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-Three:
The Vain Museum.
*Madarame's Shack*
Reaching him home and potentially prison, Yusuke stops himself as he takes hold of the door handle. His eyes stare at the shack and for a moment of brevity, he sighed as his forehead rests against the metal door. His mind was at war within, thoughts that should be filled with ideas for art, Takamaki-San's modelling, and other beauties he has yet to bring to life with his brush were replaced with unwanted doses of reality and the veil of lies that had lifted from his eyes now filled his mind with Madarame's true self.
Phantom Thieves, Metaverse and the real master he had blindly called father…truly it was like a nightmare coming to life.
He was dead set on bringing this man who had perverted art into a brothel to justice for both himself and those he had wronged in the past, there is no other way he could go on without that. Yet his heart was torn in two. No matter what the reasons nor even with everything he had done, this was the same man who brought him up, who took him in when his mother died and raised him as his own. To do this, to bring him down like this felt like a slap to his face for all he had done for Yusuke, and yet to do nothing but wait until his uses were dried up and let others follow suit…
No amount of fatherly love could change his mind, no matter how much it tears his heart.
He enters his home, quietly announcing himself to Madarame if he was still here and enters his home. To his mixed feelings, he sees Madarame exiting a room and faced down his student with a look that seemed to be mixed with disappointment and anger. His sensei had his hands in his sleeves, disgustingly like his Shadow form in the Palace. Rather then meekly apologize and lower his head like a trained hound, Yusuke stares down his master with coolness and steel.
"You're late," commented his sensei, "I suspect you handled that nosy girl?".
Yusuke held back a flinch from appearing on his face from the way his master spoke, and if he was correct about his connections, Madarame made it sound like Yusuke had done more than "convince" Ann to remain silent about the Sayuri replicas. But after seeing what his master was like in the Palace, he loathed to say having someone murdered was no longer out of the lengths of possibilities Madarame would stoop to.
"Takamaki-San will never speak about what happened today. I have convinced her that doing so would only damage her credibility and her career as a model," lies Yusuke, "And I have even warned her conspirators that similar things could happen to them if they pursue to harasses you, sensei". Madarame nodded, buying his student was still a submissive and more importantly, obedient student. He lets out a small huff, commenting on how close he was to be exposed by that brat, making note to change the location of storage in future.
"And what about Naminé?" he asked, watching his student.
"…I told her the same thing…however I desire to continue working with her, she will not tolerate this," he replied, "I'm afraid she and I will have to distance ourselves from here on out".
Madarame cupped his chin in thought while Yusuke removes his shoes, glad to be done with this and even more so relieved that Naminé and co would be out of his master's mind for now. Granted the threats of legal action was still looming over their heads, but like Rhyme said they had over two weeks to get this resolved before things indeed take a turn for the worst. "I'm afraid that won't work," Madarame says, shaking his head, "That girl has seen the Sayuri, and could potentially copy them". Yusuke snapped his head to his sensei's calculating look before it morphed into a smirk.
"Sensei?" he asked.
Madarame turned to Yusuke and said: "Naminé is a young and creative artist, certainly possess a bright future ahead of her should her potential Be mentored. Yusuke's eyes widen in shock as Madarame decides that Naminé should be taken under his wing. "B-But sensei, she refuses to even look at me after what she's discovered!" argues the student, stepping on the pathway in the hall, "It took legal threats for her to swear she won't tell anyone about the replicas! Why would she even consider becoming your student?".
"Oh simple my boy, my word has great weight within the artists' world…for better or for worse in her case," Madarame says with a cunning and cruel smirk, "Surely she knows better than to burn bridges with the art community, doesn't she?".
Yusuke's eyes darken as he clenched his fists in contempt rage, tensing his shoulders. "You parasite…you've found your new "protégé" already…" thinks the young artist. Of course he should have known Naminé would be on his master's list of pupils to steal, even he knew the value of her own wonderful art. A castle that came from her dreams, so odd and oppressively bleak yet mysterious and beautiful in a way. And if his heart was right about her, that was just the bottom of the well of her imagination.
"Sensei, are you suggesting you force her into your tutelage? Using your influence to damage any hopes she has of becoming an artist?" Yusuke asked, disgusted. Madarame, surprised to hear such a tone and even accusatory tone from his student in spite of what's happened today. For a second, Yusuke swore he saw the Shadow Madarame flicker behind him, like a part of his heart was starting to sense the rebellious fire within his student come to life. His master clears his throat and just barely tried to sway those ridiculous thoughts aside, claiming he meant nothing by his words.
"Your words regarding Naminé strongly clashes with what you're saying now, sensei," Yusuke pointed out, "And forgive my forwardness, but based on how you quick you were to lying and then legal threats toward Takamaki-San, I can't help but feel as if your words certainly are more than "nothing".
Madarame stares down his student, hiding the shock that the boy would even dare think so poorly of his master…but then he scoffed. "You are reading too deep into my words boy…perhaps those kids have been a poor influence on you after all…" he huffed, "Retire to your room. I will be preparing for the exhibit soon, and the less I have to content with the better…". Without another word his master stalks off to his room while Yusuke watches intently and only when he did retire to his room, Yusuke heads for his room.
Inside he slammed the door and rests on the bed, huffing and clenching and unclenching his fists before exhaling a breath. "I will sooner die first before I let you put Naminé through what you have done to so many others, sensei…" Yusuke swore, "No matter what your true self throws at us, I will see you answer for your crimes".
*Afterschool: Friday. 20/5*
*Sixteen days until Deadline*
"Okay…looks like Neku and the others have just gone to the UG," Riku says, pocketing his phone as the others wait for Naminé and Yusuke to arrive leaning against the railing overlooking the scramble. The silver head huffs and runs a hand through his hair with a look of irritation and unease, his friends showing similar looks on their faces. Ann and Ryuji were more so bummed after school because the exam results were released this morning and posted in the entrance this morning. Needless to say they both flunked it and miraculously this was their worst one yet. Ren sighed when asked about his, and granted he didn't fail as bad as them, in his defence he'd have to try, but he severely flopped at maths.
"Can't believe Sora managed to beat me at maths…" Ren bemused, "I severely underestimated the mathematical skills he possessed".
"You and the rest of us…" Ryuji groaned, "Ugh…why is history so hard…?".
"Too be fair, nobody expected you to pass Ryuji," taunts Morgana. Ryuji glared at him and gritted his teeth before he huffed and stuffed his hands into his pockets angrily while Ann whined about failing her exams, just barely, BARELY, passing English literature. "Least you didn't fail entirely…though not saying much since you got a single point to avoid failing…" Riku sighed, "And no, you cannot blame our activities for it".
"Ugh…please tell me we're not the only ones who failed…" Ann pleaded.
"You are…even Beat did a better exam than both of you combined…" Ren bluntly stated, "And no, having Rhyme as his sister doesn't constitute as cheating".
"And what about you?" Morgana asked, looking at Riku. He shrugged and boasts he passed them all with points to spare. The cat teased at least one of them had to have failed, and begrudgingly Riku confessed nobody failed but Naminé had bested everyone. Though he was concerned she didn't do so without using her abilities to peak into memories, just a hunch. His musing was shortened when he saw the two artists approaching them, both looking as eager and nervous as everyone else was. Though he was frowning concerningly when he saw the look on Yusuke's face.
"Sheesh…talk about a sour look," Riku comments, gesturing Yusuke's face, "What happened".
"…Sensei is considering Naminé as his next student," confesses the teen, "Which if we should fail, may become a reality". Riku's eyes darkened as he folded arms tensed, suddenly wandering if he could put his dark powers of teleporting to good use. "Then we shouldn't waste anymore time and get started on this," Ren says, cutting into their conversation, "We've still a little bit more to explain to you".
"Like what?" Ann asks.
"The Metaverse and the Nav?" Naminé suggested, lifting her phone, "I received the app on my phone last night and Yusuke says it appeared on his this morning".
"Oh yeah…guess that's important," says Ann.
"You "guess" that's important?" Riku asked dryly.
Morgana was kind enough to explain to the newbie that the Nav, the app on their phones, acts exactly as it sounds. Transporting them to the Palace where they can act as thieves, explaining the basics of the Palace. "It works like this: Palaces are worlds that take form of someone's cognition. A materialization from their reality".
"So do we each hold Palaces within ourselves?" Yusuke asked.
"From what Morgana said, no. Its usually people who have very strong distorted desires," Ren explained, "Think of distorted desires from criminals like our former school coach or as of now, Madarame". Then curiously Ren turns to his feline partner and asked if it were possible for Persona users to have a Palace of their own, and was given a firm no. "Its impossible for them to form once you awaken a Persona. Your Persona is the true feelings of your heart, which arise from accepting your inner Shadow".
"Interesting…and you mentioned that the Shadows your coach and Madarame share are ones they try to repress? Their true selves yes?" Yusuke asked.
"That's right. And since we accepted our true selves and have full control over our emotions, there's no way our desires will get distorted…at least, I think so," says the cat. Yusuke looked at him, everyone else saying: "Get used to him saying that". Naminé then showed him the app on his phone, explaining this was how they will enter Madarame's Palace. "We just need to say the person's name, the location and the distortion, then we enter via the app," she explained, "For example, "Madarame's Shack", and then the App takes us to the Palace, which his distortion views his humble home as a museum".
"But how would you know what a Palace would look like before even seeing it first?" Yusuke says.
"Well as tricky as it may seem on paper, most of it seems straight forward," Ren explained, "Like how Kamoshida saw himself as "king of the castle". He viewed the school as his castle because he could do whatever he wanted, and thus his distortion turned the school into a castle since it relates to his views on the building".
"Madarame for all his plagiarism truly believes his works of art are perfect and beauty, hence why even something ugly and rundown as a shack should be nothing less than a museum because it houses works he made," Naminé added. Nodding, Yusuke seems to have a good grip on the concepts and assures if he fails to comprehend he'll ask the more experienced and knowledgeable for aid. Ryuji bragged he was the man to call on, and Ann bluntly begged Yusuke stick with Morgana.
"Still though, can't believe that Madarame jerk would immediately go for legal action…" Morgana grumbles. Yusuke reveals he had never seen his master so angry before nor seen him so serious about legal action against someone, recalling the amount of people who have said and done far worse than the others had done. Ann laments that if they failed, they have no chance going up against him in a legal battle, though Yusuke reminds the party that at least they have until June the 5th, the end of the exhibit for him to act.
"Just like Rhyme said, we've sixteen days…" Riku hummed, "Guess it'd be a pain in the ass if he did it sooner". He pushes himself off the rails and turned to Ren, who nods and with a smirk; proclaimed: "Its show time".
*Metaverse, Madarame's Museum*
Standing on the outer walls of the museum on the road with the large mass of people still in que, the Phantom Thieves gathered up near their entry point, Ryuji peering over the walls for any changes. "Yo, no sign of anythin' new," he says turning to the others, "Looks like he ain't throwin' anymore patrols". He hops down, the gang gathering up for the plan of action. As sure as Morgana is, their way further into the Palace should still be open for them which means up until they pass through the strange door they shouldn't have to worry about anything new.
"And if there aren't any guards on the perimeter of the museum, its probable that Madarame's Shadow isn't expecting us to come back so soon," the cat said.
"No sense in going in willy nilly," Ren warned, "Stick to the shadows and remain silent, I'd rather get a little further in this time as opposed to having another set-back". The seven nodded and readied to get going until Morgana hops up and down, reminding everyone Yusuke and Naminé needed code-names. Instantly Ann suggested Yusuke's name be "Kitsune" thanks to his mask and Ryuji sided with her, stating it'd leave a good impression. But Yusuke suggested he'd be referred to as "Da Vinci", which was shot down by Ryuji.
"I mean Ann's right. You got the mask and that weird tail…alright! You'll be Abura-age!" Ryuji decides. Morgana snickers while Riku blinked and subtly leaned closer to Naminé and asked what Ryuji was suggesting. ""Abura-age" is a Japanese food product made from twice-fried soybeans," she groaned. Worryingly Yusuke actually consented to the name, shocking the entire party, and was then vehemently denied by Ann. "You are not going around being named after food! No way am I going thieving while hearing food!" she stated.
"…how about "Fox"?" Ren offers, "Simple and easy to remember, and it suits you thanks to the mask and tail". He asked what the newcomer thought, and again like going with the flow, Yusuke agrees to the name. "Okay then…now for Naminé…" Ren says turning to the girl. The girl hummed and crossed her arms, biting her inner cheek.
"If I may? Would you accept "Swan" as your codename?" Yusuke offered. She turns to him as did the others, and he explained she fought elegantly against Madarame's guards and the way she moved was graceful, otherwise all her other codenames could be related to the cold. Naminé frowns at the reasons, but then Riku nodded. "Can't think of a better name that suits her…sides she's kinda got that elegance in her painting too," he compliments.
Blissfully unaware of the sudden addition of red across her cheeks.
"I think it sounds good!" Ann pips.
"…Swan it is then…" Naminé says with a small shrug. But before they moved, Morgana pointed out something interesting. "Wait…you're still in that form?" he asked, pointing at her. She blinks and then Ren mentioned when Sora awakened his Persona, he swapped forms. Riku blinked and then looked at Naminé again, asking her if she had changed after the initial awakening and she confirmed she is still in the same gear she had started with.
"That's new…but…I think I know why," he says, "Remember how we're restricted because of the new game? It's likely that when we first awoken we received a bit of our true power but lost it after. You on the other hand…".
"Am not even close to you and the others level in terms of power…" Naminé finishes, "Yes. That sounds right". Clapping her hands, she exhales a breath and follows her friends over the wall and skitters through the garden up to their main point of entry. They used one of their Safe Rooms to instantly transport to odd garden without the massive door delaying them any further. It seemed the efforts of Joker and Skull wasn't undone by Madarame or his shadow guards, much to their relief that this trek through the Palace would be a little smother from there on out.
Entering further in, the party of six find themselves in what appears to be a bridge between the garden and what could be another gallery of art ahead of them. In the middle of two slopes leading up into the next room is a lifelike statue of Madarame standing over them all. They all glared at the vain statue and Ryuji actually suggested they try and improve it with some aggression, but Ren pleaded they have more pressing tasks ahead of them then to vandalize a statue.
No shadows were patrolling again and so far Morgana couldn't pick up the scent of Madarame's Treasure yet. Naminé sighed that it would have been far too easy to have his treasure be guarded by the door, deducing that likely it must be further in and worst, protected with top security. Riku adding that unlike the previous Palace, the museum would certainly have far more advanced security measures compared to a medieval castle.
They walk further into the building and as they were about to enter what they guessed was the next gallery, Naminé spots a brochure stand with a peculiar pamphlet. Ren picks it up and smirks, waving it at the others. "Think we just found the second part of the map," he reveals as he opens and shows their prize. A quick study from Morgana revealed that the treasure wasn't that much farther, Yusuke adding that they just need to pass through the lounge and other gallery, which would require them to go higher up if the maps layout was any clue.
Security had certainly grown tougher however, Ann pointing to the metal shutter gate blocking their path into what appeared to be an open gallery space. Not only that but there was no keyhole or slot to unlock said gate, which forces the party to go around the longer route and find another way in. Two corridors were searched before Ryuji found a way into the space but sees the same laser gates they encountered at the portrait gallery. Unlike the portrait gallery, they were strategically on and off to make a certain pathway.
Ryuji grumbles about the security and how easy this was gonna be, until Riku gestures the patrolling shadows walking alongside the lasers and asked how stealthy they thought they were. Morgana comments as stealthy as wearing black in broad day light. Naminé crossed her arms. "And this is just the bare minimum of security…I'm dreading what other types of protection Madarame has for his Treasure," she says, "If this is just the start…".
"Agreed," Yusuke says, "But while his security may be more advanced, it is easy to disrupt it too". He gestures the machines and suggests that if they could find a way to shut down the security here, then perhaps there might be similar ones further in. Riku chuckles that if they had the others here then they could have a team look for a control room or something. He then asked Ren how strong is his wire, and one look up to see a hanging light shade told the boy what his friend had in mind. He grabbed Ann and had Morgana hop onto his shoulder just as he fires the wire, wrapping it around the light and pulling himself and his tag along friends up and leap over to the other side.
"And what about-
Ryuji was cut short when Yusuke suddenly grabbed him and throws him over his shoulder, then shocking the others he leapt onto the top of the security gates. His feet perched perfectly upon them like a bird and like a master thief, Yusuke hops and leaps over them so fast he appeared as a shadow and even with the added weight of Ryuji on his back didn't so much as hinder him. He lands alongside Ann and plants his friend down, turning to the others before waving at Naminé and Riku's stunned looks.
"…he's good," Riku commented.
"…yeah…" agrees Naminé. She looks at the maze of lasers, pondering how she and Riku were getting through. That was until Riku suddenly throws his arms under her legs and holds her bridal style, then using Flowmotion he easily dances over and under the lasers until reaching the gang. He puts her back down on her feet, leaving her once again red in the face and stunned by his seemingly disregard, or ignorance, for informing her of his actions.
Not…that she hates being carried by Riku…
"Okay, we good to go?" Riku asked.
"Right," Ren nodded and leads them on. Naminé makes a little sound in her throat and follows them quietly. The layout was mostly a lounging area, plenty of sofas and seats for the exploring patrons and some tables for coffee or beverages. Moving down another corridor the see a small box office ahead of them with monitors through the windows. Luckily for them the doors were unlocked and automatic, allowing them to enter and check what they had at their fingertips. "Sweet! A security room!" Ryuji cheered, "Lets turn this shit off and get going!".
Entering the room and before Ryuji could potentially trip the alarms, Naminé tried to work with what they have while using her very limited knowledge on tech. "Please input password," the computer requested.
"Of course…" Naminé sighed and shakes her head, "Just like the last one". Seeing the confusion on their schoolmates, Ren explained that when Morgana first tripped the alarm during their first attempts to explore the Palace, it took him stalking a few guards and sleuthing to find the password to switch of lasers the furball tripped. "Bad feeling it won't be as simple as last time," he sighed, and turned to the others, "I'll go ahead and look around, you guys huddle here and wait". He dashes off and starts to search for the password.
Fortunately for them it didn't take Ren long to at least get a clue about what the password is. He overheard a few shadows talking about the thieves bypassing the security of the garden and how some of the other guards were arguing about what password to use for next time. One of them revealed they couldn't figure out a good one or something complex, so they set the numbers to Madarame's feet. "His feet, the hell is that supposed to mean!?" Skull asked, "What does he have like an extra toe or somethin?".
"I… doubt it…" Naminé argued, "His shoe size? No that doesn't add up…". She shook her head, unable to decipher what the guard could mean. Not even Yusuke had a clue what password his master relate to feet, and Riku had as much of an idea as Naminé did. Over the ear piece, Ren mentioned there has to be something within the area that could clue them in on what the guard was talking about, and asked if anyone had a clue.
"Wait…the statue…" Yusuke mused, before he asked Ren to meet him there.
Soon the two boys were standing before the gaudy statue of his master, then noticed just below him is a plaque stand nearby. Reading it aloud, Yusuke says: "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".
"Pfft, really puffin' his chest out there ain't he?" scoffed Ryuji, "The hell does that have to do with his feet?". Yusuke tells them that number of feet is just a guise, that the numbers truly stem from the plaque as it literally tells them. "Just for example, "One ray of hope," "His two adept hands" and "None shall ever match his excellence", Yusuke recites. Ryuji still didn't get it and even Ann was stumped with it, but Riku quietly repeats what their new teammate was saying and then he snaps his fingers. "I think I got what he's saying," he bragged and inputs the numbers into the console. Lo and behold, the monitor changes into the security system.
"It worked," Naminé says into her earpiece and starts to see what she could do. Much to their dismay however, the most they could change in the security was just opening the shutter gates. Once that was relayed to Joker and Fox, the former sighed that the security here must only extend to the gates and no more. "Of course it couldn't be easy…though it'd be a nice change once in a while…" Morgana grumbled. Naminé does inform them that at least they have a way further into the Palace now, so they had that going for them.
Leaving the security room and reuniting with Ren and Yusuke, they walked towards the newly opened gate, passing by a large painting of what seemed to be a bamboo garden. Naminé turned to it and studies it for a moment, lamenting that such a serene looking painting is devoid of tranquillity and peace and in their stead is deceit and even paranoia. Odd she thought as even within the Metaverse surely she should feel something else than those perversive thoughts. Yet even the texture of the painting was bizarre.
"You noticed something odd too?" Yusuke says, joining her side.
"Yes…the painting is carrying such a bizarre texture, almost like you could slip into it…" she explained, "Not exactly what I should feel regarding what it portrays".
Curious, Yusuke actually approached the painting and tries to touch it. Instead of his gloved hand brushing against the texture, his limb slipped into the painting. Startled he yanks his hand out as fast as possible and even takes a step back. Naminé checked his hand and luckily nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. She looked back at the painting as the others stared at it, and wondered. Naminé approached the painting but is stopped by Riku, pulling her back. "Wait here," he orders before entering.
Impressively Riku appears in the painting, mobile and lively like he is being animated on film. He waved to the others to join him, and once the gang were all in the painting, they heard Madarame's voice booming.
"How dare you trample on my tranquil bamboo garden with those grimy feet! You shall not leave alive!".
Ryuji jumps and grabbed his pipe, shouting he heard Madarame's voice. Riku assured him they all did, but there is no sign of the old plagiarist. He guessed it may be his inner thoughts in the painting, which at least assures the punk they weren't going to be ambushed by the old man or a horde of shadows would rain down upon them. Yet Yusuke's eyes darkened at the sound of his master, though resolute, he pressed on with the others. Once they reached the end of the portrait, they all find themselves in another painting, higher and overlooking the space.
"Looks like the paintings are connected," Morgana notes, "Whatever this space is its spreading across a multitude of paintings".
"A useful way to navigate through the museum and reach higher levels," Ren remarked, "Probably should have checked this first before looking out for foot passwords". Continuing on through the museums, occasionally combating shadows and finding more and more art that had been sullied by Madarame's theft, the party eventually had to scale a wall filled with those giant paintings and even had to "activate" a few just to reach the next floor. They had Ren and Ann on activating the paintings using the scaffolding equipment surrounding the spot.
With each giant painting the five had entered, more of Madarame's thoughts filled the air among them, and more of his true character started to leak through the façade. One painting was of a desert and the moment they entered it, it was used as a symbol of how old man viewed the world. "Alas this world is a desert filled with layman who cannot understand true beauty…! The slow drain of my skill is inevitable when I am surrounded by such mediocrity…".
"Blaming the world for him declinin' skill? Pfft, what a loser," mocks Ryuji, "Bastard probably didn't even have real talent to begin with!".
Another painting, which had a shrine gate before a tall mountain, surrounded in clouds. Akin to something like holy ground in folklore, they hear more of Madarame's rants. "The gods, even in their dormancy, are worshipped constantly! People gather around their shrine gates, offer their money, and return home satisfied! Art is practically the same! In the end, its all about imagination!".
"Even if that's true, you don't get the right to deceive people like that!" Morgana scoffs, "There's a huge difference in what he's doing and what people with faith do". No other way around, they walk under the shrine and find themselves in a jungle of sorts, surrounded by greenery and trees with one stone pillar built between the edges of the painting. Again Madarame's rants boom over their heads, this time going on about the futility of hard work. He berates the youth for their lack of "appreciation" for their youthful energies and potential, unable to comprehend their true values.
He even had the gall ask a rhetorical question about the morality of him taking advantage of the youth, arguing that they'd only waste their potential with an expert's guide. "What a load of bs, he's just jealous of young talent!" Ryuji shouts, "Look at Naminé's work, he'd never come up with that castle even if he wasn't an old geezer!". Naminé crossed her arms, disgusted and chastising the old man's pathetic excuses, that age has nothing to do with his lack of creativity. They see Ren activating another button the brought a painting to life and using the Third Eye trick, he directs them to move up.
The next painting had them on a nearly sunken ship in the middle of an ocean with tentacles thrashing at the end of the boat they were on. They hear Madarame's inane ramblings about the risks one had to take and those who want to aim for the summit, have to do whatever it took to reach it. Naminé coldly summed up Madarame's words with ease, his views on his pupils matched how he viewed the art world and "competition", that everyone is nothing more than steppingstones for his goal. Just like all his students, crushing their dreams for his own profit.
Ann manages to reach the scaffolding for the final switch and the final painting came to life, waving to the others to follow Joker's direction. And as soon as they entered the final painting, which was stationed in a small dojo like space overviewing a garden filled with trees and the ground painted with the fallen leaves of autumn, they hear Madarame's final rant. He "lectures" about how beauty is nothing more than a mirage, that transforming it into money is the key to true happiness. He lists his mansion and his lifestyle among the chosen few of his "art".
"So even running your atelier in a rundown shabby-shack was an act as well…" Yusuke sighed, "Was there any part of you that was genuine…or did you ever possess a genuine love for art?".
They escape the painting and reach the top of the room with Ren and Ann joining them thanks to their equipment. Morgana sniffs the air and with a cat like grin claims that the treasure was closer now, possibly the next room beyond. The five thieves jog on while Yusuke stays behind, catching Naminé's attention. "Fox? Are you…ok?" she asked slowly. The taller teen turned to the paintings, hands grasping the railing in deep thought as his eyes fall to the floor below them.
"…we've seen so many of his paintings…stolen or otherwise, yet have you noticed not a single time has he mentioned any love for art," Yusuke says, "The very notion that we must refer to them as "paintings" sickens me…these are no paintings. They are just meaningless self-assertions placed into picture frames…".
Naminé grasped her arm in silence while her friend's shoulders slump and body tensing, then he exhaled. "I cannot believe how long I was deceived…that man calling himself an artist where he only views it as a tool to make money, willing to destroy other artists just to finance his lifestyle…". Naminé approached him and placed a hand on his, calming him. "I know, even I'm sick to my stomach just listening to his rambles about it," she assures, "And believe me when I say that by the time we're done with him, he'll never soil a canvas or even taint a brush ever again".
She patted him on the back and with a small smile, encourages him to follow her to get this done.
They explore through the remainders of the museum, which turned out to be more galleries of "his" art and more portraits of those he's stolen from in the past, cutting down shadows along the way whilst Naminé took in more and more of the world around her, formulating a few plans around the heist. They manage to reach what Morgana believed to be last stop for the treasure if the golden gleam in his eyes were anything to go by.
The party finds themselves in another lounging room, several sofas, and chairs around the room but without any form of shadows or security rooms nearby. But far ahead of them just beyond the lounging room they saw the "vault" of the Palace. They see Madarame standing on a small platform surrounded by ten feet tall security gates surrounded a pedestal, red lasers trapping the item inside while patrolling in the open space were shadows. They moved closer towards the man, hiding behind walls while Riku, being taller and faster should he be spotted, leans just enough to see.
"Yeah, I can see Madarame, a few shadows and a…cloud thing behind him. Looks like he's keeping it under lock and key," he says, turning to Morgana, "Is that the treasure?".
"Uh huh, see the cloud thing is Madarame's treasure, but it's not materialized yet. See, once we send the calling card and inform Madarame it's gonna be stolen, the real treasure will appear," Morgana explains. Yusuke quietly ponders what sort of treasure it'll be when it truly forms, yet Ryuji brushed it off by claiming it'd probably be nothing less than a self-portrait of Madarame. Then he asked if that was enough for them since they found the treasure, but Riku shakes his head.
"Finding the treasure is one thing, but we don't know the extend of his defences yet," he reminds, "Unlike Kamoshida who was arrogant enough to leave his vault unlocked for anyone to just waltz in and steal his treasure, Madarame isn't taking any chances here. The lasers alone are too tall for us to jump over, and depending on what form the treasure will take, it'll be to awkward to get over it".
"Not to mention the shadows, and likely Madarame will be stationing himself there too," Ren remarks, "Plus we don't have an escape route either, and lugging something of incredible size and weight all the way back to the entrance, with security on high alert is foolish and likely a fast way to annihilation".
"Even if we had everyone here, fighting our way out won't do any good either…" Riku sighed, "We're gonna need to come up with a way to steal it without bringing down the whole museum on us". The gang reluctantly nodded and start to survey as stealthily as they could, remembering how tight security had gotten up here and not wanting Madarame to realize that Joker's threat wasn't empty. Recalling the amount of times Kamoshida had not only been humiliated by them on regular occasion and the amount of times they had to flee because of the odds turning against them, they hoped that because they only had one encounter with the ruler of the museum he might at some point lower his guard.
Soon they found another security room that faced the treasure and Madarame on the far left side of the room. Once they entered the room and discovered that the computer didn't need a password, Ren suggested to cover more ground, they split the team up. Leave one team to play around with the computers and the others explore the area a little more to find more ways to potentially conjure up a perfect heist. Deciding he was the more techy than the others, by only a smidge, Riku offered to hold down the fort with Yusuke and Naminé.
Once Ren's team split, Riku started to work around the computer's systems, hoping to find something they could use for the heist. Naminé suggested if he could try and turn off the lasers surrounding the treasure. Riku inputs the command but was blocked off with a warning from the monitor:
"Error! Only lord Madarame can access this terminal due to maximum security protocols!".
"Guess it would have been to easy to switch off the lasers…" Riku chuckles, Naminé giggles in response while Yusuke replied with: "Madarame might not be taking any chances here, if him station himself is anything to go by".
"Even Kamoshida wasn't this paranoid…".
"If we can't switch off the lasers alone, why not try and shut down the entire museum's power?" Naminé offers, "If we can do that then all we'll have to worry about are the shadows and Madarame". Riku nodded and puts in the command. All he managed to do however was kill the lights and shadowed the entire room, likely the museum was trapped in darkness too if they were right. It startles Madarame but his guard assured him that the back-up generators would restart the power in no time. And sure enough the museum was back to being bright and vain.
"Well that was short lived…" Naminé frowned, "Even the lasers were unaffected by the power being cut off…meaning even if we did cut off the power they'd still be active".
"And so as the system is under that protocol, Madarame might be the only one who can shut off the lasers," Yusuke says, "I hate to say it everyone, but I fear tampering with security might be out of our hands". Riku opens the gate shutters though, hoping that maybe Ren could find something for them to exploit, because as it is the most they had accomplished by fiddling with the computers here was mildly spooking Madarame.
Meanwhile Ren and his team, after the shutters were open, ventured to the next level of the "vault and eventually came to another security room that looked different compared to the other two. Curious, Ren called for Yusuke over the earpiece and gave him details of the room, which to their fortune the fox masked teen knew what sort of room they stumbled upon. "It sounds like the room is where all the mechanisms of the exhibit are used, like moving heavy portraits for example using cranes," he explains as the four entered the room.
"Cranes…" Ren says spotting a ladder, "Mona, Panther, wait here for a bit. Skull, follow me". He and Ryuji approached the ladder and climbed up. The crawl through a small duct to find several hanging rafters with some scaffolding platforms tied by rope. They were above the floor Madarame and his guards were roaming about, which made him smirk as a sudden possibility begins to form in his mind. Using the scaffolding turned rafters to hop and skip across, he comes to a scaffolding that is literally looming over the treasure just inside the laser cage. "Guys, we're above the treasure and guess what?
No laser ceilings," Ren said, "Looks like Madarame wasn't prepared for every scenario after all". "Uhh what good is that?" Ryuji whispered, "I mean even if we can get down without breakin' our freakin' legs, how are we gonna get outta there?". Ren rolls his eyes and points up. Above them is a crane, then he calls for Panther to find a switch for them that controls the crane he and Skull were looking at it. After a few short seconds the crane above begins to descend and quickly Ren orders her to stop before someone below notices the crane.
"Swan, you said the lights can be turned off on your end, right?" Joker asks.
"Yeah, and if I recall right, it lasted for about six seconds," she reminds. Joker replied that they found a crane that was stationed just above the treasure, which if they used the darkness could dip in, grab the treasure and dip out before they were seen by Madarame or his guards. Riku comments on the plan, but then asks if they have an exit strategy on top of it, and upon mentioning exit, Ren looks behind him to see there was an opened window. He sends Ryuji to take a look and when he came back the punk was grinning ear to ear.
The exit leads them outside the museum and there were plenty of ways to climb down back to the garden with the weird door. With the method of theft in hand along with an escape route, it seems the Phantom Thieves have conjured up the heist. "I think we've secured our route everyone…" says one of the leaders of the Phantom Thieves.
"Then its time we scram and plan~" Morgana coos evilly.
Like their namesake, the party of six vanished from the Palace and left the Metaverse, the time to bring down Madarame is growing near.
A/N:
We've finished the set up for the heist~
I understand I did skip the distortion side of the Palace but it wasn't particularly varied with how I could write around it without fighting so I just decided to skip it. Also we won't be going to the TWEWY for a bit until after the Palace, just so I can finish off Madarame and focus on team building since everyone seems to enjoy that more then anything else I write.
Questions:
Q1: Thoughts on this chapter?
Q2: Cool with the pace?
Q3: Yusuke and Naminé's codenames?
Q4: More fighting or keep it minimum?
Q5: Do you want more of the Reapers' Game?
As always everyone thanks for reading! Stay awesome but more importantly stay safe!