Chapter Twenty-Seven
Museum of Vanity
Friday May 20th
There was a wire rack packed with brochures identical to the ones by the information desk at the front of the museum. Sure enough, when Panther plucked one off the rack, they found it was a map of the second half of the museum. The others circled around Panther as she unfolded the brochure.
Joker felt a weight journey from the tail of her coat up her back. Mona seated himself on her shoulder as they studied the map. "So we should be able to find the Treasure now, right?" asked Panther.
"It says it's the second of two in the corner right there." Mona pointed out the little '2/2' marking in the lower right-hand corner. "I suspect the Treasure will be in the innermost point of this place. If that's the case…" He pointed to the map again, at a big square at the far end of the map. "The most suspicious spot seems like this main hall here."
"Hm…" Fox gripped his chin briefly before he pointed out two different areas on the map. "We will need to pass through the lounge and the gallery here, in order to reach it…"
"Map makes it look like it's just a hop, skip, and a jump from here," said Panther. "It's likely not going to be that easy, is it?"
"Prolly not," agreed Skull with a list of his head.
Through the hall there were two paths they could take; one lead them to a dead end with a treasure chest. Joker picked the lock, revealing a plastic frame inside. Mona insisted they hold onto it; they were at the point where Joker figured that if it was in a treasure chest, Mona was going to want to pawn it.
The second hall took them to a massive room with green and gold tiled walls, one wall was painted with golden peacock feathers decorating it. On this particular wall hung three massive paintings that were off-kilter. And Joker, for the life of her, could not decide if they were like that by design, or if their weight threw everything off.
Inferred devices littered the room making a maze out of the grid. The lines were so faint the only hint of where they could be were the Shadow guards making their rounds. To make matters worse, were the two treasure chests in plain view. It was like the Palace itself was trying to tempt them to trip the security. There were gates drawn blocking off doors, and further preventing access to the chests from the hall beyond the room.
"It feels like I might touch them accidentally," murmured Panther.
"I think I'm picking them up," Joker said, staring intently at the grid, concentrating. The lines steadily became a bolder shade of red, revealing areas they could either slide under or jump over.
Joker lead the way through the maze, instructing the others when to turn, get low, or jump. They snuck up on one of the security guards and they engaged in a battle with two identical Shadows that looked like a couple of raw rotisserie chickens with thin necks and dumplings for heads.
According to Mona, they were susceptible to ice attacks, so they let Fox wipe out one and Joker added the second, Onmoraki, to her Persona collection. The second guard turned out to be a couple of Jack Frosts. Both were easy to take care of between Carmen and Orobas.
So, Joker lead them safely out of the large room and into another hall. There they found another treasure to pawn off later. Following the map, they came across the security room where a Shadow guard dressed in a red uniform stood on patrol. Approaching the Shadow head-on, they were met with an indigo blue-skinned monk in white robes with a pair of white wings protruding from its back, and a couple of Foolish Monks at its side.
"I can't find a weakness on the bigger one," Mona said, readying his scimitar. "We're gonna have to try whatever we can and hope it has an effect. Fox use, Goemon on the smaller two before you go for the big guy."
Immediately after he spoke, Mona summoned Zorro and the Monk of the Valley was hit by a boxing glove on an accordion arm. Obediently, Fox called forth Goemon and took out one of the Foolish Monks instantly with Bufu. Joker summoned Shiisaa and had it attack the Monk of the Valley with a Skull Cracker. After Panther and Skull used their elemental attacks on the Monk of the Valley Joker went through every persona in her arsenal in an attempt to find a weakness.
In the end, they took down the Monk of the Valley with the help of an All-Out Attack initiated by Panther. When the Shadow disappeared, Skull and Fox dropped down to gather the money dropped. Panther released a heavy sigh as she clipped her whip to her belt. "I hate it when can't get their weakness."
Joker bit her lower lip, wondering if she needed more Persona in her arsenal. If Arsène had curse abilities, would that mean there were Persona with other abilities they haven't seen yet? "They dropped something," Fox spoke up, standing up with a think plastic card held between his thumb and forefinger.
"Some kinda loot?" asked Skull. "C'mon, just pocket the thing, and let's get going."
Fox pursed his lips briefly and slipped the card into the pocket of his jumpsuit.
The Shadow guard was indeed watching the security control room. Getting inside was the easy part. But upon finding the proper terminal they found that they needed a password to get in. Skull released a huge, beleaguered sigh at that one. Searching the hall more they found another treasure chest with a handmade mug inside.
They decided to retrace their steps in the large room, maybe they missed something. It wasn't until they came across a gated hall, with a couple of Shadows in conversation. The Phantom Thieves hid behind a wall, just out of sight, and close enough to hear what the Shadows were saying.
"I hear the intruders already got past the Central Garden security…"
"Yeah. I just got the call earlier to change the password here too…"
"What to? It better not be simple."
"Well, I was having some trouble coming up with a good one… For now, I set it to the numbers for Lord Madarame's feet."
"What are you talking about?"
"Let's get back on duty. There's a chance the intruders are nearby."
Joker held a hand up, signaling for the others to stay back. She kept her ear open, listening until she could no longer hear the footfalls any longer. She looked back towards the room. When she saw it was clear she lowered her arm and the group relaxed. "Madarame's feet? The hell is that supposed to mean?!" Skull asked.
"Maybe his… shoe size?" Panther asked tentatively.
"Yo, Fox. You know that bastard's shoe size?"
"Unfortunately, I have never heard him mention it," said Fox. "Are we sure that is the proper password…?"
"It can't be that literal," Joker said, gripping her chin in thought.
They backtracked through the room with the inferred lasers, easily ducking under them with Joker's instruction. According to the map, there was a hall outside the room they missed out on and decided to head down there hoping to find something helpful. They fought a Nigh Chimera and a couple of Onmoraki. Goemon and Jack Frost quickly took out the Onmoraki and Joker managed to negotiate a bit of money out of the Night Chimera.
The hall lead them to a new room with display cases with golden fans, broken clay pottery, and delicate reed paper scrolls. They traveled down one side of the forked stairs, at the foot of the stairs was a golden sculpture of Madarame perfectly roped off. Mona tilted his round head to the side, he walked up to the sculpture and stared at the plaque erected at its side. "Hey," he called, gesturing for the others to follow him. "There's something written here."
The humans gathered around Mona and to read the plaque.
'Here we praise our most holy lord Ichiryusai Madarame, the one ray of hope in this depraved world. He stands alone as his two adept hands paint into the future. None shall ever match his excellence.'
Skull let out a snide snort. "He's really puffin' his chest out here, ain't he?"
"Hold on a moment…" Fox held his hand up. "Could this be the spot of 'Madarame's feet' that the security guard mentioned?"
"But isn't the password supposed to be a number of some kind?" asked Panther.
"I do believe there are numbers here though…" Fox pointed out. He crossed one arm over his chest, and use the other hand to grip his chin. "'One' ray of hope stands 'alone' with 'two adept hands.' 'None' shall match him… That means…"
"One, one, two, zero," surmised Joker.
"Sweet!" Skull pumped his fists. "Let's head back and shut down the security!"
They hurried back to the control room, running into another Shadow in the process. Through the battle, Joker added Inugami to her repertoire. They made it back to the control room, after Skull punched in the password, the gates blocking off shortcuts to the main room.
With easy access to the treasure chests, Joker proceeded to pick the locks, discovering a loose sash and a piece of amethyst. But even with the gates lifted they still couldn't find a way out of the room. Skull pointed out an upper platform against the wall with the paintings. They made their way over to get a better look; the first idea was to use the grappling hooks, but there wasn't anything for the line to firmly grab onto.
Growing frustrated, Joker used her Third Eye to see if there was something they were missing. She slowly circled around once, scrutinizing the entire room. The map didn't indicate that there was much beyond the control room, and it looked like there was another path, but they couldn't get to it without tripping the lasers. "What a giant painting…" Panther murmured, looking up at the portrait of a bamboo garden.
"Indeed," agreed Fox. "It bears such a bizarre texture as well. It's as though I could simply slip inside…"
Circling back aground, Joker scrutinized the painting; an ukiyo-e of a bamboo garden with the mountains peeking through in the background. The longer she stared at it, she could see the canvas glowing a gentle shade of blue. Slip inside…
Joker spread the fingers on one hand wide as she brought it to the canvas… Only for her hand to sink as though it just disturbed still water. Slip right inside. The others jumped back at the turn of events. "Wh-What the-?!" stuttered Fox.
Glancing up and down at the painting once more, Joker lifted one foot high enough to step over the frame and walked right into the painting. Once inside, she could hear Mona shout something to her, but making out what he was saying was like trying to hear with water in her ears. Joker scrutinized the area, she could feel the window blowing, hear the gentle sounds of bamboo rustling against each other. She looked into the bamboo garden, seeing another light blue glow like a doorway.
Her breathing hitched as she grew excited, then poked her head out of the painting. "There's a pathway in here!"
The others followed Joker inside, each one took a moment to observe their surroundings. "Fascinating," mused Fox.
"How dare you trample on my tranquil bamboo garden with those grimy feet!" Madarame's voice roared. "You shall not leave here alive!"
"What the heck was that?!" Skull shouted, his head turning all over trying to find the source of the voice.
"We're probably just hearing Madarame's thoughts," Mona explained. "There's no need to panic."
"The path out should be over here," Joker said, gesturing to the general area of the blue glow.
They traveled uphill; Joker kept her eyes forward until she saw the blue glow again. Going through the passage, the five found themselves at the end of the garden overlooking the other end of the mountain. Panther glanced to the side, outside the painting to find that they were high on the wall. "Oh!" exhaled Panther. "We're in another painting!"
"Hm…" Fox said thoughtfully. "So this space is not merely one, but a multitude of paintings."
"You're tellin' me they're all connected?" asked Skull. "So, which one goes where?"
Joker glanced outside the painting. "We'll have to keep walking and keep an eye on what's outside," she said, pointing at the platform at the corner of the frame.
One by one, the Phantom Thieves leaped onto the platform, out of the painting. The platform was connected to an upper floor. Fox looked back at the painting as the others walked onto solid ground. "So he dares call us thieves who dirty his heart. 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," Mona advised. "We have to keep moving."
They continued down the ledge, that was surprisingly roped off. Was the Shadow Madarame expecting guests up here? Though the ledge lead to a dead end, there was an open vent they could wiggle through. They crawled through one at a time with Joker going through first. The vent lead them to a hall that was blocked off by more infrared lasers. The walls were, of course, golden, with more portraits hanging upon them. Going further in, they came across a room with golden peacock feathers painted on the wall.
"Hey, look!" Mona shouted running up to a set of blue and white checkered double doors. "It's a safe room!"
"Oh, thank goodness," Panther sighed, leading the others inside.
They took a few moments to simply breathe without the threat of a guard showing up. Mona made a few notes on the map while the group finished off the bottle of Recov-R. "Looks like we still have a ways to go before we get to the Treasure," Mona said, standing over the map with his arms crossed.
"How can we be so sure this spot here," Panther pointed it out, "is even where it is?"
"If it's not, I'll feel it."
"This ain't gonna be like the crown for you, is it?" Skull asked, fishing something out of his pocket.
"What do you mean?" asked Fox.
The bleach-blond waved a free hand. "You're better off not knowin' for as long as you can. It got kinda uncomfortable. Here."
He tossed a thin snack bar to Fox, who caught it effortlessly. Skull proceeded to pass the snack bars amongst the others. Afterward, he got out a large bottle of water and plastic cups. Joker held the snack bar between her thumbs and forefingers to find it was a butter-flavored energy bar. "Well, you're on top of things, Skull," Mona said, taking one of the cups.
"Gotta stay hydrated and gotta keep our energy up." Skull shrugged a shoulder lazily. "Won't do us any good if one of us passes out in the middle of a Palace."
Joker munched on her energy bar feeling rather dejected that it never occurred to her to bring water along for the safe rooms. But, then again, it was one less thing Joker had to worry about if Skull was already on top of it. The downside was they ended up draining more than half the water in one go. Maybe they were going to need individual bottles for each of them.
When they left the safe room, they quickly came across a Shadow guard that split into three different Shadows. They were easy enough to take care of with a few well-placed elemental attacks. The hall lead them to a gallery with more massive paintings on the gold and peacock walls. The room itself looked like it was largely still under construction, there were no stairs, despite the gallery floor being a ten-foot drop. The door was on the opposite side of the room, on a ledge, right beside the wall with the paintings.
After a few heartbeats, Joker could see the familiar blue glow coming off of one of the canvases. The frame was off-center just enough that they could probably get to the ledge. "More big paintings," mused Skull, "just like the ones we saw before…"
"Look there," Fox said, pointing to two crooked, blank frames, one of them close enough to the door out that they could probably use to jump to the necessary ledge. "There are even two frames with no paintings at all."
"Why would they hang up blank canvases?" Joker asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Why don't we take a closer look?" offered Panther.
They rounded the corner, coming across a pile of wood allowing them easy access to one of the pipe platforms. They stood in front of a painting of a desert setting with three camels walking through it. "Ain't this just like the last time?" asked Skull. "Y'know, with the secret passage inside and everything?"
'One way to find out.' Joker brought her hand up to the canvas. As soon as the surface started to ripple she let her hand pass all the way through.
They each climbed into the painting, one after the other. Joker was amazed that the sand was more like walking on sturdy, packed dirt instead of unstable, shifting sand. "Alas, this world is a desert filled with laymen who cannot understand true beauty!" Madarame's voice echoed. "The slow drain of my skill is inevitable when I am surrounded by such mediocrity."
Skull scoffed. "So he's gonna blame the world for his declining' skill? Bet that bastard never had any real talent, to begin with."
Joker lead the way across the painting, through the light blue glow. When the light died down they found themselves in front of a single torii gate with a thick fog at their feet. So thick it was like they were in the clouds. In the background was a lone snow-capped mountain. "The gods, even in their dormancy, are worshiped constantly," Madarame's voice echoed again. "People gathered under shrine gates, offer their money and return home fully satisfied. Art is practically the same. In the end, it is all just a matter of imagination!"
"Even if that's true, it doesn't give him the right to deceive people," hissed Panther. She shook her head as she glanced back at Joker, silently asking where they go now.
The only path she saw was through the torii gate. They were lead into a painting of a lush forest inside the mouth of a cave and a natural stone pillar with greenery growing on it. "Hard work is not what makes a sapling grow thick with green leaves. Too many young people do not see the true value in youth these days. What fools… Is it truly wrong for an expert such as myself to capitalize on that youth before it wastes away?"
"What the heck?" snapped Mona. "He's basically saying he's jealous of young talent. Look at me! I was turned into a cat, but I'm still fighting. Age isn't a valid excuse."
Looking outside of the painting, Joker spotted a device braced against the canvas. Wondering why it would just randomly be there, Joker stepped outside of the painting. The device had a red button in the middle of it; Joker pressed her palm flat against the button, hearing an audible click. Something caught Joker's attention as one of the blank canvases started to gain color. She couldn't make out the specifics about the picture, just that it was dark, likely a night scene.
She walked back into the green painting with the others. "We got a new painting," she informed the others.
"So passing through one hidden route leads to the formation of another," mused Fox. "What an elaborate ruse."
Joker studied the area. She could see an exit point at the top of the stone pillar. The issue was climbing on it, made worse by the moss growing on it. Fox and Mona were the first of the lost to climb up, while Skull gave Panther and Joker a lift up when they had a difficult time finding purchase.
The exit point brought them right back into the painting with the camels. After a bit of confusion, they went back to the painting with the torii gate. After a moment of concentration, Joker spotted a new exit point, or maybe it was one they hadn't used. They went through, hoping it would take them to a new painting.
They were dropped onto a boat being dragged into the sea by a giant octopus. The waters were choppy, and the wind was blowing. Joker quickly glanced out of the painting, seeing nothing but the opposite wall. This must have been the one she couldn't make out very well.
The angle of the boat, or maybe the painting itself, was at an angle. It made it difficult to keep upright; they had to hold onto the sides of the ship to help them stay upright while Mona clung onto the bow. "Could a ship skirt across the ocean if its crew had to constantly worry about what sea life lies below?" demanded Madarame. "Art, life, water… They are all identical. The one who ascends to the summit is the victor!"
"Getting a bit hamfisted with the metaphor," Joker muttered.
At the bow of the boat, a sudden wave shook Mona off. He felt back into the back of Panther's neck so abruptly she lost her footing and fell into Fox. Like a line of dominos, one Phantom Thief fell into the other until they ended up falling into the octopus' grasp the mollusk proceeded to hurl them out of the painting.
It was a ten-foot drop with a hard landing on a tile floor. A chorus of groans echoed across the room as each of the teens slowly sat themselves up or pulled themselves onto their knees. Mona remained flat on the floor, slowly peeling his face off the floor. "My spine…" moaned Skull.
"That was… a valiant effort," Fox forced out, rotating his neck as he applied pressure to his shoulder.
"We're gonna have to go through it again, aren't we?" whined Panther.
At that moment, two Shadow guards appeared. "Shit," muttered Joker.
After a quick series of handsprings, Joker leaped onto the Shadow's shoulders and removed its mask, revealing a Bringer of Misfortune. It took a series of elemental and physical attacks before it went down. They had trouble when the Bringer of Misfortune induced rage within Panther. She calmed down when the Shadow was taken out.
Joker tried to step into the painting closest to them, the one with torii, but found that it wouldn't let her through. They were forced to climb back up the worker platforms to the camel painting and go through every one of them again until they ended up back in the stormy sea painting. Standing upon the rocky boat, Joker tried to concentrate her Third Eye to find an exit point… only there wasn't one. All she could see was the glow leading them outside the painting. Was there a platform they could safely land on if they were to just jump out?
Taking the risk, Joker braced one foot against the bow of the boat and used it to leap across the churning waters and out of the painting. She wasn't sure what caused her heart to leap into her mouth more, the fact that if she looked ahead there was nothing but a drop or the fact that there was a worker platform right under the painting. As the others followed her out, Joker spotted a machine, not unlike the one that caused the stormy sea painting to appear.
Pressing the button, another painting appeared in the last empty frame, right next to the platform that would lead them to the door out of here. Unfortunately, they had to start at the beginning again from the camels. They went through the torii to the mossy painting, climbed back up the stone pillar, and through the exit point. They found themselves in an autumn scene. "Beauty is merely a mirage…" bellowed Madarame. "Transforming that into money is what brings about true happiness. My fine mansion, my lifestyle among the chosen few… Those things are the true 'art!'"
"So running your atelier out of a shabby, run-down shack was simply an act after all…" murmured Fox. "How foolish I was to have been deceived for so long…"
They ran to the edge of the painting and landed safely upon the platform. "Whoo!" Skull cheered, pumping both fists into the air. "We did it…"
"How despicable," Fox seethed, crossing his arms over his chest. "We have encountered so many of his paintings, yet not once did he mention a love for art. These are no 'paintings' hey are just meaningless self-assertions placed into picture frames!"
Mirroring Fox, Mona nodded his head in agreement. "I'm excited to see how the change of heart alters him."
Outside of the gallery, was a hallway with a couple of infrared lasers they were easily able to slide under or jump over. The hall lead them to, what Joker guessed to be some kind of storage room. Cloth-covered canvases were stacked in metal carts. A Shadow guard was making its rounds, the group snuck around the Shadow for a moment before Joker snuck up upon it and ripped its mask off. Three Shadows appeared, each of them easy enough to take care of with a few well-placed element attacks. Another Shadow was blocking the exit of the room, and the Phantom Thieves engaged in another battle with a Bringer of Misfortune. Skull managed to get it onto his knees and they took it down with an All-Out Attack.
They were brought to another hall with fans in display cases. Soon after they came across another shadow. They found another treasure and another storage room with more 'Sayuri' copies. After another battle with a Shadow guard, Joker added Ame no Uzume to her Persona line. Mona started to sense something and instructed them through a large vent that lead them to a hidden storage room. There was a closed shutter that shielded a roped-off double door and greenery grown around it. Skull pointed out an upper layer with a handle they could latch a grappling hook on. Joker took off on her own, finding a treasure chest, and a blue button. She pressed her knuckle against it and instantly heard something mechanical go off. "Hey, Joker!" Skull called. "The shutter's open."
"Okay, I'm coming down."
She dropped down, rolling onto the floor to absorb the impact. Joker and Skull sliced the ropes and opened the double door. Sure enough, a Will Seed had grown in the center of the room. A green glow emitted from the eyes and mouth of the Seed, Joker strolled up to the plant and plucked the Seed off. "What is this… this sinister-looking object?" Fox asked, studying the Will Seed intently. "It's so abhorrent… and yet, also so compelling!"
"It's a Will Seed," Joker explained, taking out the other to show Fox.
"That's why I call them, anyway," injected Mona. "Palaces always have a few of them tucked away somewhere."
"We think there should be one other left in here."
Fox didn't say anything as Joker pocketed the Will Seeds, but he was staring intently at the Seeds, even after they disappeared in Joker's pocket. There was a door opposite the door to the Will Seed. Going through it they found themselves surrounded by golden staircases. Stairways and platforms at odd angles, some upside down, some platforms carrying more portraits. "Shit…" Skull uttered in awe. "What the hell is up with this place?!"
"There's so much gold…" Panther murmured, sliding her mask up to rub her eyes. "It's starting to hurt my eyes."
Mona crossed his arms nervously. "The distortion is especially bad here," he explained. "It's barely holding up. Plus, this place isn't even on our map."
"So we must ascertain the truth through our eyes alone," surmised Fox.
"This is gonna be trial and error…" bemoaned Joker.
There were a surprising number of treasures hidden across the room. During their first battle with the Shadows in this room, Joker took the opportunity to use Ame no Uzume, a long-haired woman with a couple of fans in her hands and a third one shielding her eyes.
At one point they thought they'd come to a dead-end until Skull accidentally revealed that there was a hidden doorway. It took them to the opposite side of the room, on a much higher level. Going through another doorway, they came across another set of stairs with a couple of 'Sayuri' replicas. "Why is this painting here?" Panther eyes, her gaze bouncing from one 'Sayuri' to the other.
"It's probably some kind of illusion," surmised Mona. "We're in a Palace, after all. Well, I guess the painting itself might be correct though."
"You say 'correct,' but aren't they all counterfeit? Although maybe the real one's here too…"
Mona's ears twitched thoughtfully at that idea. "I wonder… Either way, the fact that this is here might mean it's connected to this space in some way."
"The correct one…" Joker mused, gazing at the paintings. It wasn't that difficult a puzzle. The tunic was worn by one of the 'Sayuri's' were blue, but she remembered for certain that her tunic was red. So, she pointed at the red version. "Well, obviously it's that one there."
"Yeah, that wasn't too difficult to figure out," Skull said through a sigh.
"The vibrant crimson clothes," Fox waxed on, "her beautiful hair, the sublime balance between subject and background… This may only be an illusion, but it is without a doubt a spitting image of the true 'Sayuri.'"
The 'Sayuri' started to glow briefly, taking the shape of a ball of light. It glided overhead and went straight through the doorway that was directly behind them. "Guess we're going that way," said Joker.
They climbed up a ledge, and ran up a flight of stairs, through the passageway. They were taken to a ledge about a mile or so away from the passage they just went through. Beside the frame was a couple of 'Sayuri' replicas. "Ah, looks like we were supposed to follow it."
"Seeing past the false image has opened a path to the truth," said Fox. "This golden place filled with counterfeit work is a prime example of the alchemy of Madarame's brain. And here, just as in reality, he entraps those who cannot see through his lying façade…"
"Wow," murmured Joker. How long would she have to work on her writing to be as eloquent as that?
"You… might be right," said Mona. "No wonder the distortion is so strong here."
"Hey, so…" Skull spoke up tentatively, "what does that mean?"
"I think it means finding the real 'Sayuri' should break through the distortion and open a path," Panther translated.
"So do we just gotta check all of 'em?"
"Why would we do that…? Let's just look for the real one… assuming we can differentiate it."
"And what luck, we have an artist amongst our numbers," Joker said, clapping her hands together.
Beyond the ledge were two jumps to another set of 'Sayuri's.' They ended up jumping back and forth to give Fox the chance to view and study each of them. When he identified correct 'Sayuri' it dissolved into a ball of light and sailed through the passageway as the end of the line. The passageway brought them to a flight of stairs and a platform with four 'Sayuri' paintings set up. As Fox observed them, Joker noticed the wall behind the paintings glowing. Removing the covering, revealed two things; a treasure chest, and a fifth 'Sayuri.'
As luck would have it, Fox identified the hidden painting as the true 'Sayuri.' The irony of the situation was not lost of any of them. The painting became a ball of light like its past fellows, but flew straight down, to the surprise of everyone. Unsure of what else to do the Phantom Thieves went through the only other passageway available to them and were brought right back where they started from.
"Arghhh, goddammit!" Skull snapped, furiously raking his hands through his hair. "What the hell's goin' on here?!"
"We have seen all of the false images," Fox said, gripping his chin in thought. "Something must have changed somewhere…"
"Let's not rush our way through this, then," suggested Joker. "We might miss something."
They walked down the flight of stairs. Up ahead was the same passageway they went through before, the one that would lead to the ledges. Panther pointed out a glowing yellow passageway. Nobody thought it was there the first time around. Going through it lead to a flight of stairs, descending brought them to a pair of wall scrolls advertising Madarame's museum and a hallway.
Through the hallway, they entered a lobby with blue, yellow, green, and orange couches and display cases with fans inside. From the door, they could see a cloudy blue light boxed within an inferred grid. Standing guard in front of the grid was the Shadow Madarame. "Just as I expected…" muttered Fox.
"And it looks like the Treasure is right behind him," added Panther.
"It's kinda hard to tell for sure from here," pointed out Skull. "We should get a closer look."
The group got as close to the doorway as they dared, Mona was the one who stood closes to the edge of the doorway, being the smallest, least noticeable of the five of them. "There it is," Mona said in a hushed tone.
"It looks a bit cloudy and fuzzy," said Panther.
"For the time being. Once we send the card and make Madarame aware it'll be stolen, it'll materialize like 'Yoohoo!'"
"I wonder what form it'll take," mused Fox.
"Who knows?" Skull shrugged. "But it's something like a self-portrait."
"The source of what distorted Madarame's reality this much…" Fox crossed his arms over his chest.
"So, what now? Think it's safe to say we got our route set?"
"You're kidding, right?" Joker gestured to the inferred grid boxing in the treasure. "What're we gonna do, just run through that grid, nab the Treasure, and hope for the best? And look at the guards surrounding this place. It's probably gonna get worse as soon as we send the calling card."
"Joker's right," said Mona, "we may know where the Treasure is now, but there's a lot that could go wrong if we just leave the route as is."
Crossing her arms, Panther stole a glance at the security beyond the lobby. "This is starting to sound tougher than it was with Kamoshida…"
"We just have to make one final push. Let's check out this floor!"
They found a safe room shortly after and finished off the water Skull brought along. Not too far off from the safe room was a control room. And as luck would have it, they didn't need the password to gain access to the main terminal. They played around with the functions. While there was an option to turn off the inferred grid, however, it turned out that only Madarame could access it. But there were also the options to turn off the power and open the shutters.
They turned off the power the lights immediately turned off, to the surprise of the Shadow Madarame. "Wh-What is the meaning of this?!" he roared.
"I-I am not sure! It seems we have lost power," one of the security guards responded dumbly. "The backup generators should bring it up again in no time!"
Joker turned the light back on, causing Madarame to mutter something under his breath. "That came back on pretty fast," muttered Skull.
"Yes, and the inferred lasers remained active even during the power outage," noted Fox.
"So we'll only be able to turn the power off in there for a few seconds…" mused Mona.
"Uh… guys…" Panther drolled, slightly tapping Joker in the arm with the back of her hand. Her eyes were locked on the bay window. "Aren't those guards headed this way?!"
Joker looked out the window just in time to see one of the guards run out of view. "Ah, shit."
As quickly as her fingers would allow her, Joker opened the shuttered before the guard ran in. She could hear the metallic rumble of the system coming to life and the clunk of the shutters rising. "So, you're the punks who tampered with the electricity!" shouted the Shadow. Its body twitched and convulsed revealing three Shadows with a long, thin body with a wolfish head, canine hind legs, and a long tail.
"We'll need you to handle this one, Skull," Mona said summoning Zorro to use Lucky Punch on one of the Hunting Wolf Spirit's.
"Got it!" Skull declared, ripping his mask off. "Captain Kidd!"
A volt of electricity shocked one of the Hunting Wolf Spirit's, Fox followed up the attack with a physical attack with his katana on another Hunting Wolf Spirit. Carmen attacked it next. Before Joker could follow suit in some fashion all three Hunting Wolf Spirit sprung into an attack.
As one of the Hunting Wolf Spirit's rocketed towards her, Joker turned her body to the right, allowing the Wolf Spirit to dig its fangs into her left forearm, twice. She could see a couple of holes in the sleeve of her coat. She heard Skull curse and soon found him gripping his right shoulder. The third Hunting Wolf Spirit had gone for Mona but missed him completely.
Tossing her ribbon into the air, Joker performed a series of one-handed cartwheels to close the space between herself and the Wolf Spirit's. The actions she took to take down the Hunting Spirit Wolf hurt her wounded arm, but it disappeared into money and miasma immediately after.
Skull wasted no time, using Zio twice to strike the other two Wolf Spirit's. One of them was stunned, allowing Panther to whip it into oblivion. Skull bashed the remaining Shadow with his rod, which was followed suit by Fox and his katana.
"Fuck! Shit! Fuck!" Skull cursed, pressing his opposite hand over his wounded shoulder. "Shit, I think I'm bleeding!"
He removed his hand, holding up palm up to reveal a large red spot against his yellow glove. "So am I." Joker showed off the darker shade of red against her gloves.
"Damn it!" Mona cursed, looking away from Joker and Skull with his ears plastered against his head. "I should have thought of this possibility before."
"Perhaps we should turn back, and trying again another day," Fox suggested pragmatically.
Joker shook her head. "I don't want to turn back when we're this close to figuring out our route. I'm okay enough to keep going."
"What she said." Skull jerked his head in Joker's direction, then winced, clutching his shoulder again.
Mona kept his arms crossed tightly over his chest, his eyes closed in contemplation. "If Panther and Fox are okay with continuing, I'm okay with it," he said at length. "But only if Joker and Skull take some of that Takemedic-All, and if we come across any more trouble, we call it quits today."
Instantly, Panther exchanged glances with Fox; the latter's face was largely placid behind his mask, save for his roaming gaze. Panther, thanks to the large eye holes, was visibly torn about this turn of events. What if one or both ended up bleeding out? But they were also so close to figuring this out. "Fine!" Panther nearly shouted, throwing her hands out. "But I'm with Mona on this, if we come across any more trouble, we're out."
"I suppose I agree then," sighed Fox.
Skull and Joker took the medication as Mona instructed and waited long enough for Skull to be sure that his bleeding was beginning to subside. They ran out of the control room and down the opposite hall previously blocked by the shutter. They found a couple of treasures and faced off against another set of Shadows. Thankfully those they had already battled beforehand.
After the battle, they found and climbed through a vent shaft, to the discomfort to Joker and Skull. Upon climbing out they were able to find something that could catch onto their grappling hooks and they started traveling the scaffoldings. It took them to another vent they climb through, brought them into a hall, where they found a set of roped-off double doors with a red-clad Shadow guarding it. After Joker and Skull agreed to retreat if the battle started to turn south, they engaged in battle with a blue-green goggle-eyed dogū. The Awakened God was fairly strong, but Joker was able to get a few hits in by using Shiiasa, added with Mona using the wind attacks from Zorro and Fox and Goemon who learned a new skill as a result of the battle.
While Panther and Skull collected the generous sum of money left behind by the Awakened God, Fox helped Joker cut the ropes.
The blue Will Seed was waiting for them inside the room. Before she picked it, Joker got out the other two Seeds. The three reacted to each other, melding into a crystal identical to the Crystal of Lust. "That felt a little anticlimactic," Skull said as Joker pocketed the Crystal.
"Think the result changes if there's more than three Will Seeds?" Panther asked thinking out loud.
"I… don't know," admitted Mona.
They found a safe room shortly after, allowing Panther to inspect Skull and Joker's wounds. Both had identical puncture wounds in the shape of two U's. They ended up using up the rest of their water to clean off the dried blood.
Continuing onward, they went back to the overhead deck where Fox noticed a crane hook that hung directly over the Treasure cloud. Directly across the deck was another with another open doorway, so they used the hook to swing across on their grappling hooks.
The deck lead them to another hallway, where they found themselves in another battle with a trio of Shadows. Shadows they had already battled before and therefore easier to take care of. Another shadow battle.
Eventually, they came across a set of double doors, that lead to a couple lines of desks and a lever on the wall. "What's this, a security room?" asked Skull.
"No," Fox said plainly, "it is most likely where all the mechanisms in the exhibition hall are controlled from. Given the number of hanging works, it would make sense to have a room dedicated to controlling them."
"The observational skills of an artist are out of this world…" murmured Panther.
"A control room…" murmured Mona. "There was that hook directly over the Treasure."
Joker scrutinized the room, she noticed a short ladder that lead to a ledge a few feet above the floor. She climbed up the ladder awkwardly and found that it lead to a suspended platform. She heard the others following behind her as she carefully walked to the opposite edge. "Hey, ain't this right above the Treasure?" asked Skull.
"And look, there aren't any lasers above it!" added Panther.
Fox crossed his arms disapprovingly. "This is quite a large hole in their security… but what do we do? Jump down to retrieve it."
"How would you get out, though?" asked Joker. "Also, I'm not jumping down from this height."
"Remember that hook we used to get across earlier?" Mona asked, pointing up at it a few feet overhead. "Wasn't there a lever with a contraption beside it in the control room?"
They backtracked and tried the lever. Almost immediately the spool device whirled to life, giving the hook the slack to lower. Joker put it in reverse before it dropped too low, low enough for Madarame to notice it, then turned it off. "This could be useful," Mona murmured, nodding his head.
"Do you plan on descending on that hook?" Fox asked him. "Would they not spot you the moment you were lowered down?"
"Not if the lights were off," Joker added in realization.
"Exactly!" declared Mona. "That's our Joker!"
"Oh, right!" gasped Panther. "We were able to turn the lights off over in that other control room!"
"Only for a few seconds though," Fox pointed out. "There would not be enough time to make it all the way here."
"We have enough people to split up evenly if Mona does the drop himself," said Joker. "Two of us stay here and handle the crane, the other two take care of the lights."
"Is that really gonna work, though?" Skull asked, jiggling one leg as he spoke. "Seems like they'd realize what's goin' on at some point."
"Sometimes bold moves have the greatest payout," said Mona. He turned his gaze on Skull questioningly. "Unless someone has a better idea?"
"It's bold, but unless we can turn off the laser gird, I don't think we'll find another way," said Joker.
Sighing, Skull dropped his head and shoulders, then muttered a curse.
"Now, then, the calling card," began Mona. "We have enough time, so I'd say we wait a few days and give Joker and Skull time to heal."
"I second that," said Fox.
"Third," piped Panther.
"And that's three out of five," sighed Joker. "Alright, if that's it, let's get out of here."
Joker jumped off of the truck, idly wondering how she hasn't sprained an ankle yet wearing dance shoes. She made out bits and pieces of the conversation Skull, Panther, and Mona were having, something about the heist. "Maggot," Joker heard.
She whipped around to find Henry standing beside the blue cell door. "You seem to be doing well. Enough."
"Would it hurt you to give a legitimate compliment?" Joker asked in a hushed tone.
Immediately, Henry threw the cell door open. "We have something to discuss about your rehabilitation."
Sighing through her nose, Joker walked through the door. After blinking only once, Chiyo opened her eyes to find herself inside the blue cell. She walked up to the door to find Henry already at her side, and Igor seated in the center of the room. "The master is pleased with your progress," the boy explained. "Hence he wishes to share with you a special ritual you are now free to use."
Chiyo could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Didn't Henry say something similar about the fusion process? "What kind of ritual?"
"It's the Electric Chair," Henry said plainly. "You can sacrifice Personas and transmute them into special high-level items. If you continue to please the master with your progress, he said he will consider showing you even more rituals to make use of. Don't forget to express your gratitude, Maggot."
He whipped around, holding out a hand full of tarot cards. "Now which will you transmute, Maggot?" he asked.
She chose Andreas and watched silently as Henry draped a blue velvet sack over the winged Persona. It struggled as he strapped the Persona into a stereotypical electric chair. When Henry flipped the switch, Andreas squirmed as blue volts crackled around its body. In a flash, a black card was left behind.
She fused Onmoraki and Ame-no-Uzume to make Nekomata and bought back Kushi Mitama to fuse with Shiiasa to make Yaksini.
When Joker returned to the Metaverse, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Startled, she whipped around to find Fox. "Is something wrong?" he asked simply. "You appeared to be lost in thought."
"Uh, yeah," Joker fumbled, trying hard not to look over her shoulder.
"Excellent," Fox said sounding a little relieved. "Shall we be going?"
Iwai: You busy this evening?
Chiyo: No. Why?
Iwai: I gotta little job for ya.
Chiyo: One of THOSE jobs we talked about?
Iwai: Yep. Meet me at the dinner I'll explain more there.
Iwai was already outside the dinner by the time Chiyo arrived. He told Chiyo that he was meeting someone and he wanted Chiyo to sit close by. When he gave the signal, she would call him to provide Iwai with an excuse to leave.
So, Chiyo sat in the dinner, a booth away from Iwai, with her back to him. She had her phone at the ready beside her leg on her seat, and a cup of coffee in front of her as the waitress waited for Chiyo to make her decision. Her arm ached where the Shadow had bitten her, the bandage hidden by the sleeve of her polo and her blazer. She tried to look casual like she wasn't waiting on someone or something.
A man in a gaudy, button-down shirt walked up to Iwai's booth and slid in right behind Chiyo. "A diner, huh?" the man asked. "I thought only old farts come to places like this. You've really changed, Mune-san."
"Hey, don't knock this place," Iwai said casually. "It's pretty decent, and cheap too."
"Ha, this comin' from the guy who beat the crap outta fifty rival gang members!"
Crap what did Chiyo get herself into?
"You don't need to exaggerate," Iwai said. There was a tone in his voice that Chiyo couldn't quite place a name to. It wasn't nostalgic, or even fondness.
"Anyways, what'd you wanna talk about?" asked the man.
"Right," exhaled Iwai. "How's Tsuda-san doin'?"
"Same as always. Why what's up?"
"Oh, nothing. Just saw him 'round the other day."
"Hold up, didn't you two cut ties when you left the family? Why're you askin' about him now?"
"I mean, we were both young… I just figured it's about time we bury the hatchet. I can't just go up n' talk to him thought…"
"Ohhh, I getcha. You're still tryin' to uphold the ol' code of honor, huh?" The man started to sound jovial. "Okay, I'll tell him you wanna meet up!"
"No, you fool. I just wanna end up in the same place at the same time. It's gotta look like a coincidence."
"In that case," began the man, "Shibaura might work… Y'know we're talkin' about redevelopin' it."
"Shibaura," Iwai murmured. Chiyo wished she could see what was going on between them. That was when she heard Iwai coughing, the signal the call him.
Obediently, Chiyo pulled up the number he gave her. "What're you sick or somethin'?" asked the man.
"Nah, it's just a cold." Moments later, Chiyo could hear a jingle she couldn't recognize. "Hello? Yeah, how's it goin'? What? Your order's all wrong…? My bad, I'll get back and take care of that straight away."
Chiyo wasn't stupid enough to say anything. It was bad enough Iwai was on the phone with someone seated directly behind the man. "Sorry," Iwai said to his guest, "I gotta run. Work shit. Let's talk some other time, yeah?"
"Mm," Chiyo imagined the man behind her nodded his head, "Seeya."
Through the corner of her eye, Chiyo saw Iwai walk off out the door. "Don't hang up," he instructed Chiyo in a hushed down. She heard the man behind her shift in his seat.
What did she get herself into?
"Masa's still on the phone, right?"
"Yeah," Chiyo said quietly.
"Just stay quiet so I can hear what he's sayin'."
Quietly and, hopefully, inconspicuously, Chiyo readjusted her grip on her phone, bringing it a few inches away from her face in an attempt to make it easier for Iwai to hear. "Tsuda-san, it's Masa," Masa said from behind her. "Iwai was askin' about you. I did just like you told me though. Iwai prolly heard about that deal of yours and how he's tryin' to squeeze some cash outta you… O-Oh, sorry! Not it's… Yes. Sorry… Yes. I understand."
She kept the phone on as she heard Masa shift in his seat again. When she saw him walk away in her peripheral vision, Chiyo's shoulder's sagged. "A deal…?" Iwai muttered on the other end.
"Does any of this mean anything to you?" Chiyo asked.
"Sounds like there's some weird stuff goin' down. Anyway, you're all good for today. I'll have to thank you in person later. I honestly wasn't expectin' too much outta you."
"Then why did you bother making that deal with me," muttered Chiyo.
"Well, it's not a bad thing I did. Looks like you're gonna be some use to me after all. I'll be countin' on you, kid."
"I still stand by what I said." Chiyo leaned back in her seat. "I'm out of this gets too dangerous."
Now, the question was, what was Chiyo's limit of 'too dangerous.' "Got it," Iwai said, and Chiyo couldn't tell what he could have been feeling at the moment. "Good work today. Order yourself somethin' nice as a reward. Oh, and bring me the receipt so I can pay you back for it."
Chiyo was half-tempted to buy one of the most expensive things on the menu. But she got herself a bowl of katsudon. She returned to Yongen-Jaya and left Morgana in her room while she washed up at the bathhouse. The old ladies looked a little concerned when she stepped in to soak with an injured arm. The Takemedic-All helped make it look better after a couple of hours. But it still easy to tell that Chiyo was bitten by something, and mark was too big to be a cat or dog.
When she finished she bought a bottle of coffee milk the bathhouse sold. Morgana was already asleep by the time Chiyo returned to the attic. She was heading upstairs after getting her pajamas on when her phone started to buzz.
Ann: All we have to do now is send the calling card to Madarame.
Ann: But I want to wait a few days to give Ryuji and Chiyo a chance to heal
Ryuji: Yeah, yeah…
Ann: Besides, shouldn't we talk to Yusuke about the calling card first
Chiyo: Yeah, that's a good idea.
Chiyo: This is kind of why we wanted to know how Yusuke felt about the situation before we went ahead with it in the first place.
Ryuji: Oh, yeah…
Ann: Anyway, how about we all meet up at the hideout?
Ryuji: Yup, sounds good.
Chiyo: I'm down with that.
The Hanged Man Rank 2