May 22nd.
No time was wasted between the completion of the infiltration and Joker deciding to send the calling card. The sooner they did this the better. The group gathered in the Accessway of the Shibuya station, looking out over the city while preparing to discuss how they were going to go about this. "We can now take him down, yes?" Yusuke asked, eager to do this as soon as they were able.
"Madarame's going to be a changed man." Morgana said. "There won't be any way to revert it though. You sure you're okay with that?"
"I have thought it over carefully." Yusuke admitted. He was well aware of what it was they were going to do and he long since came to his decision. "I cannot think of a future in which he does not pay his dues. He has preyed upon not only the art world, but on countless talent. I humbly request your help."
"All right." Ren said with a nod.
"I apologize for making you do this." Yusuke was grateful nevertheless.
"Not at all, Yusuke." Ann reassured. "We didn't want to impose if you weren't feeling up to it. But if you're already determined to do it, then there's nothing more to say."
"If I recall, the next move is sending a calling card, correct? What a suave maneuver." Yusuke chuckled, thinking it was an interesting maneuver.
"It's not about looking cool." Morgana corrected. "The calling card is a necessary step to trigger a change in his cognition."
"A change in cognition…if I recall you had some trouble with that before…" Yusuke thought back to that incident the other day.
"You must be referring to when we had to disarm that security system." Morgana said.
"The Palace is a cognitive world so changing the ruler's cognition changes the topography! …I think." Ann explained, growing somewhat less confident the more she explained.
"That's exactly right, Lady Ann!" Morgana said. "This will be a vital tactic from here forward."
"…May I ask a question? A basic one." Yusuke began. "You all mention cognition so readily, but what is the cognitive world? Has it truly been around us all this time and we've been ignorant to its existence, completely oblivious as we go about our daily lives?"
"I'm not sure." Morgana shook his head. "I know it existed before the Kamoshida incident, but that's it."
"I see…" Yusuke mumbled.
Ryuji was kind of wide eyed at that question. "Crap, he totally caught me off guard with that question. Kinda weird to think about whole other worlds we don't even know about…" He then turned to Ren. "You ever think about that?"
"Of course." Ren said coolly.
"Don't be so anxious." Morgana blew off all concern. "You don't even know everything about the city you live in after all. All that matters is that the world exists and we know how to use it."
That part was true. There was no point wondering about these things yet, especially since they had more pressing matters to think about. "A calling card…do you think he'll take it seriously?" Yusuke had to ask. "He is famous after all. He has often received slanderous letters up till now as well."
"He'll know best whether the crime written on it is real or not." Ryuji said with a smirk.
Morgana had a worried face. "Wait…are you going to write it again, Ryuji? The last one was questionable at best…"
"You should do it, Yusuke! Make it all artsy and stuff!" Ann said gleefully.
To that, Yusuke shook his head. "No. It'll only end with him figuring it out. He knows my drawing and writing styles all too well."
Ryuji stood up, getting a brilliant idea. "Oh! I'll think it up and you make it cooler!"
Now that was an idea. "Designing a calling card…hm. Interesting. It shall become proof that the Phantom Thieves do exist."
"Great! It's decided then!" Ryuji was excited for this.
"All that's left is to steal the Treasure, then!" Morgana declared. "You guys better come fully prepared!"
"Right!" Everyone said in unison. They only had one chance at this and the needed to make it count.
.
.
Ren returned to his current resident. A small coffee shop in Yongen: Leblanc. His current guardian was a man by the name of Sojiro Sakura. Sojiro was in the midst of smoking a cigarette when the doors opened. "Ah, you're back…" He said, giving a quick glance before returning his attention to the TV.
"Mhm. Big day tomorrow." Ren said with a small nod. At that moment his phone buzzed and he answered it, the group chat he had with Ann and Ryuji opening up.
Ryuji: "Yo, I tried changing the chat icon."
Ann: "Looks the same to me."
Ryuji: "Maybe it's just for the group and doesn't show up here.
Well, you should take a look later.
The calling card turned out great 'cause of him, too.
Anyways, this is the first real job for the Phantom Thieves. We really can't screw this up, k?"
Ann: "I am not underestimating anything, I assure you."
Ryuji: "And make sure Yusuke gets a lot of rest okay, OK?"
Ann: "Yeah."
Ryuji: "Welp, see y'all tomorrow!"
Ren: "See you tomorrow."
Ann: "Goodnight!"
.
.
May 23rd: WE'LL TAKE YOUR HEART!
Yusuke was lingering at the art exhibit. They had a plan for posting the calling card, but it wouldn't mean anything if Madarame didn't read it and that's what he was here for. Plus it was only natural for the pupil to come support his sensei. "Everything is in place. It should work…" Yusuke thought to himself. How anxious he was to make Madarame pay for his crimes…
Yusuke, unbeknownst to him, was not alone. There was a certain someone who was growing a bit concerned with his overall expression the past few days. It was Hifumi, who used the ticket Yusuke had given her to sneak back into the art exhibit. While she had little interest in the arts, the way Yusuke looked today compared to all other days spurred her to see what was going on. She remained a bit hidden; it was hard to get close with so many people surrounding Madarame anyway. "….."
A member of the staff slowly approached Madarame, a bit apprehensive considering what it was he had in his hands. "Pardon me, sir…there's a matter we need to notify you about…"
"Please excuse me for a moment." Madarame told the others, walking off with the staff member. "What is the issue?"
"We uh…found this addressed to you outside…." The staff member said pensively.
"A letter?" Madarame lifted a brow. What was so bad about this that it warranted this private conversation?
"It's…uh…" The staff member was clearly nervous, but he read it aloud anyway while handing it to the master artist. "Sir Ichiryusai Madarame, a great sinner of vanity whose talent has been exhausted. You are an artist who uses his authority to shameless steal the ideas of his pupils. We have decided to make you confess your crimes with your own mouth. We will take your destroyed desires without fail, from, The Phantoms Thieves."
"…!" Hifumi's eyes widened as she overheard this. "The…Phantom Thieves are going after him…!?" Did that mean the rumors circulating around Madarame were true? She was keeping up with the Phan-Site and how numerous posted requests had been solved. How this was done, she had no idea…but to think they would be targeting such a big name. It had been over a month since they made the news after the Shujin incident.
What…what in the world was this letter!? Madarame's gaze narrowed into a fierce glare. "Whose doing is this!?"
"We don't know…!" The staff member said frantically. "The same letter has been posted everywhere…!"
"What about the security cameras!?" Madarame questioned. Surely they had to catch something!
"There were no signs of the culprit! All we saw was a black cat in the recordings…" The staff member nearly stumbled over his words.
"Remove these at once!" Madarame demanded, turning his back.
"Yes sir!" The staff member then had a thought. "But, uh…"
One thing after another… "What now!?" Madarame turned back around, his expression clearly one that was far from pleased."
"It's about this affecting the exhbit. We believe it's just a prank, but what about the mass media?"
"Are you insinuating that his slander is true!?" Madarame glared.
The staff member realized this was not a topic he should tiptoe around at all. "N-Not at all…!"
There was silence for a moment, before Shadow Madarame grumbled from within the depths of his Palace. "It's those damn brats' doing isn't it!? Well, it means nothing…! They'll only be able to do as they please until the exhibit is over…" Sending a calling card was a declaration of war. Now that Shadow Madarame was made aware that his Treasure was being targeted, the security level rose to maximum. With the confirmation, Yusuke walked off.
"This is hard to take in…" Hifumi mumbled to herself.
"Are you going to stand and watch this injustice? Or will you take up arms as well…?"
"Huh!?" Hifumi glanced around. She swore she heard a voice call out to her just now. It was…saying something concerning her inner thoughts. "What am I saying? I can't…do anything about this…"
Yusuke returned to the others who watched it all happen. "Will that do?"
"Yup! It was perfect!" Ann said with a huge grin. "The composition was so much cooler, too!"
"The Treasure should appear right about now." Morgana reported.
"You better enjoy the air of freedom while you still can, old man." Ryuji glared towards Madarame. "Oh, by the way, people are already talkin' about the calling card online. We'll show 'em! We're gonna surprise 'em all!"
"I'm sure you know, but we only have one shot to pull this off." Morgana warned.
"I'm counting on you all." Ren said while adjusting his glasses.
"We'll be fine!" Ann said, very upbeat. "We managed last time, too!"
"And you have no reservations about this, Yusuke?" Morgana had to ask one more time, just to make sure.
"I am." Yusuke nodded. He was firmly resolved to do this.
"All right. Then let's do this!" Morgana said.
As Ren and his group walked off, Hifumi noticed them depart. How curious. "Huh…that's Kitagawa and…" She vaguely recognized Ren and Ryuji from the other day; they stood out among the rest. "Where are they…no, I shouldn't…" She shouldn't follow them, yet her legs were already slowly doing that for her. Ryuji did ask her about Madarame and Yusuke had been acting differently…was it all connected? Her imagination was going wild but she had to sate her curiosity. But when she arrived at the Accessway, there was no one there. "…Where did they go? Did they board a train…?" She knew this was a fruitless endeavor and now she just felt stupid…
.
.
The Phantom Thieves made their way into Madarame's Palace once more. As soon as they step foot inside, Fox noticed the change in atmosphere immediately. "It's far different than it was before…the atmosphere has shifted entirely."
"Well, we basically declared war on 'im an' all." Skull said. This was the same reaction they got with Kamoshida and so far it was a very consistent occurrence.
"The Treasure's appeared. We don't have time to stand around!" Mona said. "Let's do this!"
At this point they knew Madarame's Palace inside and out, becoming of true Phantom Thieves. Once they arrived at the Main Treasure Hall, the group split off. In order to successfully steal Madarame's Treasure they needed to coordination this operation. Everyone had their own separate roles: Skull and Panther were to take care of the power, Fox tied Mona to the hook they found the other day, and Joker was to man the lever to lower Mona to the Treasure. Every member played a crucial role.
Skull and Panther arrived at the security door…and unfortunately, there was a security guard patrolling inside. "Agh…there's a guy in here…!" Panther groaned. This was going to make things a lot more difficult.
"No surprise." Skull mumbled. "We've done a ton in here. But don't worry, I'll draw it out."
That idea made Panther worry. She knew about Skull's leg…and the last time they had to make a hasty exit, he ended up falling flat. "Are you sure? What if it catches up to you?"
Skull held a cheeky grin, using his thumb to point to himself. "Don't underestimate an Ex-runner! I got this!"
"…" Panther nodded. She had to have faith in Skull, so she went off to hide while Skull got ready to draw the security guard away.
Standing up, Skull slammed his fist on the door to gain some attention. "W-Whoa…send help! There are some strange people over here…!" Considering the state of alert the museum was in, any suspicious activity had to be checked on. Once Skull gained the attention he wanted, he bolted.
The security guard walked out of the room. "What's going on…!?" It could see Skull fleeing, but it also was unsure if that was a fellow guard or not. So naturally, it went to follow.
Once it was clear, Panther emerged from her hiding spot, watching Skull run off. "You better make it, Skull…" She'd never forgive him if he got caught! But for now, she had to focus on her part of the operation, which was cutting the main power. She had to wait for Fox's signal before she could do that.
Fox and Mona were up above. With some rope, Fox tied Mona to the hook. "There. That should be good enough."
"Heheh, perfect." Mona said with a wide grin.
Fox noticed how…excited Mona was about all of this. "You seem rather excitable for all of this."
"Of course! Only the best can appreciate these critical moments. We're acting like real Phantom Thieves!" Mona said with a mischievous grin. The Treasure was right below him and a strange instinct drove him to want to grab it. It was something he couldn't explain, but he was supposedly drawn to the manifestation of mankind's desires. So it made sense why he was making grabby paws at what was below him.
"We'll be counting on you Mona. And Panther as well." Fox said.
That was enough for Fox. With Mona secure, he waved his hand. They already knew that their vantage point was visible through the security room window, and this signal was cue for Panther to do her thing. "That's Fox's signal!" She was already in prime position, her finger hovering above the button that would cut the power. As soon as she saw the signal, she pressed the button and all power in the museum went out.
"What?!" Shadow Madarame gasped, glancing around as everything went pitch black.
"Now." Joker pulled the lever on a dime, lowering Mona towards the Treasure. In the few seconds it took for the power to come back on, the Treasure was successfully swiped away.
With this successful attempt, Panther returned to Joker and Fox. "Sorry for the wait."
Skull appeared too, letting out a small huff. "Sorry, took me ages to shake that guy."
"Wait, where's Mona?" Panther asked.
"This way." Joker said, leading the way to get to Mona. They had to reconvene with him to retrieve the Treasure, which was wrapped in purple cloth.
"Nyehehe, how was that!?" Mona said with a widening grin. Now they just had to escape!
"That was amazin' Mona!" Skull grinned. "So what's the Treasure? I'm guessin' probably a painting or somethin'.."
"We can figure that out later!" Panther said.
"Ngggh…those damn brats!" Shadow Madarame grumbled down below. "But it doesn't matter! Now we can corner them no matter where they are! Lock down all the doors and make sure they don't escape!"
"Sounds like its' time to go…." Fox said.
They all made a beeline for the same door they used. Joker went to open the door but…it was locked. He nudged it with his shoulder, but it simply wouldn't budge. "…Huh. That is a minor inconvenience."
"They're upstairs! Corner them!" Several voices said and they were closing in fast.
"Crap! Where do we go now!?" Skull shouted.
"Only one way…" Joker had little choice but to lead them to a window. With one route blocked off, they only had one other option left and this was it.
"Does it lead outside?!" Fox asked.
"We don't have time! We just have to go!" Mona exclaimed and out the window they went. They were outside, but rather high up on the building.
"Whoa…this place is really high up…" Skull said nervously.
"Is there a way down!?" Panther questioned.
"Only one way to find out…" Joker continued to take the lead. Down was their only option and eventually they came across a door with a red portal. They had no idea where this would take them.
"Is this another portal with an unknown destination?" Fox asked.
"We don't have time, just move!" Mona exclaimed. They would have to deal with whatever came their way. So through the portal they went and…
"Huh…?" Skull took a brief look around. "Is this…the courtyard?!"
"Heh…" Morgana smirked. "I knew it. All that security would've been meaningless if it didn't lead back outside."
Fox let out a sigh of relief. "It seems we have escaped their siege."
"Mrrr…meow…" The urge was taking over. Mona couldn't help himself.
"Dude, why is Mona getting excited now of all times…!?" Skull asked.
"Just like before…" Panther added.
"I can't take it anymore! Let's look at this Treasure!" They were in the clear. Mona had to see what it was he was carrying. He put the Treasure down and unwrapped the cloth. "Treasure!" And it was….a fake painting. "WHAT!?"
"THIS is the Treasure?" Skull said in disbelief.
Fox then noticed the rising security grids around them. "LOOK OUT!"
"Whoa!"
"Eeep!"
Thanks to Fox's call out, they were able to evade the lasers that attempted to trap them. Just as they did, Shadow Madarame and two security guards came out, one of them holding a golden painting between their arms. "Meddlesome vermin. Is this what you're looking for?"
"How dare you try to trap me like some kind of mouse?!" Mona said, offended at the attempt.
"So you had a fake prepped, huh?" Skull said. Considering who they were dealing with, this shouldn't have been a surprise.
"Counterfeits are accepted in the world of Japanese art." Shadow Madarame said with a cold, callous tone.
"What happened to you!? Why did you change?!" Fox was begging to know. "Don't you know how it pains me to inquire about the crimes of my foster father!?"
"Hm…" Shadow Madarame took a look at Fox. "You know, the only reason I took you in was due to my ties with your mother. That woman never lost her passion for art, even after her husband died. Her skills and talents were astonishing, so I decided to look after her. Your mother and the artwork she created – they're all MY works of art!"
"How low can you sink!?" Panther spat, disgusted at what she was hearing.
"I suppose I can grant you a gift before you die." Shadow Madarame said with a menacing grin. "A glimpse of the true, genuine Sayuri!"
"Genuine…?" Fox asked…and then the security guard raised the painting up. The truth of Sayuri was a mother cradling a child in her arms. "T-That's the real Sayuri…!? This can't be…Mom…!"
"Huh?!" Skull looked to Fox.
"Indeed it is." Shadow Madarame explained. "This is a portrait of your mother, she painted it herself. A woman who knew her death was coming painted her last wishes for the son she would leave behind. That is the truth of Sayuri's mysterious expression!"
"You stole something THAT personal!?" Skull growled. Just when they thought Madarame couldn't get any worse, he continued to surprise them with his greed and vanity.
"I knew at first glance…I knew it'd be a huge success if I added a touch to the painting and released it under my name!" Shadow Madarame wore a twisted grin.
"But the baby in the picture…why did you paint over it!?" Fox needed to know, because…that baby was him.
"If the babe is erased, the reason for the woman's expression becomes a mystery. That is what the general public is drawn to! Each of those parasitic critics wrote the same thing!" Shadow Madarame laughed. It was all too easy.
"I always felt something was off about all this, now I know what it is." Panther glared at Shadow Madarame. "If you truly cherished that painting you wouldn't even think about selling it for profit! You don't love art at all!"
"Though you have a real Treasure, your real talent is comparable to those scribbles on that painting." Mona scoffed.
"It makes me laugh ASSHOLE!" Skull grunted.
"So you'll defy me no matter what…" Shadow Madarame crossed his arms. "Well then, Yusuke, since you're my work of art…I'm going to reap you for the sake of my future. You, and those insolent friends of yours."
"I can't believe you're treating mother and son like some sort of object! You're inhumane!" Panther yelled, utterly disgusted with Madarame at this point.
Fox was silent. He…he had a thought. With the rumors about his foster father being confirmed true, he needed something confirmed for himself. "…I heard that you destroy your 'art' once the outlive their usefulness. Did that include my mother as well…?" All eyes were on Fox when he asked that question.
"…Wait…" Joker turned to Shadow Madarame.
Shadow Maradame's response? His lips curled up into a malicious grin. "She just so happened to have a seaizure in front of me. That's when a thought crossed my mind. If I didn't call for help, I could get Sayuri with no strings attached."
Panther gasped loudly. "No…you let her die!?"
"She was physically weak. No one would have doubted if she dropped dead because of a seizure." Shadow Madarame relished in the memory. "Besides, Yusuke? Didn't you think it was odd that I "discovered" your talent when you were only three? The reason I kept you around was to keep you from realizing the truth about Sayuri!"
Fox was seething. "You killed her…!"
"The artistic talents you inherited from your mother were a delightful miscalculation though. If I'm to steal ideas, it's much easier robbing the future of brats who won't talk back than adults. It's thanks to you that I got the idea, so you have my gratitude." Shadow Madarame chuckled.
It was so asinine that Fox couldn't help but chuckle. Panther turned to Fox, concerned after the information they just learned. "Yusuke…?"
"I must take you, Madarame…" Fox turned his gaze to the man he once thought of as a father. "Every reason for me to forgive you has disappeared without a trace at this very moment! You aren't some rotten artist, you're a despicable fiend who wears the skin of an artist!"
Shadow Madarame had enough of this back and forth. His arms crossed and his power started to rise. "All you good for nothings…! Barging into my museum and doing whatever the hell you want! Those who have connections make the rules; those who don't, follow them! Not to mention the value of art is subjective! I make the rules of the art world! I am the supreme being! I AM THE GOD OF THE ART WORLD!"
"This isn't good! Get back!" Mona warned.
Shadow Madarame started to laugh. His form began to distort and warp, his entire body shifting into something different. Shadow Madarame turned into painting with five individual pieces, two eyes, a nose, and his mouth. This groteques painting growled angrily at the thieves who dared to stand up to him. "I'LL PAINT ALL OVER YOU!"