Persona X TWEWY X Kingdom Hearts
Summary: Trapped in an unfair game? Fighting against society? Changing the hearts of evil adults? Save the world? Discovering oneself? Nothing out of the ordinary for these teenagers.
Chapter Thirty-One:
The Cold Truth.
A/N: This chapter is taking place alongside previous chapter, just so everyone is aware. Enjoy the chapter!
*Afterschool: Thursday. 19/5*
*Madarame's shack*
Adjusting the canvas stand and the canvas itself, biting her lips in an attempt to maintain composure and avoid raising any suspicions, Naminé occasionally glanced at Yusuke's back as he gathers his things to begin his potentially greatest work yet. Nearby the girl was her school bag, devoid of the items usually stored in the leather bag and just waiting to be opened. About half an hour in and after Sora's group entered the UG, she and Yusuke had been getting things ready to begin their project.
"To think you'd really come…I assumed you were lying when you contacted me," confessed the pupil of Madarame, Ann sheepishly apologizes for the sudden call and added that Naminé had convinced her that the sooner she and they could start this project the better. The older teenager assured her apologises are unnecessary, however he did rush a little when they arrived. "Sensei will be returning in about twenty or thirty minutes," he revealed/reminds, "I apologize if that causes some anxiety on your part".
"That's why I'm here…damnit…" cursed Ann.
"Pardon?" Yusuke asked.
"She said she understands and is completely fine with the haste!" assured Naminé, almost kicking Ann subtly to not cause any disturbances. The taller girl glared at Naminé's own narrowing gaze, but sighed and just resumed waiting for this ordeal to end. Convinced there was no issue, Yusuke retuned to getting his equipment ready. While his back was turned Naminé unzips her bag and lets Morgana pop his head out, shaking his furry skull.
"You heard him?" she asked.
"Twenty or thirty minutes…not a problem for yours truly," brags the cat with a catty smile, "Just make sure ya keep him busy long enough for me to unlock that door". Naminé nodded and one more swift glance back at her fellow artist to ensure he was still oblivious to the third guest, she opens the bag up and allows Morgana to leap out and quickly and quietly scurry out of the room. She sits up just when Yusuke informs them he is ready to begin, much to Ann's dismay and Naminé's worries. Ren and Ryuji had already transported themselves to the Metaverse while the others were on stand by duties.
The trick was even with that much time for Madarame to return, keeping Yusuke busy long enough for Morgana to undo the locks was a problem nobody had a solution to. Naminé feared that this time his artist's block may not hold him back this time if Ann posed nude for him, and if he is as good as Naminé believed him to be as an artist he may very well finish his drawing before or after Madarame got back. Delaying him was the biggest obstacle they had come up against in this hairbrained scheme of theirs.
"By the way…have you gained some weight?" he asked.
Naminé does her very, VERY, best to hide her grin and lock away her laughter, looking anywhere but at her friend. And Yusuke's question was a complete understatement.
Ann was currently standing before him with her arms out because of all the layers of clothing she had donned for this occasion. A clever ploy from her friends, Ann was wearing FAR more articles of clothing than any human should ever wear. So many tops in fact she looked like she had gained two hundred pounds, big puffy arms and legs that resemble logs of fat. Even her mouth was just barely above the scarf that covered her face. The blonde haired shadow didn't even know how she wasn't sweating up a storm, but she didn't want to imagine the smell either.
"You think so? I weigh the same as always," Ann says in a very nonchalant and even oblivious way. She even asked Naminé if she did look like she had gained a pound or two, and even while struggling to not laugh her gut out, Naminé said: "You don't look like you gotten much more weight…are you sure you're not bloated?". She shrugged (as best she could) and looked to Yusuke, hoping he was buying their terrible acting.
"Right…so um…could you…get ready?" Yusuke asked. Ann asked slowly if she just needed to take her clothes off, and he shyly confirmed her question. She grabbed the hem of her top and asked if he could look away while she does the deed. Once his back was turned, Ann turns to Naminé, who leaned in closer to her. "Remember, drag this out for as long as you possibly can," she instructs, "We need to give both Morgana and the others all the time they need to get this done and over with".
"How am I gonna drag this out?" Ann asked, "I mean taking this all off is gonna be tricky but…".
"I don't know! T-Try acting like you're…stripping sensually? Or something like that!" Naminé says throwing her hands up in the air exasperatedly. Ann blushes furiously and almost screamed at her friend but Yusuke voices his concerns about the sudden whispers between the two, causing them to clam up. "I was asking Naminé if she…needed me to pose specifically!" Ann says, resuming her awkward task at hand.
"J-J-Just uh, make sure you…don't lean too much forward!" Naminé replied with sweat running down her forehead. Yusuke hummed in response and stands still as Ann strips her layers of clothing. Meanwhile Naminé plucks her phone out and checks in with Eri and the others.
Naminé: "Anything on your end?".
Eri: "Nope, not a word from Sora and the gang".
Roxas: "What about you guys? How's Ann?".
Naminé: "She's stripping right now, I'm hoping she's got enough layers to buy the others time".
Eri: "Okay but question? What about AFTER she's gotten rid of them layers? You have a plan to keep Yusuke busy?".
Naminé blinked and when she glanced at Ann, who now looked like she lost the first hundred pound, she suddenly realized that the layers wasn't gonna take long to shed as she hoped. Before she could reply, Ventus also added something crucial to their plan.
Ven: "Wait…didn't Morgana say Madarame has to see the door is unlocked?".
Roxas: "Yeah he said something about that yesterday…".
"Oh no…they're right!" Naminé thought, "Even if Morgana gets that stupid door open, if Madarame doesn't see it then his Palace won't be affected!". She turned to Ann and whispers to her about their new problem, making the girl pause in her stripping and bites her lip. She asked if his master was coming back soon, and while she was stripping and throwing her clothing near Yusuke to get his attention, he awkwardly responded with a "I believe so" to her question. Naminé taps her fingers against the canvas before her, humming uneasily about the time limit.
"Hey…so do you think we could do this somewhere else then…? A little more atmosphere would be lovely," Ann suggests/requests. Yusuke softly argued his work space was perfectly fine, which made Ann suggest a room with a lock might be better for their project. Confused the boy repeats her question, and Naminé, following in Eri's steps, weakly and in a very clumsy manner teases that a girl shouldn't have to say more than that.
After Ann threw a very pink and even sex appealing tank top right in front of Yusuke, he gasped and shyly revealed the only room that has a lock is Madarame's. "Perfect," Naminé thinks, "Now all we need to do is make sure he sees his room is unlocked and then Ren and Ryuji can unlock it from the other side". She smiles approvingly at Ann, who then asked why they couldn't just do his project there. Yusuke stammered he couldn't intrude on his master's personal space, and even admits that he doesn't have the key to the room.
"Scratch that idea then…just as well Morgana knows how to pick a lock…" thinks the blonde. Yusuke then asked if she was done, and then without even asking he spins around to see her. In her uniform is Ann, and before her was a decent pile of clothes littered in Yusuke's room. He blinks, stunned by the clothing, and then looked at Ann, baffled. "W-Were you wearing all this?" he asked, floored.
"D-Don't you think its cold today?" asked the tall girl, posing in what Naminé guessed was supposed to be seductive or sexy. She even stupidly said Naminé was freezing…despite her just wearing a thin jacket and a t-shirt, nary a trace of cold on her face. Yusuke concurred ever so slightly to his model, making Naminé wonder if he's just being polite for the sake of Ann doing the modelling for him or he was that dense enough to believe Ann. Either way it was impressive the girl's horrendous acting hadn't been called out yet.
"The sun is starting to set…" Yusuke rationalized, more so to himself, thinking that's why she was "cold". This new opportunity was quickly leapt upon by Ann, who boldly suggested that maybe a change in location would be good, reminding the two artists she'd be taking it all off after all. But even with that Yusuke seemed exceptionally conflicted between working on his project and disobeying his master's rules, making him cross his arms and silently debate with himself. Naminé bites her lip and looking between Ann and Yusuke, she mentally apologizes to her friend before turning back to Yusuke.
"You know, if you improve your model's mood then the chances of your painting coming out better would definitely improve!" Naminé offers, "I-I-I mean, when I had to draw Kairi, I managed to improve her mood by having Sora joining us and her mood improved greatly! It remains as one of my best works".
Yusuke concurred with her, stating that the improvement of the model's mood often makes or breaks a painting, gradually warming up to the idea. Cheering his thought process, Ann grinned and even showed her mood was becoming more willing and eager, in turn prompted Yusuke ponder the benefits of this. "She may be willing to try out various expressive poses for dynamic composition…" he thinks with a small smile.
"She's also VERY flexible!" Naminé added in, making Ann snap her face to the girl and almost throw her canvas down her very mouthy lips before the blonde strained a smile and eyed her serious to get back into character before this dense young man catches on to their scheme. Ann snapped back into her "acting" and even added another pose to try and seduce the young man, hinting she was just getting into it. Then she leaves the room, claiming they needed to find a better room, making Yusuke fluster and plead they remain in his room before Madarame returned.
"Ugh…its sooo hot…" groaned Ann, and then next thing the two artists saw is her jacket thrown just outside his room. Naminé gulped and sprung to her feet, exclaiming that they have a golden opportunity to make a picture of their careers, and "chased" after Ann. "Please wait!" gasped Yusuke, chasing the two while scooping Ann's jacket off the ground. Luckily for him neither girl got any farther than merely taking a few steps away from his room, but Ann had stripped down to a pair of short-shorts and a pink cameo themed tank top, bare foot.
"What's beyond here?" Ann asked, turning sweetly to Yusuke. He doesn't answer entirely, hesitant and very nervous. Naminé deduced that must be the door they encountered within the Palace, based on how hesitant Yusuke was to so much as take a step forward. Then Ann started to distract him while the former nobody subtly inched closer to the door, wondering if Morgana was finished with his task yet…only to find he was NO where near done. Naminé harshly whispered what was taking him so long, and he replied with: "Its hard to do this with cat paws!".
"YOU SAID THIS WOULD BE NO PROBLEM FOR YOU!" she whispers impatiently.
"I never said I did this in this form!" answers back the cat. Naminé almost smacks her forehead and groaned loudly before Yusuke asked her who she was talking too. She tenses up with a "eek" and turns to Yusuke quickly, weakly exclaiming she wasn't talking to anyone. "SOOOOOOO!" Ann says interruptingly and steps in his view, gesturing the back room with her thumb over her shoulder, "What's this room?".
"That's the storage room for old paintings," Yusuke answers, "Sensei's made so many over the years we use that room to hold up some of his older works". "Storage?" Naminé thinks, "Why would that be the gate blocking us in the Palace?". She glanced at Morgana to get a lock at the lock, and while it wasn't high-tech compared to some other ones she's seen, it was still a tight and complex looking piece of security. Why would this be the roadblock and not his room, and what else could he be hiding within this room?
"Hey, Kitagawa-kun, why don't we…do it in there?" Ann proposes, smiling, "I won't be embarrassed if we go somewhere nobody can find us…".
Yusuke shakes his head and reminds them they can't go in as only Madarame is the only one to go in, but Ann persisted, even teases she wanted to be alone with him somewhere quiet so they don't get interrupted. Naminé turned to Ann with shock, both shocked and amazed that she was willing to try and seduce him to this level just to get that blasted door open. Then she frowns as the realized, and likely Yusuke in a moment, will point out a major flaw in Ann's quick thinking plan. "Alone? But what about Naminé? She cannot paint if you're not there," he says.
"Naminé, do something!" Morgana whispers, "Lady Ann's acting is NOT gonna be bought by this guy!". Naminé and Ann both turned to Morgana with a hiss form of "stay focused" and quickly turned back to Yusuke. Ann frowns and sighed: "OH its sooo frustrating that my feelings aren't getting through to you!". She even asked if Yusuke didn't like girls like Ann, and to both the cat and former nobody's shock, Yusuke bought Ann's terrible acting. Defensively saying he didn't dislike girls like Ann, he just couldn't imagine how his master would react if Yusuke not only disobeyed him but went into a room where he was forbidden to enter.
"Please? We can continue this…inside," Ann teases.
Yusuke looked down, and Naminé swore she heard him willing to grant Ann's wish but then quickly composes himself and refuses her request. For being a dense as stone Naminé couldn't deny his will power to reject a woman's advances for the sake of his master was admirable. Definitely gonna benefit from this sense of morals in the future. He even reminded them the door was locked and he didn't have the key even if he wished to disobey his master's rules, making Naminé frown and turn to Morgana, who shakes his furry head that he was still working on opening the sodding lock.
While he had his away in thought, Ann glanced at Naminé and mouthed "what now?", to which Naminé gestured a pout and crossed her arms, gesturing to Yusuke with her shoulder, adding a over dramatic huff to her stature. Ann catches her friend's idea and decides it was time to put on her bitchy mode. "Fine! This is too embarrassing! I'm leaving!" declared Ann. Yusuke jumps at her statement and almost pleads for her to reconsider, but Naminé jumped in and said: "Ann please! I'm sure Yusuke would LOVE to spend more time alone with you, but you are severely overreacting!".
"Nope! I'm done being patient, either we go in or I'm leaving and NEVER setting foot in this shack!" firmly said Ann. Naminé "argued" with her friend while Yusuke was still conflicted with his desires to paint at the cost of earning his master's ire.
"I'm home".
All three teens jumped at the mere sound of the voice announcing himself, and Yusuke, in a fit of unthinking shock, called out his master. Naminé snapped to Ann for a plan D at this point, but before they could test Ann's acting skills on Madarame, Morgana meowed victoriously. They turned to see he managed to open the door before them, then runs inside with Ann trailing behind him while leaving Naminé. Both artists follow Ann, who was now on the other side of the door which made Yusuke jump in bafflement and even ask when the door was opened.
His question reached the elderly ears of Madarame, who marched towards them and when he sees the door was opened he demanded an explanation from his pupil. Yusuke tries to explain this wasn't what his master thought it appeared to be, whether it was the door being opened or with a half-naked girl Naminé wasn't sure. But neither had any time to try and explain because Ann grabbed both their arms and yanked them into the room, startling them both and because of the sudden momentum, the three fell back.
Madarame called them out to stay out of the room, but the moment his eyes fall onto the open the door, his Palace changes.
*Storage Room*
"This is bad, Takamaki-San!" Yusuke says, fumbling around in the darkness with the girls. Ann ignores him as she searched for the light switch, which after some fondling on the walls she manages to bring an end to their dark age. The room is bathed in illumination and granted their eyes a reprieve from the darkness, but not the truth. As the name of the room implied, there are several canvas housing a painting all over the place, except instead of a variety of paintings done by Madarame that could have made any thief a millionaire…
There was only one painting plastered around the room. The Sayuri.
"What the…" Yusuke says but his tirade died when he was able to see the amount of Sayuri paintings all over the place. Naminé glanced around the see trolleys filled with the same paintings, as well as shelves. "There's so many…why?" she asked. Not even Yusuke knew why or where these all came from, but Madarame enters the room, demanding they get out of his storage room. But not this time, Yusuke refused to obey this order and turned onto his master, asking for explanation to this sudden surplus of Sayuri paintings.
His indigent and angry looks melt away from his old face, Madarame sighed and confessed that now they knew he couldn't keep this away from them. "I have been in severe debt, and I've handmade these Sayuri copies. I've been selling them through a special connection of mine". Naminé folds her arms and asked: "But why copies? If you're in that much of a financial debt then why not sell the real Sayuri?".
"Much as it would pain me to do so, my dear, it would have solved my debt in a matter of seconds. But the real Sayuri was stolen by one of my pupils long ago. Likely because they begrudged my strictness," Madarame explained, shaking his head in dismay. Confessing that the shock that someone who he once mentored in the world of art would be so cruel to steal one of his prized possessions out of sheer spite to his strict nature, that the shock was so bad it caused this never ending artist's block.
"Because of this distress, some of my pupils have handed their ideas over to me from time to time," he said, turning to the two girls, "This is likely where the rumours of plagiarising must have stemmed from, and truthfully I would agree where I not the target". But then he admits that those rumours would eventually escalate to a point where both he and his students may suffer or he would be called out, so he had no other choice but to recreate Sayuri many times but all of them resulted in just duplicates.
"That was when someone came to buy the paintings, knew it wasn't the real one…" and he stopped there. He apologizes to his pupil for this deceit and tries to defend his actions that in order to keep money flowing so he could further Yusuke's talents he had no choice other than create Sayuri again and again and sell a cheap knockoff of the original. He almost begged Yusuke for forgiveness and the naïve but genuine boy almost pleaded his master to forgive himself, until…
"Hold on a second, this doesn't add up,".
They both turned to Naminé's narrowed glare. "You said the original was stolen, yes? Then if that's true…" she says and then faces him fully, "How did you recreate so many WITHOUT the original?".
"I…happened to find a finely detailed picture of it in an artbook," said Madarame.
"So you're telling us you managed to sell copies of a photo of the original? I'm not sure how this works but…" Ann argued, "Don't people who buy paintings generally have a keen eye for the fine arts?".
"Absolutely," Naminé says, "Anyone in this line of work can tell whether a piece is a cheap imitation of the original work or note something that wasn't in the original piece". Turning to Madarame, she also challenged him that even if he had picture perfect memory of the original, no one's memory is so perfect that could recreate a piece of art from memory alone. "Also you have so much influence in the artist's world, you're telling me it would have been impossible to track down your former students who stole your work?" she asked.
Then Madarame challenged her how would she know what he can and can't do in the artist's world, which kept him busy enough for Morgana, who was hiding, chirp to Ann to remove the cover for the canvas behind them. Ann looked behind her and sees what he was talking about, then quickly removed it. Revealing behind the purple cloth is another painting of Sayuri, except this time Yusuke's eyes widened and her barely uttered the name of the painting. Approaching it, he revealed that this was the original.
"You…you said it was stolen mere moments ago!" Yusuke says, turning to his master.
"That's a replica!" argued Madarame.
"It is NOTHING of the sort!", Yusuke bellowed, "This painting kept me going…It's the reason I made it this far…". The young apprentice looked at his master, begging him to tell him that there had to have been a mistake or something, anything to prove that the words his new friends have been saying are nothing but baseless noise. Yet even caught with all his lies, Madarame tried to explain that the picture is a counterfeit, and he heard it was spreading around so he bought it. But Ann challenged his story, stating: "So you're telling us the actual artist behind the painting bought a counterfeit?".
"That's pushing it!".
"Sensei, you're lying…just tell us the truth," pleaded Yusuke.
Instead, Madarame whipped a cell phone and revealed that he had called his private security company and reported them to the police, including Yusuke. Horror struck Yusuke but Naminé snapped back: "You're going to get your apprentice arrested!?".
"Unfortunately he's been influenced by you and your nosey friends, I'm sure after an "intervention" with the law will quickly shake that disobedience out of him," Madarame bragged. Ann quickly shouted for them to run and both her, Naminé, trailed by Morgana, dart out of the room. Yusuke calls their names and chases after them, only thing hearing before his whole world changing was Madarame's warnings that the police were going to show up within two minutes.
But they won't be caught, and as Ann whips out her phone, Yusuke is taken to another world.
*Palace*
"Skull!" shouts Ren, pushing his friend aside just in time to avoid having his arm amputated. The large beast known as a "Nue" misses the pirate themed dressed thief and leaves its thick neck exposed for Ren to plunge his dagger into it. He flips himself over the beast dragging his dagger across and over the neck of the monster, eliminating it and then one his feet he turns and unloads the last barrage of bullets in his magazine upon the security guards.
Ryuji turns with his iron pipe and bashes the face of another security guard and knocks them onto its feet, before calling for Captain Kidd's power of lightning. Three bolts of electricity struck down a few flying shadows that blocked their exit while behind the punk Ren and Arsène were cleaving and cutting down their remaining security forces, blade and claws at full swing. After the security door was unlocked, both Phantom Thieves had assumed all they would have had to worry about were one security guard in the off chance security had been compromised, and at first it had certainly looked like they were right.
But much to Ren's dismay their horrible luck seems to follow them no matter where they go, because the moment the guard morphed into the Nue beast, more guards had suddenly populated the area and swarmed the two before they could even make heads or tails about the security system. He grunts as he flipped over a swiping claw of another spawned Nue, leaping into the air and calling for his Persona to let the beast taste the dark power of the pillager of twilight. Meanwhile below Ryuji was going to town with smashing skulls and breaking the bones of the shadows, cursing them to gain their attention.
"Joker! Get that stupid security thing off! I'll hold them back!" he says before kicking a guard in the stomach and then punching another hard enough to knock off their mask. Reluctantly Ren back flips out of the fight and makes his way for the security room, cutting down another guard and kicked opened the door. Inside Ren quickly scans through the monitors for anything that resembled control over the security of the gate that barred their path, his grey eyes briefly looking at the flashing monitors but finding nothing but seeds of a growing head ache inducing screen.
One of the computers was a laptop however and after quickly pressing a few keys, he sees the security functions. "Okay, okay…disabling…" he says quickly as his gloved fingers danced on the keys. His relief came when he sees on the screen the security had been disabled, and if Morgana was right about Madarame's cognition being changed after seeing the door opened in the real world, even if he did lock it up again the one in the Palace would remain open. "Okay, mission complete…" he sighed and rushes out off the room.
He came out in time to see Ryuji being thrown out of the building and back into the gardens, bouncing on his back just in time for Ren to join his side. "Mission's done, Skull, time to go!" says the Trickster, helping him onto his feet. He and Skull race out of the building, using Arsène and Captain Kidd's powers to form a wall of lightning and darkness to hold back the security, granting them a bit of space and distance to escape.
They ran to the entrance of the guardian, and then glanced back to see if they were being chased by the shadows. Not a single trace of the monsters behind them, allowing them to finally slump onto the ground to catch their breaths. Ryuji grunting in pain and commenting how hard this was with just the two of them, making Ren severely appreciate the number of their teammate ever growing. "Hopefully these separation tactics become rarer for us…" Ren sighed as he pulls out his pistol, checking if their ammo replenished.
"For real…" Ryuji says, getting to his feet and then rocked his shoulders, "Hope Ann and the others got out after getting that effing door open…".
"NOOOOOOOO!".
They both jumped, Ren to his feet and Ryuji grabbing his weapon for the sound, but then they both looked up to see a small pool of reddish Metaverse liquid gather up in the sky. Falling from it was Yusuke, Ann in her uniform, Naminé and Morgana. The moment Ren saw Naminé, he leapt into the air and catches her while Yusuke, impressively carried Ann and lands on his feet, bent knees aside. But his graceful catch was ruined when Morgana landed on his head and forced his wobbly knees to buckle and collapse, while Ren lands on his feet with Naminé in his arms.
"Ow…" whined Morgana, twitching from the pain.
"I…I thought I was gonna die…" Ann pants, before realizing Yusuke was holding her and then pushes him off her roughly. Ryuji blinked in confusion and alarm at the sight of the pupil while Ren lowers Naminé onto her feet, thanking her raven haired saviour. "Least you didn't punch me for helping you…" commented the leader, gesturing Yusuke and Ann. Naminé groans and dragged her hands down her face, lamenting that bringing Yusuke into the Palace was anywhere but in her plans to escape.
"Ann used the Navigator to escape from Madarame, and unfortunately like Tzu we dragged Yusuke into the Metaverse as well…" she sighed, and shook her head, "This just keeps getting worse and worse".
"Huh? Wait why?" Ryuji asked.
"I'll explain later, did you guys at least find a way to keep that door open?" Morgana groaned, stretching his back. Ren confirms the success of their mission, but laments that any further exploration would have to be put on hold for awhile because of the sudden alerted security forces. Yusuke rubbed his head, groaning in pain and when his eyes fell to the Phantom Thieves, he suddenly backed away, demanding answers from these cosplaying lunatics. Naminé stepped in and, with great reluctance, revealed these were friends of theirs and even points at Ann.
Ann explains to him that she had to use a app that transported them into Madarame's heart, which only furthers Yusuke's confusion and even prompt the question if Ann had lost her mind. Ryuji scoffed at his question, stating that the place they were in is the truer side of Madarame's heart, labelling him in Ryuji terms: "A greed-filled money grubber". Incensed at the slander of his master, Yusuke shouts they cease this rubbish spewing party of theirs.
"Yusuke, open your eyes!" demands Naminé, "After everything you heard from your own sensei, about how he lied three times to you in less than five minutes about Sayuri, how can you still defend him!?".
Yusuke looked away, but this further upsets Naminé, how stands before him and told him whether he wanted to acknowledge it or not, this place is another reality of how Madarame viewed the world. Yusuke looks around, appalled by the revulsion of this Palace, unable to believe this was how his master, his father figure, truly saw the world. Ren, surprisingly sympathetically, says: "Really sorry this is sprung upon you so suddenly, but believe us when we saw that this is the real Madarame he doesn't want anyone else to see".
"The real…sensei? Wait, just who are you people?" asked Yusuke.
"We're the Phantom Thieves, a group that changes the hearts of rotten adults…like Suguru Kamoshida," Ren revealed. Yusuke looked to the floor, his pale complexion seemingly getting more pale the more time he had to take in the situation he was in, the truth about his master. Worst of all that the master he thought he had was never real but instead a image that beguiled him. Yet even after all that, for ten years he was kept fed and safe by that man. Naminé shakes her head and asked if he was still going to forgive him, even after knowing what he's done with Sayuri.
Yusuke suddenly falls to his knees, clutching his mouth as if he was going to throw up. Quickly Naminé joined him and holds him steady, as he coughed and shakes, but there was no time for them to perform a prompt doctor's check-up. Ahead of them more shadows spawned and rushed towards them. "Get back!" shouted Ren as Ryuji runs towards them with a battle cry. Ann whips out her tommy gun and starts to fire at the shadows while Morgana leaps into battle.
"Naminé," Ren says kneeling to her, "You know the way to the escape point, right?". She nods and says she'll take Yusuke back to the real world and promised to meet them there. Ren nodded and then joins the fight while Naminé helps Yusuke to his feet and helps him to flee.
Thanks to her memory reading gift Naminé had memorized the paths her friends had taken and even a few short cuts so guiding herself and Yusuke through the museum of vanity wasn't as challenging as their previous target's Palace. And it seemed Ren and Ryuji had the brilliant idea to extinguish the shadows patrolling the area earlier as a clean way to make an escape, so it meant she and Yusuke wouldn't have to worry about hiding and dawdling. They reached one of the exhibits that was just near the main entrance, and when Yusuke sees what was on display, his voice goes softer and more quitter when he sees how vain this museum is.
Further into their escape, he spots a painting that forces the two to stop and look. He asked what these paintings were supposed to be, and Naminé revealed that these were students of Madarame in the past, likely seen as trophies that he's used to create his success based on the backs of his pupils' labours. She even revealed that they found his portrait too further in. She grabbed his hand and drags him away from further questioning, reminding him that Ren and the others were buying them time for them to escape.
It takes time but she and he reach the statue near the main entrance, and just as she manages to get them out, shadows spawned before them and trapped them. She steps back with Yusuke, surprised and then spun around when they heard laughter behind them. Followed by two more security guards, stands the Shadow form of Madarame. His Shadow self is wearing a traditional yellow kimono with make-up on his face, much like a shogun, with his hair being styled in a Japanese topknot look that closely resembles a paint brush, as well as his eyebrows, which are bushier than his normal ones.
"Welcome to the museum of the master artist Madarame…" greeted the old man with the same echo in his voice, just like Kamoshida. Naminé tensed her form as Yusuke, disbelievingly stares at this satire of his master. He couldn't even form a full sentence when he gestured his clothing, which Naminé labelled as repulsive yet true to his character. "This… this is all a big lie, right?" Yusuke asked, shaking his head.
With a laugh, Madarame revealed it all to his student and Naminé. His rugged attire is nothing but just an act, even his shack is nothing more than a prop on the stage that was his lies. He has another home that likely showed his true wealth under the name of his mistress. "Lies upon lies…" Naminé sneered.
"W-What about Sayuri? If the real one was stolen, why was it in storage, and why did you make copies if you had the real one!?" demands Yusuke. Madarame shakes his head with a laugh, chastising Yusuke for being so slow to catch up. The rumour about the painting being stolen was a lie he conjured up, perfectly staged apparently, and when Yusuke asked what his master implied, Naminé, disgusted, says: "Because that's how he's selling them. He pretends to find the real painting, sells it to a buyer for a ludicrous price but it can't go public!".
"HAHA! Smart girl, you seem to catch onto business quicker than my pupil!" says Madarame, "Art snobs eat up that spew and pay good cash at that!". Shook to his core, Yusuke falls to a knee, unable to bear witness to the truth of his master. "You low life…aren't you ashamed of plagiarizing other people's work!?" Naminé challenged, but she was met with more of his greedy ideology. Art is nothing more than a tool to gain money and fame, and then a wicked smile appeared. "You've helped me a lot Yusuke, and you've even helped me find another apprentice".
He turned to Naminé, and with his smile turning even sickening, revealed: "If he hadn't spoken to you, I'd never would have found another tool". Naminé snapped at him, demanding what he meant. "Tell me, you remember what I said about letting younger artists become published in museum galleries?" he asked, and Naminé's eyes widened in horror, a sudden sickness struck her stomach and even her legs trembled in horror. "Yes Naminé, thanks to Yusuke spotting your piece at the end of the contest, and introducing us, I was able to see your work first-hand".
"You…you would have turned me into your apprentice too…" she gasped in horror. "Indeed. Your art was unique and beautiful, perfect for a quick way to fame and money!".
"W-What about the people who believed in you? Who think you're a master artist!?" Yusuke shouted. And this question brings out the real monster behind Madarame's mask, as he offered the two a piece of advice that evidently no former student of his ever followed. "Never rise up against me, if you wish to succeed in this world," he said, reminding them that because of his influence in the art world anyone who dared to challenge him were met with so much hate and backlash they would either give up on their dreams as an artist or just end it all.
"If you two stay as tools for me…".
"Shut up…".
He turned to Naminé, the horror removed and instead for the first time in her life, pure anger and disdain burned in her usual soft eyes. "DON'T…you DARE call me a tool!" she snapped, "I am NO one's tool anymore! Never again will I just stand by and let someone who thinks they're in a place of power they can decide what my value is!". Never again, never would she allow anyone put her in that place again, a place where all she knew was the worthless value of her existence being no greater than a tool to be exploited and used over and over again until she was exhausted of use.
"You are a sham, a false artist who has no right to decide who should succeed in the artists world when you can't even create your own works!" she mocks, stepping forward, "If a nobody like me can create something beautiful and inspiring, then you a mockery of an artist don't DESERVE to even hold a brush and defile a canvas with your vanity!". She raised her fists, and even outnumbered and matched, she refused to let him walk over her and dictate what value she carried. Yusuke stared at her, in awe and even…inspired.
"Humph! I tire of this talk! Its time I-
"You are unforgivable.".
Madarame glanced at Yusuke, now staring at him with hate. "It doesn't matter who you are…successful or otherwise, I will never forgive you!". He stands tall once more, even against Madarame questioning his gratitude for all the years, but even with the idea of the possible death of his student happening in the real world, Madarame still orders his guards to rid these thieves out of sight. Naminé grunts, praying Ren or the others hurried up and join in before she'd put her extremely limited combat skills to a futile test. Yet Yusuke just…laughed.
"It seems the truth is stranger than fiction, isn't it?" he says, making Naminé question him and his sanity. "I so wanted to believe that it wasn't true…I had clouded my vision for so long." He grabbed his head and continued with his revelation, that he had been truly blind to the true self behind the horrible man he foolishly referred to with respect and even admiration. "I wanted to truly believe those rumours, their words were false…but instead they were light piercing through the veil of your lies that blinded my sight…" he growled, "You are truly irredeemable Madarame…".
"You dare…have you forgotten who raised you? Who took you in?" Madarame sneers.
"Oh I do…but I also know who was the one who helped me break these false truths…" Yusuke challenged, glancing at his friend, before they both glared at Madarame. "We're not your tools for you to exploit, but we're the ones who are going to make you pay for everything you've done to both your former students and Yusuke!" Naminé declared.
"Ahhh…so you finally discovered it?".
"Have you finally come to your senses?".
Yusuke's eyes widens in unspeakable pain, slowly forcing him to clutch his head while Naminé suddenly is gripped by an indescribable numbness that encompasses her entire being. In a place of darkness where only the voice boomed in her mind, she stands still while Yusuke thrashes around in place with his head in his hands.
"Once a tool to be discarded after her use was depleted…now you break those chains for a moment up to now…will these fragile chains still bind you to the role forced upon you? Or have you finally decided you have worn these shackles for far too long now?" the voice in her mind echoed.
"How foolishly you averted your eyes from the truth," booms the voice in Yusuke's head, "A deplorable imitation indeed. Best you part yourself from that aspect of course". Yusuke screams in pain, falling to his hands and knees as the pain roars within his head while Naminé remained still before her head falls to glare at the ground like a puppet.
"Shall we forge a contract then, dearie?".
"Let us now forge a contract".
"We are thou, thou art us".
As Yusuke's fingers drag across the floor, drawing blood from the tips, Naminé's dark world glows faintly with a cold hue of light before her. "You have suffered from their cold selfish wants, now is the time you let them feel the cold sting of your ire," her voice sings.
"The world is filled with both beauty and vice…it is time you teach people which is which!".
Raising up to his feet with his blood dripping hand, Yusuke attests to the offer as his master stands before him frightened. "Very well…come…" Yusuke says as he reached for his mask.
"Yes…I whole heartedly agree with you…" Naminé says as in the dark world she resided in, she reached for the mask. When her senses returned, she raised her head to face Madarame, donning her own mask for only a brief moment before her true self comes forth. Together in sync the two dabblers of the fine arts grabbed their masks and without an ounce of hesitation in their forms, they ripped off their masks, calling.
"Goemon!" Yusuke cried.
"Shiva!" exclaims Naminé.
Bursts of crimson flies from their heads before they are both engulfed in bursts of flames, engulfing their bodies, and even incinerating the shadows behind them through their combined rebellion. The two guards in front of Madarame stepped forward to guard him, the intense heat from their thieving intruders almost melting their batons. Then as the heat died swiftly, the air becomes colder and even fluttering bits of snow and frost decorate the floor and walls. Before them from the flames that turned into a beautiful pair of frozen sculptures, they shattered and revealed the Phantom Thieves.
Yusuke stands before Madarame dressed in a outfit that consists of a traditional kitsune-style half mask, a black high-collared puff-sleeved jumpsuit with a striped sash worn across his hips, white motorcycle boots, and bright blue gloves. Attached to the jumpsuit is a white foxtail. In his hand appeared to be a katana in his right hand, but more antique looking than the one Kairi uses. Beside him, Naminé defiantly stares down the guards and Madarame with an icy stare that would have frozen even a forest fire.
Dressed in an elegant vest with blue crystal inkwork that resembled a spider's web to her shoulders, wearing satin white arm length sleeves with blue rimed gloves. A long dancer's skirt that reached her knees with white stockings meeting the skirt, the skirt decorated with a blue rime on the outlines of the skirt. On her feet were elegantly made greaves that were light as feathers by the ankles carried razor sharp blade shaped metal, securely tightened around her feet. Her mask is designed to resemble the crown worthy of the queen of ice, crystal blue with angle eye-slots while just reaching the end of her cheek bones.
Behind Yusuke is the legendary, often considered the Robin Hood of Japan, thief, Goemon Ishikawa. While hovering behind the proud student is the queen of ice, the one who could freeze over an entire world with nothing but a snap of her finger, Shiva. Shiva is a slim Persona with a feminine and humanoid appearance, and wears limited clothing and her hair is tied up in very long, bright blue dreadlocks.
""A breath taking sight... Imitations they may be, but together, they make a fine spectacle..." Yusuke speaks, his eyes no longer plagued by the lies of his master or his own fears, "Though the flowers of evil blossom, be it known... Abominations are fated to perish!".
"Your heart is polluted with greed, your fame is undeserving through the work of your own pupils and your vanity if an affront to art itself," Naminé says, tearing into the filthy liar. "Everyone you've hurt, those students who looked up to you, they will have the justice you denied them!". Stomping one foot, which shattered the ice beneath her steeled greaves, and Shiva even flicks her dreadlocks to support her thief.
"Though the flowers of evil blossom, be it known... Abominations are fated to perish!" Yusuke declares, and then as Goemon glowed with Yusuke's resolve, the boy draws his blade, "For those students for looked up to you as their father, whose dreams you've trampled on for riches…I swear to you Madarame, no matter what it takes, we WILL bring you to justice!".
Together the two newly awakened thieves leapt towards the guards.
A/N:
Thanks for reading! Stay awesome but more important stay safe!