We continue the infiltration and finish it off, enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing in this.
Persona 5 Royal Fanmake Lysandre Arc Chapter 17
Museum Infiltration Pt2
The Dragon Gems had entered into an area that they had no idea where it was as they entered an area of many stairs and platforms in a golden light but couldn't make heads or tails of.
"Huh…. What the heck is up with this place?!" Uzi asked confused.
"There's so much gold…! It's hurting my eyes…" Alexis said.
"The distortion is especially bad here…" Gatomon said "It's barely holding up. Plus, it's not even on our map…"
"So we must ascertain the truth through our eyes alone…" Zane said thinking
The group head through and see that indeed Shadow Basherbots patrolled here as well but not as many as they see one and fight which turned out to be the Foolish Monk and Aqua recruits one whose name was Koppa Tengu.
"Well I will serve you no matter what, even if it's to make stronger through fusions" Koppa said.
"Well nice to have you on board" Amos said smiling.
The group keep moving but come to a dead end with no other way to go.
"I thought I'd seen everything there was to see of this distorted world. But to think it would conjure up such a arerre place…" Zane said sighing.
"So, like, which way are we supposed to go? I didn't see any other ways forward, did you?" Alexis asked the group.
Uzi looks at the wall and see it bent a bit like paper and sees light shimmering out of the gaps "Hm? What's this?" She said and grabs the wall and pulls tearing it off revealing a blue portal "Whoa, part of the wall was peeling, so I pulled it off! That wasn't an actual wall?!"
"I see." Zane said thinking "So it was camouflaged. We may have been trapped here for eternity had you not noticed that."
"Ooh! Nick work, Circuit! You did it!" Gatomon said smiling.
"Uh, sure…You know I just got lucky, right?" Uzi said rubbing her head.
"There might be more walls like this up ahead. Let's keep an eye out." Gatomon told them
The group goes though the portal and end up at a different location. Uzi surprised said "Whoa! Did we just warp?!"
"It seems even the paths beyond these apertures are disorted in the same way as this room…" Zane notes
They keep going and appear in another area as they arrive into another area and when they come down they see two Julian painting.
"Huh…? Why is this painting here…?" Alexis asked confused.
"It's probably some kind of illusion." Gatomon guessed thinking "We're in a Palace, after all. Well I guess the painting itself might be correct though."
"You say 'correct,' but aren't they all counterfeit? Although maybe the real one's here too…" Alexis said thinking
"I wonder…" Gatomon said thinking. "Either way, the fact that this is here might mean it's connected to this space in some way."
Indeed when they try passing though one of the doorways they warped back to the way they entered this area. Aqua looks at the two Jullian pictures, one had the man in a white labcoat, the other was yellow. She looks at the one with the white coat.
"Isn't that a fake? I mean, this is Lysandre's Palace…" Alexis asked.
"There is an obvious difference it you look closely." Zane said "It shouldn't be too difficult to tell them apart."
"Yeah, maybe it's obvious for you…What do you think, Waterwave?" Uzi asked her.
"This one is the real thing." Aqua said to them pointing to the white coat one.
"That is correct. It seems you have quite the eye for detail, Waterwave." Zane said smiling under his hooded mask.
"Fore real…? That's amazing…" Uzi said surprised.
"The vibrant scientist clothes, his smart hair, the sublime balance between subject and background…" Zane notes "This may only be an illusion, but it is without a doubt a spitting image of the true 'Julian.'"
The two pictures vanish and the right painting turning into a sparkling light and it zooms to a gateway behind them turning it from blue to a golden colour.
"What the…?! It flew away!" Uzi said in shock.
They go up to the portal and enter it and wound up at a different location. Alexis smiles and said "Oh, isn't this somewhere new?!"
"Seeing past the fake image has opened a path to the truth…" Zane notes nodding. "Hm, this golden place filled with counterfeit work is a prime example of the alchemy of Lysandre's brain. And here, just as in reality, he entraps those who cannot see though his lying façade…"
"You might be right…No wonder the distortion is so strong here." Gatomon said nodding.
"Hey, so…what does that mean?" Uzi asked confused.
"I thiunk it means finding the real 'Julian' should break though the distortion and open a path." Alexis said thinking.
"So do we just gotta check all of them?" Uzi asked sighing.
"Why would we do that…? Let's just look for the real one…assuming we can differentiate it." Alexis said.
Aqua checks the paintings as she does, she finds a fake wall with a hidden chest containing a Soul Drop. Aqua sees that one had a tree branch on it.
"What do you think of this painting? Is it real?" Uzi asked.
"Yeah, it's the real thing." Aqua said nodding.
"Yes, this is the true 'Julian.'" Zane said nodding. "It may be an illusion, but there can be no mistaking its allure. Nicely done, Waterwave."
The true Julian turns to a light and flies into the blue portal turning golden. The group go through it to the next area. Aqua looks at all the painting in this area but none matched her memory of the painting, she finds another fake wall and pulls it away to reveal another painting.
"You think this one is real?" Uzi asked.
"Yes, this one no doubt is the real thing." Aqua said nodding and Zane nods in agreement.
"All the versions on display were fakes while the real one was hidden the whole time…" Alexis said sadly.
The real painting turns to light and then goes down disappearing into the abyss below.
"Huh? Where the heck did it fly off to?!" Uzi asked confused. The group go through the blue portal and appear back at the start of the painting tests "Arrrgh bite me! What the robot hell's going on here?!"
"We have seen all of the false images. Something must have changed somewhere…" Zane said thinking.
Aqua looks and sees a new gold portal and they go through it with the others and sees they appear in somewhere new.
"Oh, isn't this somewhere new?!" Alexis asked smiling.
"Just be careful, okay? This distortion is growing much stronger the deeper we go…" Gatomon points out.
They move down and fire a door way down a corridor. They head to it and enter to see where it leads.
They enter to the area on the map known as the Main Treasure Hall.
"A-Ah, that is…!" Zane said surprised as up head in the central room was a sparking light behind a red electric field and stranding in front of it surrounded by Shadow Basherbots was Shadow Lysandre. "Just as I expected….Lysandre!"
"Then is the Tresure behind him?" Alexis asked.
"It's kind of hard to tell from here. Let's get a closer look!" Uzi suggested.
The group nod and move closer and Gatomon peers round the corner to see if it is the treasure. The cat then said "There it is…"
"Doesn't it look a bit hazy?" Alexis asked
"For the time being." Gatomon told her. "Once we send the card and make Lysandre aware it'll be stolen, it'll materialize like 'Yoohoo!'"
"I wonder what form it will take…" Zane said thinking.
"Who knows? Bet it's something like a self-portrait." Uzi said shrugging.
"The source of what distorted Lysandre's reality this much…" Zane said thinking.
"So, what now? Think it's safe to say we got our route set?" Uzi asked.
"Hmmm… We know where the Tresure is, but I'm not sure that we've necessarily secured the route…" Gatomon said thinking on it.
"Huh? Why's that?" Uzi asked confused.
"You must be talking about the infrared lasers surrounding it." Zane points out.
"That, and the outer perimeter is swarming with Basherbots." Gatomon said nodding "Forcing our way through will be difficult."
"So we'll need to find a way to steal it too…This is tougher that it was with Gaston…" Alexis said sighing.
"We just have to make one final push. Let's check this floor…!" Gatomon said nodding.
Aqua moves the group to the safe room and she heads to the Velvet Room.
She first when she is there fuses Archangel with Koppa Tengu to make Eligor, the power captain she met at Gaston's Palace.
"I am Eligor." Eligor said "I shall become your mask. Let the days of war and love commence…"
"Welcome aboard Eligor." Aqua said smiling and accepts the mask. She then uses her Regeant she found on Berith to turn him into Oroboras a horse man demon
"Me now Orobas." Orobas said "I'll become your mask and show you the truth of the future you want."
"Well now you are a lot stronger thanks to my Hierophant rank" Aqua said seeing the card glow. She then due to removing Shiki-Ouji to make room to Koppa summons another Regent and Slime and uses them to have him back but stronger.
"Oh this is now much more powerful" Shiki-Ouiji said smiling "You truly are my peer."
"Welcome back buddy." Aqua said and resummon Archangel before leaving back to the group to continue the mission.
Once regrouped, the Dragon Gems make their way down the hall on the left side and find another security control room.
"Oooh, a control room! Think we can turn them lasers off here?!" Uzi asked smiling. They approach a computer that is by the window to the central room. She said "Hey, we don't need a password for this one! What do you wanna do?"
Aqua sees three options turn off lasers, shut down main power and open the shutters, she attempts to turn off the lasers but nothing in the other room happened.
"Huh? Nothing happened…" Uzi said surprised.
"Error! Only Lord Lysandre can access this terminal due to maximum security protocol!" The terminal said.
"The heck? There was no point in even coming here then…!" Uzi said annoyed.
"Hm, it seems disabling the infrared lasers is not within the realm of possibility for us…" Zane said thinking.
"Let's try the other ones too." Alexis suggested.
Aqua nods and shuts down main power and in the central room the lights turn off but the lasers stay on, also Shadow Lysandre and the Shadow Basherbots notice.
"Wh-what is the meaning of this?!" Shadow Lysandre said in surprise.
"I-I am not sure! It seems we have lost power…" A Shadow Basherbot said concerned "The backup generators should bring it up again in no time!"
Indeed the lights come back on. Shadow Lysandre said "What a nasty surprise…Hm…Could this also be…? Hey, someone!"
Back in the room Uzi annoyed said "Tch, it came back on pretty darn fast…"
"Yes, and the infrared lasers remained active even during the power outage." Zane points out.
"So we'll only be able to turn the power off in there for a few seconds…" Gatomon said thinking.
"Wait a second…Aren't those guards that just ran out headed this way?!" Alexis said worried looking out the window. "What else should we try? We might be in trouble if we don't hurry…"
Aqua nods and opens the shutters, it opens some security shutters blocking the way to other areas in the Main Tresure Hall.
"All right!" Uzi cheered, something going their way.
"Now there are more places we can explore…" Gatomon said nodding.
Just then a Shadow Basherbot runs in and sees them. It said "Hm?! So you're the ones who tampered with the electricity!"
"Scrap, we got company!" Uzi said.
The Shadow Basherbot transforms and turns into there silver flat wolf being with blue eyes. They were known as Hunting Wolf Spirit.
"Let's silence him, fast!" Gatomon said as the fight begins
The fight begins, Gatomon attack one damaging it, One Wolf Spirit launches a blue ball attack at Zane hitting him, Another which was the one Gatomon hit, tires to do Double Fangs on Aqua who dodges it and Zane attacks that one. The last tries to strike Alexis who dodges. Alexis attacks the weakened on with Agi which Aqua and Gatomon finish off.
Gatomon baton passes to Zane who uses Bafu on one of the reaming two, one of them uses Frei on Aqua huting her. Zane then strikes the same one and the remaining one who hasing gone uses Frei on Gatomon this time. Aqua then switches to Shiki-Ouji and uses Mazio it defeats the weakened one and knocks down the last one. They then finish it off with an All-Out attack.
"Phew…That was a surprise…" Alexis said sighing.
"All we really managed to do was open the shutters." Uzi notes.
"On top of that, we can only turn the lights out briefly, while the lasers remain unaffected." Zane added to that.
"Oh well…Guess we just gotta go see what's past those shutters." Uzi said thinking.
The group get moving and Gatomon senses a room that contains a Will Seed. Following through the rafters. They enter a look that was sealed and move in and see the room guarded by the Tresure Hall General Basherbot.
"What the….They got Shadows here too?!" Uzi said surprised.
"I can feel a Seed past this door…It might be a pain to get our hands on it, though." Gatomon said.
"It may be tough. But let's go for it." Aqua said and the group approach the General.
"How did you all…!" The Tresure Hall General said shocked but pauses "Know what? It doesn't matter now that you've seen this place, you won't be leaving alive!" He then transforms into a giant green dogu figurine floating and known as Awakened god.
"Hmph, this room will only be your end. We'll be passing through!" Zane said determined.
The fight begins, Aqua switches to Eligor and has him attack with Mafrei knocking him down and the group all out attacks. Gatomon follows up with Garu knocking him down again for another all out attack, The Awakened God then does Flash Bomb hurting Zane and Aqua while Gatomon and Alexis dodge.
Zane does Bafu on it which freezes the boss, Alexis then does Tarunda to decrease it's attack, Aqua then Uses Mafrei again knocking it down for a third all out attack.
"No….I won't submit!" Awakened God said.
"Then too bad!" Gatomon said doing another Garu and they finish it off.
"My lord….I'm…sorry…" Awkaened God said as it falls over and fades away.
With the general defeated Aqua Opens up the door and claims the last Will Seed of this Palace. The three seeds fuse together to form the Crystal of Vanity. They then go open up the area and find a new safe room to use.
Aqua then swings across a balcony to another across the way. They then find another Hunting Wolf Spirit and Aqua convinces it to join them and it was known really as a Makami.
"Me happy to have new friends" Makami said happily.
"You will have many battles here" Eligor said nodding.
They keep moving and soon enter a room with computers and such.
"Huh? Is this some kind of security room too?" Uzi asked.
"No, it is most likely where all the mechanisms in the exhibition hall are controlled from." Zane said thinking. "Given the number of hanging works, it would make sense to have a room dedicated to controlling them."
"The observational skills of an artist are out of this world…" Alexis said amazed.
Aqua looks around and sees a lever. Gatomon asked "Hm? Do you think this moves the wires for all the hanging art…?"
"It looks like Ninja's deduction was on point!" Alexis said smiling.
Aqua sees a ladder and the group climb it and walk along some hanging boards to a hook that hangs directly over the treasure.
"Hey, ain't this right above the Treasure?" Uzi asked curious.
"Oh look! There aren't any lasers above it!" Alexis said noticing that.
"This is quite a large hole in their security…but what do we do? Jump down to retrieve it?" Zane asked.
"We wouldn't be able to get out if we did that though. Look up." Gatomon said pointing to the hook.
"A crane with a hook…" Zane noted.
"Didn't we see something earlier that looked like it could be a set of controls for that crane?" Gatomon asked smiling "Let's go back and check it out!"
As they head back, Aqua sees some of the planks lead to a window and mentally notes them down. They go back to the lever.
"It looks like this is it…Waterwave, give it a try." Gatomon said.
Aqua nots and pulls the lever down and they see the hook decend down to the treasure.
"Stop! Stooop!" Alexis said having Aqua stop it before it got to be behind the lasers "They'll notice if you keep that up! Get back up there! Go, go, go!" Aqua nods and brings it back up.
"Hmmm, this could be useful." Gatomon said thinking.
"Do you plan on descending on that hook?" Zane asked "Would they not spot you the moment you were lowered down?"
"No… Not necessarily." Gatomon said thinking "There's something I can do to make sure that doesn't happen."
Aqua thinks and said realizing "Use the darkness?"
"Exactly! That's our Waterwave!" Gatomon said smiling.
"Oh right…We were able to turn the lights off over in that other control room!" Alexis said getting it.
"Only for a few seconds though. There would not be enough time to make it all the way here." Zane points out.
"That's why we're going to split up the tasks and work together to pull off this heist!" Gatomon told them. "One person will shut the power off here, one person will lower the crane, and I'll grab the Treasure!"
"You sure that's gonna work? Seems like they'd realize what's going on at some point." Uzi told him.
"Sometimes bold moves have the greatest payout." Gatomon said smiling "Unless someone has a better idea?"
"The plan sounds good to me." Aqua said thinking.
"Well said, Waterwave! You understand what being a phantom thief really means!" Gatomon said nodding. "All right, it's settled. Our infiltration route is secured!"
"You got to be kidding me…" Uzi said sighing.
"Now then, it's time for the calling card!" Gatomon said smiling.
Aqua nods and they head towards the exit. When the group were at the entrance and the other were talking, Aqua felt something calling her and looks to see the Velvet Room entrance with Gardine standing next to it.
"You seem to be doing well, Inmate." Gardine said to her and the door opens "We have an important matter to discuss regarding your rehabilitation."
"Alright" Aqua said and steps through the gate.
Soon Aqua was back in the Velvet Room with Gardine, Galla and Yen Sid and she was also in her prison outfit.
"There you are, Inmate" Galla said annoyed.
"Our master admires the progress of your rehabilitation and hence has given you use of a special ritual." Gardine said to Aqua.
"It's the Electric Chair, used to sacrifice Personas and transmutate them into high-level items!" Galla explained.
"Any further questions regarding the ritual can be directed toward our master himself." Gardine said.
"He's apparently gonna consider making even more rituals if your rehabilitation goes as planned." Galla said shrugging. "Work hard for it, Inmate!"
"Right, understood." Aqua said and goes to look at the Electic Chair
"Another thing, you need a special item in other to put the energys of the executed Persona into, Blank Cards for moves, Black Robes for Armor and Black Kogatanas for weapons." Galla said "Here I'll give you this one for free but you should be able to find more in your world" He gives her a Black Kogatana.
Aqua nods and looks at her options, she sees Arsene can become Arsene's Cane which was a strong weapon, she then selects for that.
Arsene looks at her as the other Personas watch and he said chuckling "I am Arsene the other you who exists within…Though I may disappear this moment, I shall always be at your side. We shall properly fight side by side again when your fate reaches its conclusion." He laughs as he willing accepts the execution and turns into Arsene's Cane.
Aqua then looks and sees Arsene by her side still a ghostly figure meaning what he said was true, he still at his side but unable to fight with her. Aqua then sacrifices Matador for a Blood Red Capote and resummons him and Apsaras before leaving.
When she arrived Zane approaches her and asked "Is something wrong? You appeared to be lost in thought."
"I am fine, just a bit tired, it's been a long infiltration." Aqua said shaking her head.
"Excellent no problems all around. Shall we get going?" Zane said.
"Yeah, let's head home." Aqua said and they go for the exit.
"Yeah, I'm still kind of worried…but we got to do this." Uzi said as they left.
"I cannot even begin to fathom what Lysandre's Treasure may be…" Zane said thinking.
"Either way, we'll steal it for sure." Alexis said smiling "Oh, and you all did great today!"
Once back in the real world everyone went back to their homes, Aqua enters LeBlanc and sighs in relief.
"You did great today. You tired?" Gatomon asked and Aqua nods.
She then gets a message on the Dragon Gems Group chat and sees it's from Alexis saying "All we have to do now is send the calling card to Lysandre."
"All right, it's finally time!" Uzi messages "Now all we got to do is decide when we're gonna do it."
"Shouldn't we talk to Zane about that first?" Alexis messages
"Uhh, why?" Uzi asked.
"I mean, Lysandre was his teacher." Alexis points out "It's not our place to be deciding something like this."
"Oh yeah…" Uzi messages
"Let's talk to Zane." Aqua messages.
"Yeah, this problem's bigger than just the three of us." Uzi messages.
"Anyway, how about we all meet up at the hideout." Alexis suggests.
"Yep, sounds good." Uzi messages.
"Okay let me know when you want to meet and I'll tell Zane." Alexis messages.
Aqua spends a bit of time crafting 4 lock picks and uping her Proficiency before heading to bed to rest up tomorrow was going to be a big day.
Route is secure, plan to get the tresure is made now just need to send the Calling card, we will get to that soon.
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