said, a bit of false cheer in his tone. Ryuji just looked at the artist with an unimpressed expression. "Ann means a lot to us, you see. I'm sure you don't mean any harm, but what kind of friends would we be if we let her go alone into an uncomfortable situation?"

Kitagawa looked even more displeased than before, but he let out a little "tch" and schooled his expression. "Alright, fine. Come on in."

The inside of the shack wasn't any more impressive than the outside. Sure, it seemed to have all the basic necessities, but it was plain and minimalist in a way that invoked the image of the starving artist cliché. And while Ren did overhear how Madarame was saying he liked to keep things simple at the museum, this seemed almost too set up.

They passed the kitchen, where Madarame seemed to be making himself some tea, contrary to Kitagawa's earlier statement that Madarame wasn't home. Ryuji seemed to pick up on this as well, as he turned to the teenage artist. "Didn't you say Madarame wasn't here?"

Kitagawa stiffened, and Madarame looked up. "Yusuke? Why would you say that?"

"I… thought you might not wish to be disturbed, Sensei," Kitagawa said.

Except, Ren mused, that didn't fit into Madarame's image at all.

"Thank you for your concern, Yusuke. I'd be perfectly happy receiving visitors in the future, however." Madarame smiled at all of them. "Thank you for agreeing to model with my student, young miss, but I'm afraid I require Yusuke's assistance today." He smiled at Kitagawa, who nodded somewhat stiffly. But please come back another time. I assure you my pupil's artwork won't disappoint." With that, he grabbed some sort of snack out of a cupboard and breezed past them.

"I am terribly sorry," Kitagawa said, "that you came all this way for nothing. But I do wish to paint you, so please come again." He directed them back towards the entrance to the house.

"Right, of course." Ann followed Kitagawa, then stopped and turned to him. "Ren?"

Ren hadn't moved yet, still looking into the kitchen. "I'll be up in a moment," he assured them.

Kitagawa's eyes narrowed. "I do hope you aren't planning to take anything."

Only your sensei's distorted desires. But Ren didn't voice that, of course. "You can watch me, if you want. I'm not planning on taking anything."

When Kitagawa didn't move, Ren took that as his cue to step into the kitchen, and open the cabinet Madarame had taken food out of. Sure enough, it was almost empty.

"You don't have many of those snacks, do you?" Ryuji commented.

Kitagawa shifted behind him. "Ah, they're sensei's favorites. No reason to stock-" he cut himself off abruptly.

"But Madarame lives here too, doesn't he?" Ann pressed. "Wouldn't he want to keep his favorite foods here?"

"Are you sure he lives here that often?" Ryuji added. "It would make a lot more sense if he didn't."

"Of course he does!" Kitagawa snapped. "You all are spitting baseless accusations." Ren turned to see the boy was fuming. "Sensei took me in when I had no family to go to! His greatest work, the Sayuri, is what inspired my own artwork! I won't just let you slander the man who I owe my life."

Ann looked curious. "The Sayuri?" Kitagawa nodded and showed her something on his phone.

"Like I said, it's Sensei's greatest work."

Ren was still in the kitchen, and couldn't see what Kitagawa was showing, although judging by Ann and Ryuji's reactions, it was rather impressive. But he could see Kitagawa, and now that he was looking, Kitagawa seemed more than just a tall beanpole of a teenager, he seemed thin. And not in the best way.

Ren headed over to the fridge and opened it. Inside was a milk cartoon, several cucumbers, and some lettuce…

And that was it.

There was no way Madarame lived here.

Ren closed the fridge door, feeling something heavy in his chest. "Right, I'm coming." He followed them out of the house.

"There's nothing in the fridge," he told them shortly, once they were out of the shack. "And I'm willing to bet there's not much in the other cupboards as well. Kitagawa is too thin."

Ann's eyes widened. "You think so? I guess it would make sense that Madarame really lives somewhere else, but would he really starve his own student?" She frowned. "Then again, that post on the phansite did say he treats his students horribly."

"You picked up on that surprisingly fast, Ren," Morgana muttered from inside his bag.

Ren shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah well. I know a little bit about guardians who can be a bit neglecting in the food department. Not to this extent. But, still."

The truth was that after Yuki, his big sister, had died, both of his parents had been far too caught up in their grief to remember something small like the fact that they still had a five year old child to feed. Ren had learned to cook through stove burns and hungry nights of inedible attempts at dinner. It was something he and Nanako had bonded over, having to take care of themselves when they were younger, because their parents couldn't do it for some reason.

But there was a difference between not remembering to cook dinner for a kid and leaving a ward with no food whatsoever. Kitagawa might be starving.

He tried not to focus on his friend's concerned expressions. "We should find out if he has a palace. Kitagawa's health might depend on it."

"Right!" With a determined expression on her face, Ann pulled up her metaverse app. "Um. Ichiryusai Madarame."

The app dinged. "Match found." She stared at it for a moment, then lowered her eyes. "He does have a palace then."

"Something wrong?" Ryuji asked.

Ann shook her head. "No, it's just… he's so much better at pretending to be a nice person than Kamoshida was, I guess. If we hadn't seen the empty kitchen, I dunno if I would've believed he could be as horrible." She shivered. "That almost makes it worse, that he could hide it like that."

"Maybe he should've gone into the acting business instead of plagiarism," Ren suggested dryly. "Do you think "Shack" is the location?"

"Match found."

"Now we just need the distortion," Morgana pointed out, balancing easily on the railing next to them. "Like how Kamoshida's distortion was a castle. We need to figure out what Madarame sees this shack as."

"How about castle?" Ann suggested.

"Match not found."

Ryuji scratched the back of his head. "Then, prison?"

"Match not found."

Ren tapped his chin. "Maybe we should think in terms of art, since Madarame is an artist. Or at least, he's pretending to be one. Maybe art studio? Or Museum?"

"Match found. Beginning Navigation."

Ann looked at the Nav. "It looks like Museum was right." And as she said this, the world twisted around them, before straightening out. Joker felt his metaverse outfit slip on, the red gloves and white mask fitting back into place. Next to them, Mona was back in his strange mascot form. Above them, the sky wasn't the normal blue it had been, or the oppressive red of Kamoshida's castle, but a deep blue.

And where the shack was in the real world, a sprawling golden museum that stretched much further into the sky stood instead. Spotlights shown up into the misty air around it, giving off the feel of some sort of fancy Hollywood exhibit.

"Wow, it's pretty," Panther murmured. Then she winced. "And kinda gaudy. At least we didn't activate the Nav while any closer." It was true. At their distance from the shack, it didn't seem like anything around them had changed.

"Yeah. Although it looks like none of the cars have changed." Skull pointed to the perfectly normal looking cars on the street in front of the museum. "Would've thought they'd have changed to fancier cars to match the gold shack-museum."

"He probably doesn't see the cars on this street as anything other than what they are," Mona informed them. "In a place with minimal cognitive distortion, the differences can be a lot more subtle."

"Let's get a closer look," Joker decided. His teammates agreed, and they approached the entrance, where a sprawling line of cognitive visitors waited to get inside the massive museum. There seemed to be only one point where they could enter, as the rest of the premises were surrounded by a high golden wall.

"I don't get it," Panther admitted. "Madarame's already got museums in reality. His exhibit was popular, and people already respect him. Why would he fantasize about a museum?"

"Maybe the gold is all gilded when you get closer?" Mona offered. "I mean, we're pretty sure he's a fraud already. Maybe all the gaudiness is overcompensation."

Skull shrugged. "Makes as much sense as anything else. But why would it be on the shack where he probably doesn't even live?" He shook his head. Anyways, we're not going to wait in that giant line, are we?"

"Don't be stupid, we're not going through the front door." Mona rolled his eyes. "We'll just need to find a way over the wall."

Joker nodded to himself, activating Third Eye. A small blue symbol appeared over a large truck at the end of the parking lot near the wall, and he supposed that meant that with their metaverse skills, they could use it to get over. Letting the Eye ability dissipate, he lead his friends up and onto the top of the wall.

Now with a higher vantage point, Joker could see more of the massively gaudy museum, the well kept lawn around it, and the line stretching even further inside. And the roof seemed to be filled with skylights which were-

Wait.

A chill ran down Joker's spine.

"Is this really how he thinks of that runnnmmmgh!" Joker put his hand over Mona's mouth.

"Look," he hissed, pointing.

There, coming out of the skylights, and now running across the roof, was another figure who obviously wasn't a cognition. Joker dragged Mona off the wall, back onto the van and out of sight, Panther and Skull quickly following him.

"Who is that?" Panther whispered. She turned to Skull. "Can you give me a little boost?"

"Y-Yeah, of course." Skull bent down and held out his hands. Panther stepped up on them and bounced off like a springboard, putting her arms and head over the wall and looking for the figure.

"I think that's a metaverse outfit, like ours," she relayed back to them. "They look kind of like a Super Sentai villain honestly. It's a bold style choice." Despite the joke, Panther's voice shook a bit. Joker hadn't seen enough of the person to confirm or deny that anyways. "And, they're gone. Like how we get out of the metaverse." She slipped back down onto the van with them. "Oh my god, we really aren't the only ones who can come here."

"Do we know for sure if this Sentai guy is the one causing the mental shutdowns?" Skull wondered. "Should we assume he is?"

"We can't assume anything," Mona pointed out. "But we'll need to keep an eye out for them." The four of them stayed on the van for a minute longer, contemplating what they had seen. Sure, Joker had his theories, but to know for sure that there was someone besides them and C.C. who could come to the metaverse was sobering.

With a sigh, he got to his feet. "If they're gone, there's no better time to explore the new palace. But only if all of you are up for it."

Panther nodded and got to her feet. "No worries, I'm fine. Just a little shaken."

"We won't let Sentai stop us from doing our thing!" Skull added, causing Panther to laugh a little in surprise. "I mean, we're Phantom Thieves! Robbing a museum is totally our thing. Especially if the museum owner is starving his student."

"That's right," Mona agreed. "Just say the word Joker, and we'll begin our infiltration."

Joker smiled fondly at all of them. "Alright, let's head in. If Sentai took the skylight, there's a good chance we can get in through there. The infiltration starts now."

They had to run through the garden and hop across the top of statues, clambering up the side of the building, but it was still just as exciting as those easy movements had been in Kamoshida's palace. In fact, Joker noted, it almost seemed even easier as time went on. Especially in the shadows, where he felt light as a feather.

"I get what you mean," Skull said, when Joker mentioned this. "I dunno about the shadows part, but it's like I'm super energized or something, which is making everything faster."

"It's probably tied to your main persona abilities," Mona informed them. "It should keep getting stronger as time goes on."

"And make a difference outside the metaverse?" Panther noted. "Because that's also been happening."

"You didn't think a normal cat could easily jump from the ground onto Joker's shoulder, did you?" Mona pointed out smugly. "And it gets more powerful the more powerful you get in the metaverse." They reached the skylight, which was still open.

Panther peered in. "It's a pretty far drop down. If Sentai had rope, they took it with them."

Mona grinned. "Don't worry, we've got our own!" Knowing what Mona meant, Joker pulled the rope out of his pocket.

"Most of the crafts Mona and I make appear in my thief coat pockets," he told them, tying the rope to a knob on the opening of the skylight. "Sort of like how we can summon our melee weapons and guns without needing to carry them around in the real world now." He tested the rope and stepped back to admire his work. "I can go first."

Skull gestured at the skylight. "If you're sure, man." Joker nodded and climbed down, the rope holding well. He heard the others dropping down after him.

"At least we've got gloves!" Panther joked. "It would suck doing that bare-handed."

Skull grinned. "Man, wouldn't it be cool if we had grappling hooks or something?"

"Maybe when we've got enough money to buy something like that." Joker imagined having his own grappling hook, and admittedly, it sounded pretty cool. He wondered if there was anywhere he could buy one in the real world, before shaking his head and focusing on the museum.

The inside was empty. For all the cognitions of fans waiting outside, none of them seemed to be inside the museum itself. There were paintings, but they all seemed to be portraits of people, usually young people with small plaques under them. The portraits themselves seemed to be shimmering, almost moving.

"It's quiet. Too quiet," Mona murmured.

"Those pictures." Panther looked them over. "What do you think they're about? They reflect some part of Madarame's heart, right?"

Skull went over to one of the paintings, and looked at the plaque underneath. "This is just someone's name and age. Maybe the person in the painting?"

"Same with this one," Mona called out, looking at another painting. "They're definitely important. And there seems to be lots of them." They moved quietly throughout the gallery, passing through about three rooms filled with paintings until-

"That's Nakanohara, isn't it?" Panther looked up at the large portrait in front of them. "Why is he a portrait here?"

Joker's stomach sank as things clicked into place. "He studied here, under Madarame," he reminded his friends quietly. "The shack is a museum, and all his students are the collection."

The others looked horrified. "That's sick," Skull finally said. "That's all he thinks of them? Geez, if he thinks of Kitagawa as an object, no wonder he doesn't bother to keep around food."

Panther glared at the portrait. "It's like he's proud of all the lives he's ruined and art he's stolen. That's just awful." Her eyes widened, as though she had thought of something awful. "The student of his who committed suicide, does he have a portait too?"

"Probably," Mona admitted gravely. Panther let out a harsh breath, and Joker put his hand on her shoulder, steadying her. She sent him a grateful smile.

"Let's take this bastard down, yeah?" Her voice only shook a little bit. "We can't let him ruin any more lives or cause any more deaths."

"Of course," Joker assured her.

"He won't know what's hit him!" Skull promised.

Mona nodded. "It's our job as Phantom Thieves to bring him to justice."

As they wandered further, they paused in front of Kitagawa's portrait. It was on its own wall, the only remaining student Madarame had.

"We'll get him out of this mess," Panther said aloud, and they kept going.

Interestingly enough, there were still no shadows in the front entrance of the museum. There was, however, a pamphlet with part of a map on it, which they took with them. Dipping into the next room, the group paused in front of a large golden sculpture.

"The Infinite Spring," Joker read from the plaque. "A conglomerate work of art that the great director Madarame created with his own funds. These individuals must offer their ideas to the director for the rest of their lives. Those who cannot do so have no worth living."

Panther's hands tightened around her arms. "He really thinks he owns his students, doesn't he?"

"Didn't Kitagawa say that he doesn't have any family besides Madarame?" Skull remembered. "Maybe all of his students are artistic orphans or something."

Joker frowned. "It would explain his feelings of ownership a bit more. He feels as though he saved their lives, so now they owe their artistic livelihoods to him." What a sick man. "Almost all of those paintings had been teens or young adults. A few of them looked like children."

Panther's head shot towards him, alarmed. "The person who killed themselves, they weren't a child, right?"

Skull's eyes widened. "Fuck."

"I don't think so," Mona assured them. "But no matter the age, it's still horrible."

"Why's Kitagawa covering all this up then?" Skull wondered. "Why's he making excuses?"

Joker studied the portrait. The figures on it were around their age, if not younger. "Maybe Madarame drills it into his pupils that they owe him their lives, and so they feel indebted to him. And once they burn out or try to leave, he destroys their lives, and it's too late for them to say anything." He turned to the others. "So, are we going to target Madarame?"

"I'm all for it!" Skull quickly agreed.

"Me too." But Panther seemed a bit hesitant. "But I think I should still do that modeling job. We might be able to learn more about Madarame that could help us in the palace that way."

"Cleaver as always, Lady Ann. And we'll come with you!" Panther reached down and Patted Mona's head with a smile.

"I still feel a little bad though," Ann admitted, as the four of them sat in the diner that afternoon. She looked down at her coffee, swirling it in her cup. "I mean, it feels different than Kamoshida, a bit. Like we're intruding on someone else's problems? Maybe it's because none of us have been hurt by him… I don't know."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "If we only went after people who personally hurt us, we'd be intentionally not helping a lot of people, wouldn't we? He hasn't hut us, but he's definitely hurt others." He paused. "And people not wanting to get involved with something that wasn't personal is the reason Kamoshida got away with so much."

"When Kamoshida broke my leg, a part of me was hoping someone would care enough to step in, but until Renren came, no one did. Just like we were the only ones to try and get involved with the volleyball team's abuse. I mean, I got some pitying looks from some people, but that was it." Ryuji picked at his food. "I don't wanna be the person who only sends pitying looks and pretends that's helpful when I know it isn't. And I dunno, isn't the point of being the Phantom Thieves to not be bystanders like that anymore?"

Ann let out a breath. "You're right. I guess only focusing on those who've hurt us personally is kinda selfish, now that I think about it. And all those kids who were hurt…" she trailed off, before shaking her head. "Yeah. We can't just let this go now that we know it's happening."

"And we still know nothing about the Sentai metaverse user," Morgana added. "We'll need to be extra aware of our surroundings when infiltrating this new palace."

"Of course. But," Ren coughed out a little laugh. "Are we just going to call the person Sentai now?"

Ann giggled. "Well that was what their costume looked like. Ryuji and I's codenames are based on our masks, after all. And the guy was wearing all skintight black, and I'm pretty sure I saw belts. Lots of belts."

Ryuji grinned. "And if this guy really is the one causing the shutdowns and breakdowns, he totally deserves to be branded with a dumb nickname." Even Morgana snorted at that.

Ann contacted Kitagawa the next day, and they scheduled a time to meet up the day after. With an afternoon free for the first time in a while, Ren figured it was about time he went to check out Ashford Academy.

What was it that C.C. thought he would find there? What was so important about that school? Ren couldn't afford to go there in a million years, most likely. He was sure he'd never been there before either, so why would it be connected?

And yet…

"Ren?" Ren looked over to see Ann approach him. "Something on your mind?"

"Yeah," Ren admitted. "You know how I told you guys about that weird C.C. woman?"

"It was kinda confusing, but yeah."

"Well," Ren hesitated. How to explain something like this? "She suggested I go check out this school called Ashford Academy, and that I'd find something I was looking for there."

Ann's eyes lit up with recognition. "At Ashford? Really?" Seeing Ren's surprised look, she elaborated. "My parents thought about sending me there, after an-" she paused, shook her head, and continued, "-incident in my first year of middle school. I said no, because I wanted to stay with Ryuji and Shiho, and they agreed to let me stay." She shrugged. "It might be cool to finally check it out. Maybe I can help you find what you're looking for."

"I dunno," Ren said awkwardly. "I mean, it's cool if we go check it out together, but even I don't know what she was really referring to, so you don't have to help if you don't want to."

"I do want to!" Ann smiled brightly at him. "It'll be fun, I think. Plus I'm always down for spending more time with my friends, even that time is spent looking for unknown things."

Ren couldn't help but smile back, feeling the Lovers arcana start to grow again. "If you say so." They easily fell into step with each other, Ann pulling up directions and leading the way to the nearest subway station.

And, there was the feeling again, of being watched. And it was only growing stronger.

Ren swallowed, moved closer to Ann, and tried to ignore it. Whatever it was, it didn't feel actively malicious, and it could wait until after their trip to Ashford.

And so Yusuke has been met (oh Yusuke, king of terrible first impressions), and the Phantom Thieves have a new target! Plus, Ren and Ann are taking a trip to Ashford Academy. I wonder what (or who) they'll find there?

In a bit of a twist, the Phantom Thieves find Black Mask before Black Mask finds them. How will this affect their further palace exploration? Hmmm.

With the conversation on the Thieves getting involved, it something they talk about in the actual game: how much should they get involved with other people's problems? This is what this version of thieves decides.

As for Ren's backstory, since this is, as one can probably tell, a story focusing on him, I figure it's important to flesh out this Ren's backstory. His parents and old life is pretty much a non-entity in game, but they did just ship their son off to some shop owner a friend knows, and didn't contact him for an entire year. It's hard to imagine loving parents acting that way, and it's also hard to imagine someone who grew up in whatever household that was cause by not being affected by it. In other words, Ren's still got parent issues! Yay!

I hope you enjoyed, and please don't forget to leave a review, let me know what you think! They help keep this story going, after all!

Answers to comments:

The Road In Between Worlds: I'm so glad that you're enjoying it! While some elements of Royal may be included, the new characters almost certainly won't be, due to this story being planned before Royal came out.

catabek06: 1) I'm glad you think it makes sense. Kaguya is smart, knows how to keep a secret, and cared deeply for Lelouch. And I'm glad you agree with Ryuji. Poor guy deserved better writing after the first palace, honestly. 2) Kaguya's definitely going to have more interactions with the crew, for sure! And Cornelia will certainly be making an appearance later on in the story. I'm glad you like how I'm writing the characters! As for Ann in particular, the next chapter should shed more confirmation on what's up with her.

Gojosin: I'm glad it's all cleared up! I'm always down to hear theorizing! Ryuji is admittedly a favorite character of mine, although that's not saying much, since all of the Phantom Thieves are favorite characters of mine. I wouldn't say he's totally another Yosuke, but Atlas does love to shoehorn their best friend characters into very specific tropes.

CheesyPotatoFries: Thanks! Yup, Kaguya and some others currently knows about the Dark Hour and the TV world, but not the metaverse.

de-Morgana: The police do still have some Knightmare Frames. Hmmmm.

foxchick1: Thank you! I'm so glad!

EvanderAdvent: I knew Kaguya was going to be involved with the Persona 3 cast for a while now, because she just seemed so fitting for it. She gets along very well with Mitsuru, for example. And it just wouldn't make much sense if she never told anyone that she had found the reincarnation of Lelouch vi Britannia himself. As for Haru being Euphie... I won't confirm or deny anything yet.

kerrowe: Somehow I doubt she'd be very surprised! And yup, Kaguya is in fact going to be a confidant!

nobodyreallyimportant: It certainly is! Of all the people to know about SEES, Kaguya just fits the bill, doesn't she? As for Sayoko getting dragged into the metaverse... there's certainly a large possibility of that happening.

sonicxjones: I'm so happy you're reading this even if you don't know much about CG! Thank you!

Guest: While I can totally see where you're coming from, at least one of them is still very much alive, and neither died close enough to be reincarnated as Ryuji's age. Still, if he was a reincarnation, that would definitely be interesting. As for Rolo or Mao... Hmmm. Thanks for reviewing!