Once he arrived at the thieves' gathering place (and after Akiko had to make a quick stop at the cafe to pick up Morgana when his visit to the vet was done), the explanations of the Metaverse begins. Yusuke feels much more energized than before, determined to storm the museum and force a change of heart upon the fiend who has hurt so many innocent lives. Except when Akiko meets his eyes and offers a smile, that makes his heart skip a beat. He has no idea why, but it makes him feel warm inside.
"Yusuke, we still need to explain the basics to you, don't we?"
The young painter nearly jumped as Morgana's voice drew him out of his thoughts and back to reality. He responded by a simple yet silent nod.
"Oh, you mean about the Metaverse and the Nav?" Ann's blue eyes widened. "Yeah, I guess that stuff is pretty important."
Yusuke straightens his posture, despite leaning his backside against the safety railing. "Please elaborate."
"Okay, let's start from the beginning..." Morgana begins the explanation with a calm yet serious expression, oddly surprising for a cat. "First, the Metaverse spots where we act as the Phantom Thieves are called Palaces. Palaces are worlds that take form from someone's cognition... A materialization of their reality."
"So do we each hold Palaces within ourselves as well?"
"No, not just anyone will have one. It's primarily those with strong distorted desires."
Ryuji casts a carefree grin in his direction. "They basically gotta be criminals. Real bastards like Kamoshida and Madarame."
Morgana nodded. "On the other hand, Palaces within Persona-users. It's just impossible for them to form. Basically, your Persona is the true feelings of your heart, which arise from accepting your inner Shadow. Then since you have full control over your emotions, there's no way your desires can get distorted."
"In other words..." Akiko ponders over what she's been told, and it occurs to Yusuke this is probably the first time she's been informed of the differences between Personas and Palaces, "we destroyed our inner Shadows after unleashing our rage against the injustices of the world."
"S-So that's how it works..." The tone in Ann's voice sounds mildly astonished.
"O-Obviously I knew that..." Even Ryuji is inclined to agree with her, despite the bluff being clearly evident. "Oh yeah, and we use the Metaverse Nav app on our phones to get into that world!"
"It's actually pretty simple. Just say a person's name, location, and distortion, then you're in."
Yusuke tilts his head, confusingly. "Location...?"
"Uhhh, so like Madarame's would be a 'shack,' then his distortion is that he thinks it's a 'museum.'" Ann's explanation is starting to make sense now.
"How do you know what their Palace is going to look like if you have never set foot in it before?"
Ryuji just shrugged, casually. "That part's kind of like a quiz or something. It'll probably get pretty tricky from here on out too."
Humming softly, Yusuke allowed this new piece of info sink in. Now that he thought it, Madarame is obsessed with art and his own exhibition, so it does make sense he would view his Palace as a museum. "Hm, I feel as though I have a good grasp on the basic concepts. If anything arises which I fail to understand, I'll rely on those more experienced than myself."
Ryuji's energetic grin swiftly returns. "Yeah, I gotcha covered, newbie!"
Ann, on the other hand, doesn't seem enthusiastic about it. "Uh... You should probably ask Morgana if you need anything."
"Thinking back to Madarame though..." Morgana's blue eyes narrowed, which sort of caught the young painter off guard that a cat could actually pull off a glare like that. "I can't believe he'd consider pressing charges."
"If he was acting more rational, he wouldn't go this far." Akiko sounds more worried than angry. "Even if one tabloid writer publishes an article about his Sayuri plot, people will begin to doubt him."
Even Yusuke is inclined to agree. Remembering how furious his guardian made clear on his threat makes a chill crawl up the young painter's spine. "Yes, I've never seen him show such anger before. He is most likely quite serious about that."
"What should we do? There's no way we'll be able to win if that happens."
"He likely won't act on that threat until the final day of the exhibit: June 5th. Simply put, I doubt he would be so foolish as to taint his name with a trial during his exhibition."
"All right, so we just gotta steal Madarame's heart by then." With a resolved frown, Ryuji pumps a fist in his palm. "There's no way we're gonna let him press charges... We'll show people who he really is!"
Akiko straightens up, deciding the group meeting is over and the time to act is now. "Let's go!"
Before long, the world around Yusuke distorts and morphs, the realization of teleporting themselves back into the Metaverse returns his state of mind to reality. His school uniform had changed back to what he now understands is his Phantom Thief attire. Instead of remaining inside the Palace like last time, they're standing in the parking lot outside the museum.
"Oh yeah! We haven't decided on the new recruit's code name yet." Mona, now that the young apprentice is officially aware this is the same cat with them in the real world, focuses his gaze on the baffled Yusuke. It does sound strange, having a cat one moment and then a large round-headed furry creature the next.
"It has to be 'Kitsune'." Ann chimed in, turning to examine at the newcomer's phantom thief attire. "You know, with that mask and everything."
Ryuji grinned in agreement. "Hell yeah! That really leaves an impression."
For some reason, Yusuke didn't seem to understand what they're referring to, unless it has to be him due to his vulpine mask. "Are you talking about me?"
"We use code names when we come here," Akiko simply explained. "I go by Joker, because the others refer to me as their Wild Card. Ann is Panther, Ryuji is Skull, and Morgana is Mona. What do you want your code name to be?"
Yusuke had forgotten about the code names. They have their own due to being more experienced in the Metaverse. Why the cat needed a code name when it was just a nickname was beyond Yusuke's question, and he hadn't accounted for the fact that he would need one too. Well, the thieves he used to watch in those movies often used secret names to conceal their identities. Yusuke ponders over what code name he'd like to use and decided, "I'd say 'Da Vinci.'"
"Nope." And just like that, Ryuji has officially denied him the right to pick his own code name. Before Yusuke could protest further, the blonde male continues, "Well, you've got that mask like Ann said... and there's that weird tail... All right! You're Abura-age!"
Ann immediately clasps a hand over her mouth when the giggling fit starts. Even Morgana chokes down a snicker or two. Akiko just sweatdropped, annoyed.
"Very well." Yusuke fondly recalled the old legends that kitsunes loved to eat fried tofu. He idly grips his shoulder and rolls his head in a circle. Did he just catch a glimpse of Akiko staring directly at him with a tiny speck of pink on her cheeks? Her reaction confused him.
"Nuh-uh! Not happening!" Ann deadpanned, shaking her head and crossing her arms. Her voice was very firm in refusal of that name, despite those words hinting a chuckle at the end. "Do you have any ideas, Joker?"
Everyone looked to their leader, who's cheeks flushed red at the sight of Yusuke's body roll. Akiko was silent for a brief moment as she thought it over to herself. It didn't take long for her to offer what she had in mind. "What about Fox?"
"Keeping it literal, eh?" Ryuji smirked. "Sounds good to me."
"What do you think, Fox?" Morgana asked.
Yusuke barely gives it a thought since he's quick to accept his code name. "It's acceptable," he smiles. The traditional vulpine mask does fit the name.
"It's set then. Let's go!" With that settled, Ryuji effectively ends the conversation.
Their trip back to where the main team left off the last time they were here before Yusuke joined them is a quiet and easy one. This is because Akiko memorized the way in. Although, since they're a team of five now, there's the risk of them becoming a larger target for enemies. The thieves had to be careful with how and when they moved in the shadows if they wished to maintain the element of stealth.
Whilst finding the location of where the group last snuck in, Yusuke steals a brief glance at this overwhelmingly shiny museum towering before him. This is how Madarame truly views that run-down shack. It's harsh to accept the fact that it's his foster father's Palace... a Palace built on distorted desires. If only Yusuke had seen the signs of his guardian's villainy sooner, nobody would've suffered back then... especially Kiku-senpai.
"Fox, are you okay?" The sound of Akiko's voice returns him to reality, or alternate reality when in the Metaverse.
"Oh! Yes, I'm fine..." It was a lie, of course. But Yusuke doesn't want to slow anyone down when his emotions are distracting him.
Leaping from one column to the next, then climbing up a stair-shaped rooftop, Yusuke was easily impressed at how swift and agile he is, silently comparing his movements to a real fox. A fox would stalk the grounds of a farm to sneak in where nobody can see it and searching for any signs of weaknesses in a fence surrounding a henhouse in order to get in, find what its looking for, snatch a hen and run off with its treasure. He chuckled quietly, finding the comparison rather amusing.
The open skylight is where the group last snuck in, out of sight from enemies and easier to get inside. Like a henhouse, this museum must also have its fair share of weaknesses. And where there's a savage dog guarding the henhouse, there's bound to be a security guard somewhere close by.
Yusuke remembers to remain on guard at all times. The special exhibition room is eerily and oddly quiet... the painting of a miserable young man, no doubt another victim of Madarame's, ripples like the surface of a river. It nearly catches the vulpine-themed thief off guard, but he recollects himself to stay on high alert. But the victim's melancholy expression leaves a lingering twinge of pain in Yusuke's heart.
It doesn't take the thieves long to return to the central garden where they had to deactivate the lasers their previous adventure took place; the time where Akiko had to distract Yusuke whilst Morgana unlocked the secret door. Thankfully, the group's plan had succeeded, and the lasers remained switched off, and the door was still open and easier for them to enter without trouble.
"Sweet, the security's still down!" Ryuji grins in relief.
Ann released a displeased sigh. "Thanks to all of Joker's hard work."
"Well, it's not as if I planned things to... Ahaha..." Akiko's sheepish chuckle trails off, refusing to look at her teammates.
Yusuke understand what she's trying not to mention, so he decides to step in. "Let's no worry about it. We have more important things to do."
"C'mon, let's keep going!" Ryuji is fiercely determined to get going.
Entering the lounge hall, they find a brochure where several pamphlets are kept, each containing a map displaying a route of which area is which in the museum. It will be of good use to them for their mission. The most obvious spot where the Treasure is located would be in a large suspicious room within the main hall. They also planned a route to get through the lounge and the gallery all the way to their intended target.
Along the way, Akiko often finds queer objects that aren't involved in the exhibition and takes them. She explains to Yusuke this is a source of their team's funds, selling things stolen from the Palace ruler to pawn off and make lots of money, splitting it amongst the group.
"I guess that's another explanation to why you have so much money," Yusuke mused, chuckling at the realization.
"Well, I still need to work part time to earn a little extra," Akiko shrugged.
In the corridor, the thieves discovered a lone security guard, or what the team calls a shadow, patrolling the area. And from what Yusuke understands, it's nothing easy, nor something to be excited about when fighting such a monster. It's a dangerous job and one has to remain on guard when engaged in lethal combat with the enemy.
Yusuke is in deep awe at how his leader can not only silently creep up behind a Shadow with the agility and grace of a jaguar, but to tackle the Shadow with the strength and speed of a jaguar by tearing the mask clean off its face in one move was so inspiring, he made a mental note to himself of painting her in the likeness of a jaguar when this is over. Or better yet... what if he paints her as an Onryo, a vengeful spirit who comes to destroy the wicked and-
"Yo, Fox! Get your ass over here!" Ryuji's loud mouth startles the samurai thief out of thought.
The fight is about to begin. The Shadow reared back and howled in pain like a wounded animal when the predator sinks her fangs in its neck, exploding in a mass of black and red goo, before revealing its true form: a corpse bird.
Morgana may be a small creature, but the immense power of the enormous brute, Zorro, isn't the one whom people should crack jokes. Ryuji wields a blunt instrument as he commands Captain Kidd to take aim and launch a barrage of lightening with extreme violence shooting out of his cannon. Ann is a splash of fire as she lashes her whip and Carmen imitates her movements using the heart-headed men tied to vines.
And then, there's Akiko.
It's not just Elphaba she can conjure up. She can change her Persona to more than one. Yusuke recalls her mentioning this at the subway earlier today and is deeply impressed that she can pull something like this, but nothing prepared him for the way his leader cycles through a few masks and tactics like a captain in the army bellowing orders.
Yusuke stares in awe and admiration. It lasts for a short time because Morgans hollers for his assistance. The fox-masked thief stands his ground against the corpse bird as the monster slowly turns its attention on him. Not giving it the chance to strike first, Yusuke unsheathes his sword and screams, "Come, Goemon!"
The samurai imitates his movements, conjuring a powerful blast of deadly icicles thrown directly at his foe. The corpse bird was surprisingly weak to ice, probably because its power is to shoot fire out of its mouth. The impact of the assault forces the shadow to stumble a bit and fall directly in the center of his enemies.
"Let's finish this!" Morgana yelled.
The thieves immediately followed his command and unleashed a powerful barrage of attacks against the shadow before it could do anything else. This is what they refer to as an All-Out-Attack, as Yusuke was told. The paperman dissolves into black nothingness, leaving the Phantom Thieves victorious. Even Yusuke is proud of himself to have succeeded in his first fight.
"That was easy!" Ann giggled, victoriously.
Afterward, they resume the infiltration. Once they entered the next room, a seemingly large and harmless open space with a few guards, Ryuji almost ran through excitedly. Ann reacted swiftly on reflexes to grab him by the collar, pointing out the multiple infrared lasers. Another step closer and setting one off won't save them from an increasingly large amount of security.
"It feels like I might touch them accidently," Ann cautioned. "Let's be careful as we go through here, okay?"
"Got it!" Everyone voices their agreement.
Whilst they performed gymnastics to dodge or avoid the grids, they often had to face off the guards if they got spotted, making their venture inside the room slower than they anticipated. Fortunately, neither of them touched the lasers during combat or sneaking, and the Phantom Thieves successfully made it to the other side.
Beyond a shuttered door lies the security room. According to Morgana, they should be able to turn off the systems that are giving them trouble. With the door locked, they would have to go in through another passage.
At that moment, Yusuke found himself distracted by a massive painting depicting a beautiful scenery of small hillocks and bamboo trees, which takes up most of the wall. The surface of the painting seems to shimmer as if it was water.
"What a giant painting..." Ann stares in awe.
Yusuke is inclined to agree. "Indeed. It bears such a bizarre texture as well. It's as though I could simply slip inside..." Curiously, he stretches his hand forward to touch it... his hand goes right through the surface of the painting. "Wh-What the!?" he withdrew with a startled gasp. This is way too bizarre to comprehend.
"Are you okay?" Akiko studies his arm with a concerned frown.
"M-my hand… It actually entered the painting…" He quickly gives her a reassuring look to let her know he's fine.
"So, we can go inside of it...?" Morgana contemplates on this queer discovery, intrigued. "Well, I don't see any other path for us to take. Let's give it a try."
Nobody is inclined to disagree, so the thieves stepped into the painting, hearing a queer rippling sound when they entered the painting. It was both incredible and strange in Yusuke's perspective to be inside one, it's as if he's visiting another world... oh wait, he IS in another world, the Metaverse.
"How dare you trample on my tranquil bamboo garden with those grimy feet! You shall not leave alive!"
Everyone freezes at the voice of the sinister shogun unexpectedly booming out of nowhere.
"What the heck was that!?" Panicked, Ryuji twists his body sideways to see if the museum's owner had found them.
"We're probably just hearing Madarame's thoughts. There's no need to panic." Morgana manages to calm him down when he doesn't see the voice's owner in sight.
Listening to the disgusting voice of his former father figure increases Yusuke's rage. "Madarame..." His grip on the katana tightens, desiring nothing more than to cut him down next time he confronts him.
The space inside the painting turns out to be connected to another one slightly similar to the first half, as Ann voices in surprise at what everyone else is thinking, "Oh... We're in another painting..."
"Hmm... So this space is not merely one, but a multitude of paintings," Yusuke replied.
Ryuji grips his head in frustrated confusion. "You're telling me they're all connected? Which one goes where?"
"That, we will have to continue walking to find out..."
Akiko is able to spot a connection to get them out of the painting, directing her team where to follow her. They step out of the second half to a ledge located high above the room.
"So he dares call us thieves who dirty his heart…" Yusuke can barely contain his fury. How ironic that Madarame is accusing them of being criminals when HE is the one stealing ideas and futures of promising pupils. "The one who has sullied the very nature of art itself has no right to accuse us of such a thing!"
"Save your emotions for later. We have to keep moving!" Morgana firmly reminds him.
Yusuke wanted to protest, but the gentle touch of someone's hand on his shoulder forces the young painter to whip his head back and found himself gazing into Akiko's eyes. It's not just concern, but comfort and assurance. It's as if she's saying, 'Don't let Madarame get to you. Save your anger for when we confront him, after we take the Treasure.' Yusuke instantly feels calmer now. He is silently grateful to have her at his side.
They found an air duct which seems to be fairly large enough for people their sizes to fit through. Crawling inside the narrow duct, Yusuke had been doing just fine until Ryuji gave him a warning of, "Hey, don't go staring at my butt!"
"What are you talking about?" Yusuke doesn't understand why the blonde male would tell him this.
They reached the exit and found themselves in another part of the lounge where two sets of colored couches and more unhappy portraits of unfortunate victims greeted their eyes. Not only that, but a very strong-looking security guard garbed in a red uniform, standing in front of a control room, had spotted them.
"Huh!? Who are you!? How did you get in here!?" the guard's distorted voice growls as he confronts the intruders.
"Step aside." The command in Akiko's voice displays a lot of seriousness, standing in front of her teammates protectively, ready to fight whenever she needs to.
The expression behind Yusuke's kitsune mask shifts to dread and concern. Judging by the shadow's stance and posture, it conveys a notion that its no ordinary guard. And he silently fears for his leader's safety. Nonetheless, he determined to support her in their upcoming battle.
"You expect me to move just because you tell me to, little girl!? Hahahaha!" The guard cackled, not the least intimidated by the leader of the Phantom Thieves. "Think again, brat!" His body twists and shifts in an uncomfortable manner, before it exploded in black and red goo, revealing the monster within - Shiki-Ouji.