Captain Blues: A new day, a new Persona chapter. As I mentioned previously, I've been re-writing the chapters of this fic, and my most recent change was Chapter 24. That one was mostly a Haru-centric chapter that introduced Sugimura (with a backstory change involving (SPOILERS) from Persona 5 Striker and Someone else from Persona 5 Strikers.
There was also some Haru/Hifumi fluff, along with what was there initially, so check that out.
When I post these new chapters, I will note in the A/N what changes occurred, and trust me; two big changes are happening in Chapter 26, and Chapter 27 regarding Shiho's Social link reveal and a new allocation of the Judgement Arcana, but I will update you guys when the updated version of those chapters come in. Let's start the show!
Persona V: Reversing the Wheel of Fate
Chapter Thirty – Eight
[Opening Scene: Metaverse – Museum of Vanity (Outside)
Theme of New Palace: To Another World from Persona 5]
"-d," Mishima finished, only to shriek in surprise when he saw the outfits on Ann, Ryuji, and Ren. "W-What in the world?! What happened to y-you guys?!"
"Uh-oh," Ann said.
"Good cover, Sis," Ren sighed out.
"Oh fuck! Mishima is here!" Ryuji exclaimed.
Mishima then looked around and found himself and his friends across the street from a beautiful golden building with "Madarame's Museum of Vanity" etched on the front of the building in Kanji with a dark blue sky above them.
"W-Where are we?" Mishima asked.
"You guys activated the Navi?!" A new voice screamed. "Why didn't you give me any warning?!"
Mishima looked to see an anthropomorphic cat and shrieked in terror as he flew behind Ryuji. "W-W-What is that?" Mishima stammered fearfully.
"We didn't expect to guess right," Ann murmured with a blink. "I thought we would be wrong…"
"Technically, Mishima guessed the right codeword, not us," Ryuji said.
"It doesn't matter who guessed the codeword! What if I hadn't noticed and then wandered off and got caught by enemy?!" The creature exclaimed before he noticed Mishima and let out a long sigh. "Or if someone were around the area, like Mishima, they would be trapped in here!"
"W-What is this place?" Mishima asked from behind Ryuji.
Ann sighed out, "Boy, this is great…"
Ren took a breath and said, "Okay, Mishima. I know this is a lot to handle. Just calm down and breathe for a second, okay?"
"And get from behind me, my little Moe. We seem to be safe in this spot," Ryuji told him.
Hesitantly, Mishima stepped out from behind Ryuji and nodded.
"Okay," Ann sighed out. "Um, how do we explain this?"
"Well…First, you know that cat that you asked about earlier?" Ren asked.
Mishima nodded.
Ren pointed to the being and said, "This is that cat. Morgana, this Mishima."
"Nice to meet you," Morgana said with a wave.
"N-Nice to meet you too," Mishima said.
"He's also the cat that saved Shiho from Kamoshida," Ann added.
Mishima blinked before he gasped. "He did mention a cat that stopped him! Wow, y-you're a hero!"
"Oh, stop," Morgana said with a wide smile. "But please, go on."
"B-But, how is this happening? I mean, One-minute w-we were in front of Madarame's shack, and now we're in front of this large, gold museum?" Mishima said.
The four blinked before they turned around and gasped out. "It's so extravagant, to the point that's gaudy."
"Is this supposed the museum?" Ryuji asked.
"T-The front of the building said, "Madarame's Museum of Vanity" on it…I-It must be," Mishima answered.
"This is his palace then," Ren said before he shook his head.
"P-Palace?" Mishima questioned.
"A Palace is a manifestation of "distortion" which is strong negative or corrupt thoughts that warp the perceptions of people into a hazard for themselves and others," Morgana explained. "However, only strong, distorted individuals, like Kamoshida, for example, can manifest personal Palaces that their Shadow Self inhabits. And it seems that this is Madarame's."
"O-Oh," Mishima murmured. "I-Is it bad that what you said made no sense?"
"No, I was pretty lost too when it was explained to me," Ryuji said.
"Dit-to," Ann added on.
"But it's confirmed now, we are dealing with another Kamoshida, but I figured it would just be another castle," Ren said.
"A Palace is a scenery driven by the desires of its ruler. Kamoshida saw his palace as a castle, Madarame sees his as a museum," Morgana explained.
"But Madarame's artwork is on display at museums in reality too, though," Ann said.
"This isn't real?" Mishima asked.
"His exhibit was popular, and people already respected him. Why would he fantasize about a museum?" Ann continued.
"Hold that thought, Mishima," Ryuji said. "Ann, you have a point. This isn't related to plagiarism or abuse either…"
"Maybe we should try looking around," Ren said.
"Yeah, racking our brains here won't do us any good," Morgana said.
"But what about Mishima?" Ann asked. "I mean, we can't just leave him here and I don't see an exit like there was at school."
"Fuck…" Ryuji said.
"I don't see an exit. Maybe one of us should stay behind?" Ren asked.
"I'll stay behind," Morgana said. "I can explain some things to Mishima about what is going on while we look for an exit. When we find one, we'll leave."
The trio nodded before Ren looked to Mishima and said, "We'll be back. Morgana will protect you, okay?"
Mishima nodded.
Ryuji reached over and ruffled Mishima's hair as he said, "Be good. Catch you later."
"Sorry for dragging you deep into this," Ann apologized before the trio ran across the street.
"Now that they are gone," Morgana said. "Let's walk and talk."
Mishima nodded, and the duo began to walk.
But had he been paying attention, he would have noticed a figure watching him in the distance.
[Scene Change: Museum of Vanity (SP Exhibition Room)
Theme of Palace: A Woman from Persona 5]
"Three thieves busting into a museum via skylight? Total Phantom Thief material," Skull joked to Panther and Joker as the trio slid down the rope and onto the top of a stand before jumping onto the floor.
"Man, this is so exciting," Panther said. "It also makes sense that we're in this smaller party."
"Yeah, we can survey for any traps and get a general lay of the place," Joker added as he looked around. "It's tranquil here…This feels wrong somehow."
"Yo, you notice that painting?" Skull asked.
"Yeah, it's moving," Panther said. "I know with this being a palace and all, that shouldn't be new, but…Something feels off about it."
"The palace does reflect the ruler's heart, remember?" Joker asked. "I think we should check this painting out."
The trio slowly advanced upon the painting, and once they got close, Skull looked at the gold stand and said, "What the hell? This thing has someone's name and age on it."
"Do you think that can be the title of the painting?" Joker asked.
"I mean, it's in front of the painting so that it could be the artist's information…." Panther answered. "There are other paintings here. Let's check out some more and see if they're the same."
Joker and Skull nodded.
Together, the trio continued to look at the paintings and the information on the golden plaques before them until they came upon a very familiar-looking picture.
"This is Nakanaohara's picture," Panther said.
"It's confirmed. All of these paintings are of must be of his past pupils…" Joker said.
Skull opened his mouth, but then he noticed a larger panting on a single wall and quickly walked over.
"But why are there here?" Joker questioned as he looked to Panther.
"No idea…Wait, where is Skull?" Panther asked.
"Yo! I found Yusuke's picture!" Skull shouted.
Panther and Joker ran over to Skull, who had a deep frown on his face. "So this place has both his current and past pupils…" Panther surmised.
"And look how big this one is compared to the others," Joker said. "I think I'm starting to understand why this is a museum now, but we should keep investigating. Just to confirm my theory."
"Regardless, this is fucked," Skull muttered.
"Agreed," Panther said.
"Let's go," Joker commanded.
The trio continued to investigate the area until they came upon a large room with a beautiful golden statue in the middle of the room, along with hanging banners.
The trio walked up to the statue, with Skull stopping at the golden plaque. "Look at this shit," Skull announced.
"What is it?" Panther asked.
"The Infinite Spring," Skull answered, reading from the plaque. "A conglomerate work of art that the great director Madarame created with his own funds. These individuals must offer their ideas to the director for the rest of their lives. Those who cannot do so have no worth living?! What the fuck?!"
"In other words, his pupils are his property. He doesn't qualify as an artist," Joker said. "This museum isn't showcasing Madarame's work..."
"This is a museum of his victims whose works he stole throughout his lifetime," Panther whispered in horror. "He's stealing from those talented people in exchange for securing their livelihood."
"And if what Morgana told us about the people in Kamoshida's castle holds up, it means that those paintings are how he views his pupils…" Skull added on.
"And if they don't supply the work, they have no worth living. That's what the plaque said, right? Madarame will keep them around as long as they are useful. The second they aren't, he cuts them loose," Joker finished.
"And if anyone fought him, he would sabotage them, as he did with Nakanohara and the guy that committed suicide," Skull said. "The messages on the Phan-site were true. This is Plagiarism and Abuse wrapped into one."
"And Kitagawa-kun is trapped in there," Panther murmured.
"Nakanohara said that Yusuke is being treated like a slave, as everyone under Madarame had been. Why is he keepin' quiet about this shit? He's got no reason to cover it up!"
"He has a reason," Joker responded. "Both he and Nakanohara took him in after his mother died, remember? He's not going to betray the man who helped him. If anything, he would feel deep in debt to him."
"Would he even recognize it as abuse?" Joker questioned.
"True…If he was raised this way, he might see this as normal," Panther said.
"We have all the information we need for now," Joker said. "While we can't prove the abuse, I'm sure there is something in that shack that shows the plagiarism aspect of this. If we can find solid evidence of Madarame being a thief, that may open Yusuke up for revealing that second part."
"It feel shitty to tear down someone's role model but to save Yusuke and redeem those Madarame ruined, we'll have to do it," Skull said. "It's a good thing you two still have that in with Yusuke."
"Yeah, perhaps we can find out something at that shack," Joker said.
"We scouted this place out enough. We should return to Mishima and Mona," Panther said. "No telling what chaos they can get into."
As the three-person squad went back to their exit, a large explosion shook the area, causing smoke to fill the room.
"What was that?" Skull asked.
[Theme of Thy True Self: Bomb Shelter from Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSP Ver)]
Through the smoke, an unconscious Mona flew from out of it and rolled against the ground at Panther's feet.
"Mona!" The trio screamed in alarm, with Panther leaning down to check on him.
Joker and Skull looked through the smoke and could see a silhouette of a figure.
"I tried to warn him," a familiar but mournful voice said. "But he wouldn't listen, so I had to fight him…I'm sorry."
Through the smoke, eerie glowing yellow eyes pierced through them. As the smoke cleared, Shadow Mishima stood, with the unconscious Mishima slung over his shoulder.
"They are coming…Madarame's guards," The Shadow warned. "You might want to run before they overwhelm you."
"The hell we are!" Skull shouted, causing his persona to come to life with ethereal lightning. "Shock the World: Captain Kidd!" Skull ordered.
Captain Kidd roared as he fired a bolt of lightning at the shadow, who sighed and held up his free arm, causing a barrier to shred the attack. "Please, I don't wish to fight. I only for him to acknowledge me. Nothing more…I will return him when he does. Now please, hurry and go."
"No way in hell are we leaving without him!" Panther exclaimed as she stood up.
"This is the only warning you will get. Leave him or perish," Joker warned.
The shadow sighed as dozens of shadow guards poured into the room and surrounded the thieves. "I warned you. I am so sorry," Shadow-Mishima apologized before he turned, jumped into the air, then vanished with a flash of rainbow-tinted light.
"Shit! We're surrounded!" Skull said.
"This is not good," Panther said.
"We'll have to fight our way out…" Joker told them with narrowed eyes.
Things just got worse.
Captain Blues: Yep…Shit just got bad. Until the next chapter!