Persona 5: Tainted Soul
Chapter 10: Tale of the False Artist - Rewritting my True Self
As the group leaped out into the other side of the portal, the Phantom Thieves gazed upon Madarame's palace. It was a massive art museum with a line of "people" waiting to get in, just the thought of how much bigger it'll be inside was astounding to behold.
"Ohh! Ohh! I wonder if I can get my face to replace the Mona Lisa, here?" Vice pondered with a snicker, as the thought of his face on the painting would be hilarious.
"Nothing is sacred to you, is it Vice?" Skull groaned.
"Just be glad I don't fetishize that painting." the demon pointed out, "A quiet and peaceful life is too boring for lil' old me!"
"As well as for our sanity…" Panther rolled her eyes before she realized what Vice was talking about, "Wait… was that a JoJo reference?"
"Hehehe, someone's been sneaking Skull's collection!" Vice snickered out.
"Wait, you still read JoJo Panther?" the pirate thief asked.
"I-I have no idea what he's talking about!" The cat thief denied.
"Oh alright the-Panther look, it's Giorno!" Vice shouted.
"Where?!" the cat thief asked with hearts in her eyes, only to realize she was had upon hearing the demon cackling with laughter.
"Gotcha fangirl." Vice grinned.
Panther snarled at the demon while Skull chuckled.
"At least it's not Kingdom Hearts. I still remember when you said I'd made a good Sora back in middle school." Skull pointed out with an embarrassed smile.
"Oh? I wonder if she almost asked you if can call her, 'Your Kairi'?" Vice grinned before Panther stomped on his foot while Skull clocked him in the face.
"Shut it!" Both of them shouted.
"Save the jokes for later, we have a Palace to heist." Joker informed them as the group nodded as they made their way further in, unaware that someone was watching them.
Opening: Like Flames - Tensura Slime Season 2 - Opening 2
/PRELUDE/
As Revi and Vice flies through the night sky, we see glimpses of Ichigo and Naoya before the title zips past the duo
/Fate repeats all over again, The voices of my heart say
Time is not enough, it's over/
It soon jumps to Cody standing alone in a hall of mirrors, Vice being on the other side of the mirror before he turns around to see Mementos and the various monsters wandering it's corridors.
/Belief that makes me who I am, light doesn't fade away
Made my mind up now, it's better/
Meanwhile, Ren is sitting alone in the jail cell of the Velvet Room, looking towards the camera as a ghostly visage of Arsene appears before him as he smiles wickedly.
/Yeah I know it's not an easy road, lured by your hands/
It then jumps into a montage of Ryuji jumping for a bit before running, Ann with her back towards the camera fixing her hoodie, Yusuke holding his paintbrush in front of himself with one eye closed, a cat wandering through an alleyway, Makoto practicing judo, a NEET looking over something on her screen, an heiress looking over her garden, a gymnast practicing her routine, and finally a detective looking over some notes
/Even if it rains don't be swayed, being same as always/
It then jumps to Ichigo watching over the streets of New York, Nigo standing in the middle of a ruined battlefield alone, V3 looking towards the Pyramids of Giza, the prone body of Riderman on a beach in Tahiti, X floating down into the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, Amazon roaring into the night sky causing birds to fly up from the trees of the jungle, and a pair of graves in the middle of a beach with the helmet of Stronger resting on the left grave while a bouquet of flowers was near the right grave.
/Want to feel my destiny, Open my eyes to be braver/
As the shadow of the villains of past Rider and Persona titles haunt Cody and Ren, they soon turn to see a light where they notice the chains holding them back. Luckily, they spot Touma turn towards him and reach out for them, allowing them to break out and transform.
/Get up now Get up now stronger I believe in myself
Stand up now Stand up now shouting
I'll never run away/
It then transitions into a battle scene where Revi and Vice team up as they battle alongside the Phantom Thieves, transforming into their different forms to help each team member. Meanwhile, Ren soon awakens Arsene as several silhouettes of other Personas appear behind the original Phantom Thief before he and Ren perform Eigon.
/I might lose control... It's a perfect world/
It then transitions into showing Cody lost in the devil's world before he sees the Deadmans standing in his way, as Aguilera summons the eight Palace holders behind themselves with her Vistamp.
/Destroy all of it, in the end it's for our good/
As he panics, he notices the spirit of Maria embracing him before he sees the past Riders from Ichigo until Saber appears by his side, their lights shining down enough to allow him to obtain the Rex Vistamp, summoning Vice in the process.
/Let me shout like flames/
Afterwards, he and Vice share a high-five before it jumps to an ending shot of the twelve heroes standing behind a spotlight in their Metaverse garbs.
After traversing the backside and jumping from some platforms to a garden, the group found their entrance as they slid down on a rope into a small area of the museum.
"Wow, look at all the Inves." Revi pointed out as several Inves roamed the area.
"Likely these are cognitive versions of the Inves since we closed off the rift between here and Helheim." Joker observed.
"Then how does Madrame even know about them?" Panther questioned.
"The news?" Revi pointed out, "I can imagine that some of the Inves got spotted."
"Either way, we'll do our best to avoid them and anything else as we look around. Hopefully this ones treasure isn't as crazy as Kamoshida's Palace was." Mona shivered.
"Yeah, and we should be careful in case the cognition of our resident scorn artist arrives to rat us out." Panther said, "Look, while Madarame might he bad, I don't think killing him with kaijins from other worlds is the way to get back at him.
"Panther's right, much like Kamoshida, we must have them confess their crimes. Even for ones who may despise him." Joker nodded in agreement.
They nodded.
"Gotcha!" A voice chimed out, "And just why are you kids resorting to thievery to do it? Don't you know crime never pays?" Soon from the doors came a young woman, with a brown bowl cut hairdo, as she wore what looked to be a track suit with a badge on it alongside combat pants and boots as yellow shades covered her eyes.
"Alright, who let someone into the Metaverse?" Vice groaned at first before his eyes widened, "Uh, guys?! We got big trouble!"
"I-It's a cop!" Mona cried out comically.
"I'm smelling some real strong vibes from her too!" Vice added.
"Surrender and hopefully there's not too many crimes charged against you!" The girl demanded.
"H-Hang on, officer! We can talk about this!" Skull panicked.
"No way! I know you are evil! You're thieves after all!" She stated before she got into a fighting stance and charged at the group.
Quickly Joker stepped in between the woman and his team mates, aiming his gun at the girl. However the woman merely kicked the gun away before delivering a strong punch to the chest, sending him reeling into his team. After recovering a bit, he felt where she hit him sting.
'Crap, this cop is no joke!' he thought before turning to Mona, Skull, and Panther, "Guys, let's try and make a quick getaway.
Afterwards he quickly turned his attention towards the cop as he grabbed his mask.
"Arsene!"
The original phantom thief soon appeared and unleashed a powerful burst of wind that pushed her away. This distraction was enough for the thieves to start running.
'That was close…' he thought to himself.
This made the girl's eyes widen, "So even one as evil as yourself has a Persona? Seems like I need to get serious then!"
"Wait what now?"
After taking a stance, the girl created a blue summoning circle around herself, a blue tarot card akin to the ones Joker had seen in the Velvet Room appearing in the air for her to quickly kick.
"Let's go, Suzuka Gongen!"
All of a sudden, a new figure appeared to block their path. A feminine figure with silver samurai arm guards and shoulderpads, a large armored skirt, a black motorcycle jacket with yellow outlines, and finally a helmet that was a mix between a Japanese samurai helmet and a modern motorcycle helmet.
"What?! She has a Persona too?!" Panther gasped in utter shock.
"Oh shit, why her?!" Vice wailed.
"Context?" Mona asked.
"That's Suzuka Gongen…. A-And well… she's a legendary ogress. A practical goddess to Oni kind." Vice explained with a heavy gulp.
"Wait hold on, goddess?!" Revi gasped, "And she has that as her Persona?!"
"Eat this! Bufula!" The cop declared before several shots of ice flew right towards the thieves.
"Agi!" Panther called out as she called out Carmen to try and melt the incoming ice spell, but the attack was much stronger than they anticipated and soon they were hit with a blizzard of ice damage.
"Why you!" Vice roared as he got up and glared at the cop Persona user, "Take this!
DEVIL'S BREATH!
He soon unleashed a jet of flames from his mouth to try and damage the cop, but Suzuka Gomen appeared and spun her red spear to block the incoming fire with ease, albeit with some minor damage to herself.
Realizing the situation was dire, both Skull and Panther rushed at the cop with their weapons at the ready. When the latter rushed in with a dashing attack while twirling her whip beside herself, the cop leaped into the air and countered with an axe kick, knocking her into the pirate thief who caught her.
The cop however quickly followed it up by dashing towards the pair alongside her Persona, creating a cartoon dust cloud with various attack effects popping out. The attack however seemed familiar to Joker.
'Did… did that cop just perform an All-Out Attack on her own?' he thought before he and the others got out of the way.
"W-What can we do against something like that!?" Skull asked as he began to panic.
"How about surrender?" The cop taunted them
The leader thief quickly kept his guard and began to circle the other Persona user, who did the same.
'Alright, she seems to be weak to fire-based attacks.' he noted as he recalled how Suzuka Gozen recoiled from Vice's Devil's Breath attack, 'Looks like I found your tell.' the leader thief said as he smirked and swapped Personas.
"Revi, Vice! Keep Lion Genome and Devil's Breath at the ready!" he ordered the Riders, "Mona, heal up Panther, we're going to need her!"
"You got it!" Revi noted as he activated the Lion Vistamp and switched forms.
BU~DDY~ U~P!
LI~O~N~!
PLEASE, WATCH ME… ROAR!
"On it!" the cat shouted before allowing Zorro to heal Panther.
"Thanks." she thanked Mona before heading towards Joker, "Okay, what's the plan?"
"Simple, we throw as much heat her way and use the flame to mount a counterattack." Joker explained.
"I hope you know what you're doing, boss." Vice said before the quartet circled the cop.
'Dangit, I'm surrounded…' she thought while she gripped something in her pocket.
Once the four thieves were in position, they made their move as the two Persona thieves took off their masks, while the twin dinosaur Riders unleashed their attacks.
"Agilao!"
HEAT WAVE!
DEVIL'S BREATH!
At once, Othus and Vice fired a jet of flames from their mouths at the cop, Carmen snapped her fingers to create a ring of flames underneath the cop, and Revi unleashed two fiery claw strikes.
"Alright, time to go All Out!" Joker called out as they quickly ran at the cop to finally defeat her.
However, much to their shock, their fire attacks suddenly flew right back at them, hitting their targets dead on.
"Everyone!" Skull and Mona cried out.
As the thieves got back up, the cop sighed as she looked at the new cracked hand mirror she had with her.
"Dangit, you just had to make me use that Magic Mirror." she groaned, "That was supposed to be a gift for Yukiko!"
"The hell, she reflected those attacks?!" Vice gasped, "That's bullshit!"
"Keep crying that once I put you in the slammer, demon!" the cop declared before she lifted her hand into the air, "This time, your villany ends here! Take this, God's Ha-"
"Leave them alone, Satonaka." Another voice boomed out before a giant book appeared as it opened up as Touma walked in, alongside Akihiko to their surprise.
"Touma-sempai!" Revi cheered in relief.
"Sanada-san?" Joker asked.
"Wait, Kamiyama-san? Sensei? What are you two doing here?" the girl questioned.
"It seems to me there's a lot of things we need to discuss." Akihiko noted with a stern expression.
XXX
After finding a safe zone, the thieves stood there with the cop and the writer as they wondered what was going on as Touma was explaining everything to the cop when they found out her name, Chie Satanoka.
"Oh man, was I wrong! Sorry about that, kids!" Chie laughed heartily, as if the fight before and what she said to them was already ancient history.
'Geez, and this woman nearly kicked our asses?' Revi thought to himself, feeling a bit humiliated by how casual this woman was acting.
"Chie, you didn't answer me. Why are you even in here?" Alihiko asked, turning to the fighter.
"Well several reports from AIMS came in about strange occurrences in Tokyo and they sent me to assist you, Sensei." the fighter explained.
"Huh? AIMS? But there's no Humagears here!" Vice proclaimed.
"This AIMS is different from the one in Zero-One's world. AIMS, or as I should call it, the Shadow Operatives, was formed in this reality after the Dark Hour incident by Mitsuru Kirijo ten years ago. They act as an international police agency, dedicated to both protecting the world from the remnants of Shocker and it's many divisions, as well as Persona-related activities. Satonaka-san is one of the youngest people who applied to achieve Legacy Status, which has the same authority as Generals like Akihiko do." Touma informed the group.
"Not to mention this isn't her first Persona incident as she was part of the group that took down the Hanging Woman killer." Akihiko pointed out.
"Wait, you mean she was in the group led by detective Narukami?" Revi asked as he recognized the name, "The Seeker of Truth himself?"
"The very same. Satonaka-san was even one of it's founding members alongside detective Narukami and Yosuke Hanamura." Touma nodded.
"The Junes CEO is a Persona user too?!" Panther gasped while Joker was amused by this revelation.
"Wow, talk about a small world." he quipped.
"You bet! And to think even more Persona users pop up after us. Hehe, I'm sure the others would love to hear this." Chie giggled with joy.
"So wait, if Satonaka-san is Sanada-san's student, does this mean he has a Persona too?" Panther asked.
"I am." Akihiko confirmed as he summoned forth his Persona, a large man with ashen black skin and all white armor with a hole in it's chest that had a small man sitting inside, a Roman sword in one hand and a globe in the other, "My Persona's name is Ceaser." he explained.
"Et tu, brute?" Vice quipped, making the connection between Akihiko's Persona and the figure he was named after.
"Don't make me send you to the moon, demon." Akihiko frowned at the demon, "Seriously… I've had enough jokes about my Persona from Shinji and his wife, I don't need anymore from you." he warned him.
"Eep!"
"So, this is much different from how we fought… 'Palaces' huh? Interesting." Chie noted with a nod as she poked at a painting, "Almost reminds me of the Midnight Channel."
"So does this mean we're free to go or are we gonna have to bring you two along?" Skull questioned them.
"Very likely, but Kamiyama-san wanted to check in on you six." Akihiko noted.
"And that was only because Satonaka-san, like you said, would jump in without knowing anything and act on her instinct." Touma sighed as he created a portal for the two Persona users to exit the Metaverse with.
"H-Hey! Don't blame me for this!" Chie defended herself as the pair walked into the portal, "I was just following orders from HQ is all!"
"And how many times has the missus scolded you on that?" Akihiko reminded her before the book portal closed.
After the two left, Touma turned his attention towards the group.
"So, what have you learned about the Megiddo thief?" he asked Joker and Revi.
"Not much, we did at least find out who it could be." Revi sighed. "We think that one of Madarame's former students was the one, since he was able to summon a couple of Shimi alongside his Deadman when we first encountered him."
"Hmm, that's a bit troubling…." Touma noted, as he then reached into his pocket and held something up for the young Rider, "Here, something from me to help you with this job."
The dinosaur Rider soon looked at what the veteran had given him. His eyes widened, "Hold on, the Kajiki stamp's already done?!"
"Of course, I did help with making it after all." Touma smiled. "Use it well for the sake of others, Revice."
"Yeah… We will." Revi nodded with a smile under his helmet.
Xxx
After Touma left the Metaverse, the thieves resumed their infiltration of Madarame's Palace, doing their best to avoid detection while fighting any Shadow guards that could alert the artist.
So far, they were lucky as not many seemed to be patrolling as it gave them a chance to continue onward. Though Panther would constantly look around with a worried and shiverish look.
"You doing alright there, Panther?" Skull asked.
"It's just… these paintings. They're so creepy… like they're watching us." Panther noted with worry.
"You tell me. I caught one of them looking away when I turned my back on them." Revi mentioned.
"Don't scare me like that!" Panther pleaded, pushing the boy out of fear as that made him fall on the floor.
"And don't just shove someone due to a reaction!" Revi complained as he got up on his feet, but as he did he noticed something odd about the painting in front of him as he read it with concern, "Yusuke?"
That name on the plaque quickly got the other thieves' attention as they went towards the painting.
"You're right! It is Yusuke!" Panther recognized.
In front of them was a painting of Yusuke amongst other portraits. As she turned her head, she noticed one of the other names next to him.
"These… these all must be Madarame's students." Mona realized as he read the plaques that displayed the names.
"At least they're not in poor condition or in the junk area of the art museum." Skull noted with a huff as if they saw that, then that would be all the proof they needed.
"But that doesn't explain why their names are here?" Joker pondered.
"It's an Art Museum… The main focuses are further in, which means these are just the start to it all." Revi noted before he saw a painting that was more ruined than the others as he noticed the name on it, "Koronosuke." he read aloud.
"Think this is our guy? The display on this painting is in a really bad state." Panther pointed out.
"Yeah, and last time we met, the dude went off the deep end." Vice added.
"Wonder how we can find more info?" Skull questioned as he looked at the painting from all angles.
"Well for now, we should probably leave at the next safe zone and regroup. Collect what we know, and then make further progress tomorrow." Joker noted, "We've already made great progress today so we should rest up. Besides, I think it's time we get some training done after Satonaka-sempai trounced us earlier"
"Got it, boss." the demon affirmed with a salute.
XXX
Outside of the Metaverse, the group reunited back at their home base within the Aldrich residence as they went over what they knew and their next step of the plans.
"I believe we should do some supply changes. We may not know what Madarame's Palace could hide there." Ren noted to the group as they should be one step ahead of anything.
"Got it. So we'll just be restocking on the usual stuff?" Vice noted.
"That and anything you believe could help us. A new ally, some new method or info, maybe even something we didn't expect either." Ren nodded as they needed whatever they could get without drawing attention or dragging someone down should things go south.
"Still, I can't believe we got our asses kicked by Satonaka-sempai." Cody noted with a groan.
"Tell me about it! I didn't expect a small girl like her to kick our butts so easily!" Ryuji added on.
"Maybe this'll teach you boys not to underestimate us girls, huh?" Ann smirked softly, knowing that there was someone out there who could kick their butts so easily, and it being a girl was just icing on the cake for her.
"Need we remind you that you got beaten down too?" Cody reminded her, "Your Persona was even strong against hers, so what gives?"
"T-True! But I knew she was alright from the start." Ann huffed out.
"Still, it got me thinking." Ryuji sighed, "I know that Satonaka-sempai was mostly following orders but, are we just a buncha thugs? I know that technically we got Fenix's backing, but that's only because Cody and Vice are Revice."
"I smell somebody is spreading false rumors about us!" Vice hissed out.
"No, I'm just contemplating is all!" the delinquent pointed out.
Ren began to mull over Ryuji's answer before he looked towards the group, "To be honest, I don't know."
"Figures…" the delinquent sighed, "It ain't like people think it is! Good people have to put up with so much crap while… while shitty adults do whatever they want! Makes me sick, It's not like we're those bastards from Strega! We're trying to help people!"
Now that caught Cody's attention as he turned towards the former runner, who looked quite confused at the boy's reaction.
"Wait, say that again." he asked Ryuji.
"Say what again?" Ryuji questioned Cody, "We're trying to help people?"
"No, not that! That group you just mentioned."
"Strega?" Ryuji repeated hesitantly, "Yeah, those bastards who put up the Revenge Request site all those years ago. What about them?"
"That's what is probably having people and those who heard about us worried. They could be assuming that we're some remnants of Strega or crazy fans of them and believe we're doing the same thing they are. Why else would AIMS have Sanada-sempai and Satonaka-sempai be sent out to deal with us if they didn't think that too?" Cody pointed out to the others, "Heck, I'm not sure if I've told you this Ren-san, but the name Joker holds a lot of weight after the JOKER killer started popped up several years ago."
This didn't help matters as the the kids looked pretty down… and Vice was not having any of it.
"Mou, then why get so down?" the demon noted, "If that's the case, then we should keep doing what we are doing and stop corruption as the Phantom Thieves! Hell, Code, did you forget that we're not just Revice but Kamen Rider Revice? I'm pretty sure that name holds a hell of a lot more water than the JOKER killer, don't you think? So what if we're the same as those bastards? We're not them, we're us and no one else!"
Cody smiled as he nodded, "Yeah, you're right. But we also can't just show ourselves in the open now either, otherwise we could put them in danger for it too." He pointed out. As much as he did want to, it could easily bite them in the butt should they reveal themselves to the public which could pose a problem when they wanna fight in the Metaverse too.
"Vice is right, right now we're the only ones who can stop the Deadmans and free the hearts of those who abuse society's apathy. Wasn't that why we formed the Phantom Thieves in the first place?" Ren reminded the group, "No matter what, we shouldn't lose sight of our goal and push forward. Yusuke is in danger, and so is Madarame if we don't stop Koronosuke from using the Megiddo to enact something selfish. There is no redemption in murder, there is only lost regret. So let's forge our own path and create our own destiny!"
Everyone all cheered in agreement, as this made the group more fired up than before. They'll be back tomorrow for sure to deal with this, but for now they needed to part and venture around for another boost to their team.
"Alright, well Kitagawa-kun will likely be asking me and Cody to come over again so we should stay vigilant." Ann noted, "I don't know what to do as an art model, but hopefully we can at least keep Yusuke out of the crossfire."
"We'll count on you guys to deal with whatever is in there until we can join you." Cody noted to them.
"Mona and I will try and talk with Touma-san about the Megiddo to see if there's a way to separate him from the Alter Ride Book." Ren said.
"And what exactly am I going to do?" Ryuji asked
"Just sit there and be the poster doll we know you are, Ryuji." Morgana patted him with his paw.
"Hey!"
"In all honesty, likely you'll be gathering information on the masked man that's giving away those Vistamps." Ren chuckled, "If we're able to track him down, we might be able to find the missing Vistamps before they fall into the wrong hands. You'll also be in charge of resupplying our potions and other things we need for another Palace raid."
"On it for sure!" Ryuji nodded to them.
"Alright, does everyone have their assignments?" Ren asked the group as everyone nodded. "Then let's depart and get ready for tomorrow."
XXX
DAY 3 OF INVESTIGATION
"So I got a response from Kitagawa-kun. He said he wants us to come over after school today." Ann said as she met up with Cody and Vice.
"I'll send a message to the others and Satonako-senpai just in case we have another intruder or worse." Cody responded as he began to send the others the message.
"Cody, we need to find out if what we saw in the Palace was true." she noted.
"I know, I hate seeing good people with talent being used…" Cody frowned softly.
"Pst, keep a lid on, we got the student prez nearby!" Vice warned the pair as this made the blonde American flinch.
The pair soon saw that Makoto was talking with Mishima, alerting the two blondes to keep their conversation quiet.
"Yikes, she got a hold of Mishima today?" Ann commented.
"Why is she even talking to him?" Cody asked, as it seemed he didn't know what she was asking about.
"I don't know, but something tells me that it ain't good." Vice commented, "...man, I feel that saying sounded familiar."
"For all we know, it could be something she needs to learn or fix? Makoto-san is doing her best after all." Cody said, defending her as that drew Ann's attention.
"Why would you defend her like that? Is something else going on?" She questioned him with a knowing smirk.
"Keep this up and I'll be sure to show Ryuji that little letter you're working on." Cody bluffed defensively.
Ann's eyes widened with shock, "Y-You saw?! I-I mean, I don't know what you're talking about!" She huffed.
"Wait, you do have one in the works?" Cody asked in surprise. He didn't expect his bluff to work.
"Seems you got played, Ann-chan." Vice snickered out, "Man, you couldn't tell that Code was bluffing?"
"You best be quiet, otherwise you'll both be in a world of hurt." Ann glared at them as it made their spines shiver.
The pair quickly made the motion of zipping their lip, although that was literal with Vice despite the mask over his mouth.
"So, moving on, Vice noticed that Ren-san was mesmerized by someone." Cody said as he tried to divert the conversation elsewhere to save his life.
"Hm? 'Our' Joker? By who?" Ann questioned as this peaked her interest.
"Some red-haired girl in our school." Vice said, "Didn't catch the face, but we did catch Ren staring."
Ann pondered that at the moment before remembering the said girl, "Oh! Kasumi-san, right? I heard she's practicing to be a professional gymnastic."
"That's kind of surprising to me." Cody commented, "Still, at least you got some blackmail on Ren for once."
"Hehe, I'll make good use of it, Cody." Ann grinned deviously as she loved the small drama of their leader.
As they walked to school however, Makoto had noticed the two heading in. She didn't know why, but she felt the need to punch something from seeing how close he was to Ann.
'Why am I getting upset over that?' She pondered in thought before she shook her head and walked off.
XXX
After class, Ren and Morgana was reading up on the history of Wonder World that Touma had lent him while going to their usual meeting spot.
"Wow, to think there was a whole different timeline before our current one." Morgana observed.
"Yeah, but as shown by what it says and how Touma-sensei talked about? There's no other way to describe it but rewriting reality itself." Ren nodded in response, "Despite that, it is interesting that the Wonder World also sits in the middle of the collective consciousness. It makes me glad it's only accessible now by Touma-sensei so we don't have another repeat of Storius' attack."
Morgana shivered at that idea, "Y-Yeah… who knows what kind of crazy or corrupt person would do with that kind of power?" The cat noted with dismay.
The two soon noticed that Chie was talking with Ryuji, Cody, and Ann laughing all the way while Akihiko merely sighed and chuckled a bit.
"I wonder what they're talking about?" Morgana asked.
"For real? That happened to them?" Ryuji snickered.
"You doubt me, my new kohai?" Chie smirked, "Trust me, it did and it was amazing."
"Wow, talk about vengeful." Cody noted, "Glad that we don't have a pageant like that in Shujin. Right?" He joked but hoped he didn't jinx things.
"I swear, how Amagi deals with you is a mystery." Akihiko sighed.
"My wife deals with me just fine, thank you very much!" Chie huffed.
The others got out as they were taken back upon hearing this, "Hold on, wife?!"
"Mhm! Yukiko and I are married. We've been friends for so long, so it was bound to happen." Chie smiled as she held up her hand with the ring on it.
"Wow, uh, congrats." Ryuji noted, "I'm really happy for you two."
"Just congrats, Ryuji? It's amazing! I'm happy you two fell in love, senpai!" Ann smiled brightly as the young girl was beaming from hearing this information.
"Heh, thanks. She means the world to me, and knowing others support us makes everything worthwhile." Chie smiled to the group, "So! We heading in to bust some Shadow heads?"
"Easy, Chie. We're simply helping them as the other two work on the artist." Akihiko reminded his pupil.
"Right, forgot about that." Chie apologized, "Sorry, still kind of pumped after getting to use my Persona again."
"Trust me, I'm sure many of us miss doing this. But we can only do what we can while the next generation handles the rest." Akihiko nodded. "You kids best get ready."
"Roger, senpai." Cody nodded as Vice saluted behind him, though it did make Chie flinch.
"Does his demon thingy pop up like that everyday?" Chie whispered to the others.
"Pretty much." Cody confirmed, "I'm glad it's not from the rear."
"Oi, don't treat me like I'm some phantom or nuisance!" Vice whined with a huff.
"Anyways, Akihiko-sempai. You faced off against Strega before. Have any remnants popped up since then?" Ren asked the veteran cop.
Akihiko shook his head, "Truthfully? No. This is the first remnant popping up since they lost to us back in 2010. As far as we are concerned? This person is a crazed fan wanting to resurrect Strega for the modern day."
"Shit, sounds a lot like the Deadmans." Mona commented.
"Let's just hope when they're beaten, they won't ever come back." Cody frowned in annoyance.
"So, shall we go do some scouting Cody?" Ann asked the blonde Japanese-American.
"My blood is boiling." Cody responded with a smirk.
"Well, I gotta head out too." Ryujin noted, "We'll meet back here after we're done, right?"
Everyone nodded before they all went out to their respective objectives for the day.
XXX
"Thank you two for accepting my request." Yusuke greeted the two blondes.
"Of course, this will be an interesting experience." Cody nodded to the artist.
"Plus we kind of owe you after our last meeting got interrupted." Ann agreed.
"Of course, please have a seat." Yusuke offered to them in order to get his inspiration started.
"Sure." Ann said as she sat down.
Cody leaned on the wall and watched as Yusuke began to sketch Ann, taking the time to make adjustments wherever he could, making sure that he was getting the image right, and overall trying to make a work of art. He also tried his best to capture the aloof nature of Cody, while still keeping the stoic pose the boy was in. It was definitely a new experience for the boy to sketch two people at once.
Vice, being the curious demon he was, took a peak at the drawing. So far, it was only the base templates of the drawing, not much else to it as the art piece was barely recognizable at the start.
"Psst! You sure this guy is good at this? It just looks like lines to me." Vice whispered.
"Shut it, Vice! You're going to make a scene!" Cody mentally hushed the demon while keeping his pose, "Relax though, this is just the sketch phase. He's trying to get the outline of the drawing before the actual painting comes into play."
"Mou… this is so boring though!" Vice groaned out. "Can we just say whats on our mind and get this over with?"
"Please no." Cody thought.
You're not going to listen to him, are you Vice?
"Hehe, you know me so well, narrator!"
Fine, your loss.
Vice soon dived into Yusuke's mind… only to fly back and quiver in both fear and disgust.
"Vice? What did you just do?" Cody questioned the demon.
"Nope! No! Never doing that again! NOPE!" Vice wailed.
"You better tell me what just happened, right now. Or else I'll feed you some pickled plums!" Cody threatened the demon.
"Okay, but don't you blame me for what comes next…" the demon groaned as he whispered into Cody's ears what Yusuke's intentions with the painting, and afterwards did the same with Ann.
Needless to say… they reacted accordingly.
"Wait! You're wanting to draw me nude?!" She snapped out loud in shock as that drew Yusuke's attention, her face completely flushed.
"O-Oh! Very well perceived, Takamaki-san." Yusuke said as he thought that she had a more keen eye than before. "Yes, I can't get much of an image right now, thus a nude position for you would help out more."
Cody soon whimpered, "And for me?" he asked fearfully, recalling what Vice had said about the artist's intentions for him.
"Oh somewhat similar, but I'll need you to hold Takamaki-san close. Like Adam and Eve." Yusuke said nonchalantly.
"NOPE! NUH UH!" Both Cody and Ann shouted in denial, "NO WAY IN HELL!"
"You two said you'd do this. Why act like this now when you should have accepted this outcome?" He questioned.
"First off, we'd only agree to pose for you for your art piece. We never agreed to doing this naked." Ann started off, fully angered by this, "Second, we're friends. Practically family. Doing something like that just feels wrong! And third, there's no way I'm letting two guys see me like that!"
Ann expected a quip from Vice, but nothing came. Likely due to said demon cowering in fear from what he saw.
"Please you two, be reasonable. Every model for an art piece knows what to expect. You two shouldn't let your feelings or anything embarrassing cover what is truly art." Yusuke stated with, to Ann's surprise, no sign of any pervertedness.
"We do understand, Yusuke. But… even with that, we have our own morals and ideals. Not everyone can be comfortable with doing that as well. Nor being pushed to something that they don't wanna do." Cody chimed in, as he did understand what Yusuke was saying but also knew complete agreements for both parties is needed too.
"I see, I apologize for being insincere. If you do not wish to do that, I will not force you two." Yusuke apologized as he bowed to them.
"Thanks…" Ann said, accepting his apology.
"Of course. Hearing how you two feel about each other… It's nice. It almost makes me wish I knew more about my mother…." Yusuke said with a soft, yet sad smile.
The two looked at each other with a hint of sadness towards the artist.
"You mean… you don't have a family?" Cody asked as the artist nodded.
"Indeed. Never knew my father, and my mother passed on not too long after I was born." Yusuke informed them, "She too was a pupil to Madarame, and took me in after she passed on. So in a sense, while I may not have a real blood family, Madarame is also like a father to me." He said turning to them, "In fact, you may know the only art piece my mother made. The Sayuri."
Yusuke pulled out his phone as he showed them the art piece from online. It truly was a beautiful painting, as even those with an untrained eye or interest into art could tell it was a very amazing and beautiful art piece.
"I remember seeing that yesterday." Cody commented.
"She's beautiful…." Ann smiled softly.
"Thank you. This is all I know about my mother and her legacy. It's one reason as to why I wanted to be an artist, to return such a beautiful piece back to what gave me life." Yusuke lamented.
Cody then frowned softly as this made what they learned at the Palace even more unsettling.
"Yusuke? Are… Are you sure, Madarame isn't using you because of what your mother made? He could just be tricking you all because he wants that talent for himself to sell off." Cody questioned the artist, "We're just worried you might end up like Koronosuke. We don't want you to end up doing something that you'll regret."
Yusuke soon stood up, a heavy frown of disappointment on his face, "How dare you… Sensei is a kind, amazing man. He gave me a home and a life after my mother passed away. You dare say he is using me for his own? That is just preposterous!" He said, scolding the boy, "Tell me, did that foul spirit near you speak these lies?!"
"Wait, spirit?" Cody gasped.
"At first I was unsure of what I saw… But now, I am for certain you have some spirit attached to you." Yusuke proclaimed, "Surely that… devil, is saying such things to you!"
"Hey, that's slander!" Vice complained.
Yusuke flinched as if he almost heard him before shaking his head, "So please, do not say such things about Sensei! He raised me after all! He's like a father to me!"
The boys were about to come to blows before Ann stepped in.
"Alright, that's enough!"
The two boys turned to Ann, as it snapped them out of the stupor and argument that was occurring.
XXX
Meanwhile, Joker and Mona returned to the Palace, looking throughout the exhibits and more as they venture further in. Mona had a hunch about something as the two of them decided to go alone just for recon, but as they get further in they noticed one place cut off by several surrounding electrical amps, blocking it from the rest of the art exhibit.
"Looks like I was right! There is more to this than just an art exhibit. Seems this is where the treasure is being hidden from." Mona smirked.
"Looks like we need a way in." Joker noted.
"We'll need to head out and inform everyone about what we found. Maybe Lady Ann, Cody and Vice could use this info, since they're with Yusuke." Mona pointed out.
"Likely…" the leader agreed before taking out his phone.
However before he made the call, the leader thief noticed something moving in the shadows. Joker soon pushed Mona whilst dodging an incoming slash that cut through the floor. As Joker looked up, standing nearby was a Deadman, one that was easily based off of the Kaijiki as it cackled out as it had a lower body similar to the Megalodon Deadman, but the top half was red with accents of white and black with two bladed fins and a long protruding snout in the shape of a sword.
"Intruders like you should just be served on a platter!" The Deadman said, as it moved its head downward for another slash at the two of them.
"Look out!" Mona called out before the two dodged before they got into position, "Since when did Deadmen could talk?!"
"Guess we're gonna have to deal with this thing until we can get an opening to escape…" Joker grimaced.
"Got it." Mona agreed before he called upon his Persona, "Blow them away, Zorro!"
Soon, the masked Persona appeared and unleashed a large twister from his rapier at the Kajiki Deadman. It looked around with a cackle before it flew into the twister, swimming along the rapid air currents like it was water!
"Gah! Did it just use my spell to make it into a sharknado!?" Mona got out shocked.
"I guess Garu skills won't work on him." Joker noted. "The lets try this! Pixie!" He called out, as he ripped off his mask as the said Persona appeared.
"I'm on it!" the fairy affirmed before firing a bolt of light.
The Kaijiki Deadman soon flew out of the twister only to catch the bolt of light and launch it into Mona who was knocked back from the hit.
"Hehehe! Seems to me, you aren't cut out for this life!" The Deadman snickered out.
'Crap, what should we do?' He thought.
"Pixie, have any other spells?" Joker asked.
"I sure do! I got a confusion debuff!" She winked at him.
"Let's try that." The leader thief agreed.
The Pixie nodded as a purple mist of magic flew out of her hands as it struck the Deadman. And while it didn't do any damage, the Deadman began to tilt, wobble and unable to look at them correctly.
"Alright, we got him!" Mona cheered.
"Let's take this and get out of here. We may need others and Revice to take care of this thing." Joker noted before the two raced off.
"G-Get back here! Oooh… I can't handle everything twisting and turning…" The Deadman groaned out.
XXX
WELCOME BACK TO THE REAL WORLD…
Ren and Mona breathed a sigh of relief as they saw they were back in Tokyo.
"M-Man… that sucked!" Morgana groaned out.
"Seems the Deadman are changing as well… If they can talk, who knows what else they can do." Ren noted with grimace, "Besides that, I think we got as far as we can in the Palace."
"Agreed. We best inform everyone about what happened. Hopefully Lady Ann and Cody can use this info more than we did." Mona said as Ren began to text everyone.
However, they were unaware of the crazed Koronosuke watching them from afar, grasping his Alter Ride Book in hand.
"Che, so these brats can do more than that? This'll be a problem…"
XXX
A/N:
HackerEX: Double Revice fic update? Don't mind if we do!
Striberx: Indeed! Sorry for the late updates and such everyone. We're getting back into things alongside other stuff.
HackerEX: Pretty much, we have one more mature story featuring Vail in the world of DMC, and we have another update to our Rider 50th/Persona 25th anniversary celebration!
Striberx: Especially with the announcement that Persona 3 to Persona 5 are gonna be out not only for you Xbox and PC nerds, but Switch bros too! I know I'm getting Royal on Switch. :3
HackerEX: Natively too! Wish Kingdom Hearts had that same treatment…
Striberx: At least you guys got lucky with 4 being announced more quickly than 3 was.
HackerEX: Fair enough. But regardless, we got Chie joining the veteran Persona user cast alongside the fusion of AIMS and the Shadow Operatives.
Striberx: Indeed, alongside many other surprises soon. Until then, later minna!