Bound By Our Desires Chapter 34: The Shogun of Vanity, an Earthbound + Persona Series Crossover fanfic

Quick AN: This is the second part of a double feature, just like Kamoshida's heist. Chapter 33 was released yesterday if you missed that chapter. If not, enjoy!

Chapter 34: The Shogun of Vanity, Vandalized

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Akira•

"Stop them!"

"Don't let them get away!"

Joker grinned as he ducked away from a guard's baton, the rest of the Phantom Thieves climbing up onto the roof of the museum's first building as he watched their backs. "Wow, if you're having trouble with just me, maybe you should be glad my teammates are getting away, huh?"

As he rolled back onto his feet he pulled his Riot Pistol out and opened fire. Three rounds impacted the lead Shadow and vaporized it, while the last struck the next Shadow behind it and destabilized it, transforming it into two Hua Po.

Thump-thump.

"Get him!" One cried, and he jumped to the side to avoid an Agi blast. He ripped off his mask as he moved, Apsaras appearing before him and with a pirouette unleashed a Bufu that struck one down.

The other attempted to throw another fireball, but he managed to slide underneath it as Apsaras unleashed a Rebellion spell on him, golden light exploding around him. He pulled his Blizz Dagger out and stabbed the Hua Po through, dispersing it into ash.

More guards ran up, but bullets began raining down from the rooftop as the other thieves reached the top and gave him covering fire. He grinned and turned, firing his grappling hook up which Skull grabbed as it whipped past. It quickly wrapped around his arm and Skull tugged as it reeled in, letting Joker fly off the ground and towards the roof.

He flew over the lip of the building and rolled, letting the line unravel and snap back onto his wrist. Fox, Panther, and Mona fired several more bursts before turning and running after him, Skull grabbing the rope and tugging it up enough that the Shadows couldn't follow.

Thump-thump.

"To the courtyard! Then, we climb the tower!" They sprinted across the roof of the museum, the shouts of the guards fading into the background, and once they reached the courtyard descended down into the once cordoned-off area.

"Everyone set to climb again?" Mona asked.

"Yeah, now come on!" They began ascending the tower, first using the rope they'd left then jumping from ledge to ledge when they had reached the top of that. In retrospect it wasn't that high of a tower, it had felt larger as they climbed because of the mess that was the twisted golden area.

When they reached the zenith he opened the window and ushered in his teammates before following them in. Far below they could see Madarame's Shadow, still in the cage of lasers with the Treasure, as what looked like dozens of Shadows patrolled the room. The Treasure itself had manifested, and while he could tell that it was some kind of painting, it was covered by a sheet so he couldn't tell what was splashed across the canvas.

"I'll bet ya a thousand yen that it's a self-portrait."

He just snorted at Skull. "No deal."

Thump-thump.

Fox and Mona split off from them as they reached the hook, Fox taking several cables that Mona had pulled from his pack and using them to tie Mona to the winch. As they did Joker leaned over the edge and looked around the various walkways. "I don't see any Shadows, so they're probably all concentrated in the Treasure room and the halls leading into it… That doesn't mean there aren't any at all though. I'll go with you part way to grab the Will Seed, and good luck on the rest of the way down."

He, Panther, and Skull ran through the control room and down the halls. No Shadows were in sight yet, and when they reached the intersection that had one route leading to the Will Seed and the other down to the security room they split. He raced towards the Will Seed, and Panther and Skull sped the other way.

Willst thou be alright on thy own?

Me am no think Shadows will be on route to Seed.

'Makami's right. It's more likely Shadows will be down by the Security Room. I'll just grab the Will Seed and—' He screeched to a halt and jumped back behind a wall when he saw that same Savage Enemy guarding the Will Seed, not having left its position even with the calling card having been sent. 'Crap.'

Thump-thump.

You were saying?

'Shut up, Izanagi.'

Well? Will you jussst leave the Will Sssed then?

'...No.'

Trickster, fighting a Savage Enemy on thy own shall be… quite difficult…

'Hey, I'm the Trickster. I'm sure this will go… fine.'

That did not sound very reasSURING!

He grinned and jumped around the corner, before bursting towards the Shadow. It snapped its head towards him, preparing its baton and swinging at him. It whiffed inches below Joker's body as he jumped up and stabbed it in the neck, before planting his feet on its chest and pushing himself off and away.

As he did a flip and landed in a crouch he smirked up at what the Shadow guard had transformed into. It was a large seven-foot doll-like figure, made of dried and hardened clay with two massive eyes staring at him, stubby arms connected to an hourglass-shaped body, and short legs that floated above the ground.

Thump-thump.

"Wow, cliche evil doll, huh?"

"THIEVES SHALL NOT. BE ALLOWED TO STEAL. FROM LORD MADARAME. PERISH." Psychedelic-colored orbs suddenly blasted out of its eyes, and his own widened in surprise as he had to dodge to the side.

"Whoa!" He skid to a stop and pulled out the Riot Pistol, emptying the magazine into the Shadow. It was barely affected, but the final bullet managed to shock it, and he grinned as he ripped free his mask. "Cross-Slash!" Izangi-Picaro manifested and struck, the attack throwing the doll back and causing it to crash to the ground. "Now, Zionga!"

Lightning crashed and the doll shuddered before it floated back up and lunged at him. "Too slow!" He dodged back, firing once again after he reloaded, but wasn't lucky enough to shock it a second time. He clicked his tongue, before lunging forward, dodging another wave of psychedelic light, and attempted to stab it in the chest.

Thump-thump.

His dagger bounced right off it and his eyes widened in surprise. Before he could do anything, the Shadow's own eyes flashed bright white, and he cried out as he was blinded and thrown back by what felt like a physical blow to his entire body. "Shit!"

Dodge left, Trickster! He did as the voice in his head suggested and rolled when he landed, and heard the crack of what was likely the ground after something heavy impacted it. He was still blinded, but since he knew the general direction that the Shadow was in, he dismissed his weapons and held both hands forward. "PSI Rebellion α!"

The explosive attack had such a wide range that he was certain to get a hit— "NGH." He grinned as he heard the robotic grunt of pain and a boost in his own strength, and leaped towards the source of the sound. He landed atop the doll, somewhere around its upper chest, and planted both hands firmly on it. "PSI Rebellion α!"

Thump-thump.

He flooded the clay doll with PSI and jumped over its head behind it, using his hands to shield the back of his head as he raced away, an explosion occurring mere seconds later. His body was buffeted by the force of the blast but he moved with it, blinking his eyes as he went and finally regaining vision.

He glanced behind himself with a smirk, only for it to fault when he saw that barely any damage had been done to the Shadow. He'd wasted energy on Rebellion α, a costly ability, twice now for barely anything.

"Aw hell…"

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Ryuji•

"Whip 'em, Captain Kidd!" The Captain piloted his ship straight into the side of another of those big monkey-tiger-snake things, causing it to fall back before Carmen completely incinerated it.

"Nice!" Panther high-fived him and passed the baton, and he charged forward, bringing his battle hammer down on the head of a Makami that had attempted to scramble back to dodge. It was crushed easily, and he whooped as he let his weapon rest against his shoulder. "Come on, let's keep moving! The others are probably waiting!"

"Hell yeah!" They ran to the security room, careful to avoid letting the guards in the Treasure room see them. "Joker's probably back with Fox an' Mona now, so let's get this done!"

Thump-thump.

"You don't think Joker ran into any trouble?"

"Nah, even if he did he's got it covered!"

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Akira•

Do we have this covered?

I'm thinking… no.

He grimaced as he ducked below an explosion of psychedelic energy, firing wildly at the Shadow. At the very least, he'd noticed something during the fight. The Shadow was taking care not to damage any of the paintings around them as he ran around the room, no wide-ranged attacks when he was near them, and an idea was coming to him.

He did a flip over a psychedelic barrage, firing wildly with his pistol.

Though… it wasn't as if the Shadow would let him just grab several paintings and trap the thing between them. Maybe… create an illusion? Stun it long enough to just chuck a bunch of paintings on top of it?

Thump-thump.

I believe that we—

—Have a solution.

He closed his eyes as he focused on Apsaras and Ame-No-Uzume, trying to understand what their Fusion Spell would do. He grimaced and nodded, rolling under the Shadow as it charged at him, before flipping onto his feet and grabbing his mask. This was going to hurt…

Joker began tugging, feeling the pain of two Personas clicking into place at the forefront of his mind. He almost lost focus because of the agony, beginning to scream, before he tore the mask from his face and blood began gushing from his torn skin. "HaaaaAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Apsaras and Ame-No-Uzume appeared before him, and just as the Shadow turned to look back at him, he threw his arms wide. "Dance of the Divines!"

Thump-thump.

Together his Personas began a complex dance, a pink light beginning to radiate out of them and wash over the room. The clay doll visibly stalled midair, eyes flashing a similar pink. He ran past the disorientated Shadow, distracted by the dance, and slashed the ropes over the door before shoving it open. He ran inside and grabbed the Seed, ignoring how the other two slipped from his pockets and they all began combining.

He snatched the finished product and sprinted out as his Personas finished their dance and transformed back into his mask, ignoring the Savage Enemy that was twitching back and forth in midair now either confused or brainwashed thanks to the Fusion Spell.

Now that it thought it was completely surrounded by Madarame's paintings, it wouldn't be any threat, and he grinned as he ran back to the control room, feeling a slight strain from lack of energy.

Thump-thump.

He saw Fox shoot him a look when he returned, clearly wondering what had taken so long before they both focused on the plan. He stood by the lever that controlled the winch, hand on it and ready to pull as Fox looked over the edge of the scaffolding.

Upon seeing Panther ready and waiting in the security room, the ice user nodded and shouted to Joker. "Lower him!"

"Lowering!" He pulled and Mona began descending. It was slow going, and after several moments Fox slashed his hand down, the signal to Panther to shut the lights down.

It was an agonizing full second of nothing happening before the lights finally shut down, and they heard shouts of confusion from below. There was a sudden flare of blue flame down in the cage, and Fox felt a massive burst of wind nearly throw him back. That was the second signal. "Raise him!"

Thump-thump.

Joker flipped the lever and Mona was pulled back up, before the lights and power activated, revealing an empty cage. "What the—?!" As Madarame panicked below them Mona had been raised all the way back up, so Fox and Joker began undoing the ropes as Mona smugly held the Treasure aloft, the painting still covered by the tarp.

"Well? Excellently pulled off, I would think."

"Yes, well done, Mona, now let's go!" Just as they finished removing the ropes Panther and Skull reached the control room, Skull kicking the door closed.

"Shadows are everywhere, dude, we gotta run!"

Thump-thump.

"To the window!" They jumped across the scaffolding and through the window, buffeted by the winds, before they began their descent.

"That went off without a hitch!" Panther cheered, carefully jumping down the ledges.

"It was rather nerve-wracking cutting it so close with shutting down the power. But, I suppose with how quickly it came back on it was a good idea."

"Less talking, more moving!" At his chastisement everyone focused on climbing down the tower, eventually reaching the central gardens and beginning to dash through it. As they went Mona began slowing down until he was at the back of the pack, until he couldn't handle it anymore.

Thump-thump.

"Mrowww…. I can't take it! Let's check this Treasure out!"

"Wha— Mona?!" Joker spun around and growled at the sight of the not-cat throwing the canvas on the floor and scrambling to rip the sheet off of it. "We can check it out in the real world!"

"They're gonna catch up to us, you idi— hey, what the…?!" As Skull stomped over, he gaped at the sight of the Treasure. "THAT'S the Treasure?!"

Mona blinked and pulled back from where he was rubbing his face against the canvas, before gaping. It could hardly be called a painting, simply a few black lines that almost looked like a face. "No way… we were tricked?" Panther questioned. As focused on the fake Treasure as they were, only Panther noticed the rising pillars around them. "Look out!"

Thump-thump.

At her shout, everyone quickly jumped back, escaping the electricity trap moments before it activated. "Tricks within tricks," Fox growled.

"Meddlesome vermin." Everyone spun at the sound of the voice, and Joker narrowed his eyes when he saw Shadow Madarame standing before them, a guard at either side, one of which held a painting with a golden frame. "Is this what you're looking for?"

"How dare you try to trap me like some kind of mouse!" Mona snapped.

Ignoring the not-cat, Skull grinned at the Shadow. "So you had a fake prepped, huh?! Too bad, you brought the real Treasure right to us!"

Thump-thump.

Madarame waved an uncaring hand. "Hmph. Counterfeits are accepted in the world of Japanese art."

"…What made you change like this? Is it because you became famous?! Can't you understand how much it pains me to inquire about the crimes of my foster father?!" As Fox roared his question he pulled his mask off but didn't summon Goemon, instead holding the kitsune mask in one hand to glare fully at his former Sensei.

Shadow Madarame simply turned to stare at Fox, slowly shaking his head. "Now that I think back, the only reason why I took you in was due to my ties with your mother. That woman never lost her passion for painting even after her husband died. Her skills and talents were quite astonishing… that's why I decided to look after her."

Thump-thump-thump.

"This better not be going where I think it's going," Joker sighed, frustration and anger staining his voice.

"Your mother and the artwork she created— they're all MY works of art!"

Panther glared in disgust at the man. "How low can you sink?!"

"Oh, I can't wait to beat this asshole's ass!"

Thump-thump-thump.

"I suppose I can grant you a gift before you die— a glimpse of the genuine 'Sayuri'!"

"Genuine…?"

The guard holding the Treasure stepped forward and held the painting above its head, revealing the beautiful painting. However, the fog in this painting didn't exist, revealing what the woman was smiling at. A small babe, eyes closed and slumbering peacefully.

"That's… the real 'Sayuri'? This can't be… Mom!"

"Indeed. This was painted by your mother. It's a portrait of herself."

Thump-thump-thump.

"Yeah, I can see where this is going… You despicable piece of shit." Joker growled in rage at the man's Shadow. "You stole her work and threw her out, stealing her child for yourself at the same time? I can only imagine why she didn't try and take him back… did you ruin her completely like every other pupil? You malignant FUCK!"

Madarame just laughed. "Oh no, of course not! Her death was by completely natural causes, I assure you! This was painted by a woman who knew her death was coming, her last wishes immortalized for the son she would leave behind. And that is the truth behind the mystery of the 'Sayuri''s expression!"

"You stole somethin' THAT personal?!"

Madarame began pacing, apparently lost in memories. "I knew at first glance. I knew it'd be a huge success if I added a touch to the painting and announced it under my name!"

Thump-thump-thump.

"But the baby in the picture… why did you paint over it?" Joker couldn't quite understand what emotion was in Fox's voice as he asked the question, but Madarame just turned and smirked widely.

"It was all to stage it. If the babe is erased, the reason for the woman's expression will become a mystery! That is what the general public is drawn to! Each of those parasitic critics wrote the same thing!"

Panther loosened her stance, all while her grip on her whip got tighter. "I always felt something was off about all this… now I know what it is. If you really treasured that painting, you wouldn't even think about replicating it for profit! You don't love art at all!"

Mona shook his head. "Though you have a real Treasure, your true skills are nothing more than those scribbles on that fake!"

"It makes me laugh asshole!"

Thump-thump-thump.

"So you'll defy me no matter what… well then, since you're my work of art, Yusuke, I'm going to reap you for the sake of my future… along with those insolent friends of yours there."

"I can't believe you're treating both mother and son like they're objects… you're inhuman!"

Madarame just chuckled, not even bothering to refute Panther, but Mona looked at Fox, noting the almost calm expression on his face. "…Fox?"

"…I have a final question, Madarame. It is as Joker said before. You ruin your pupils… you ruin your 'art' once they outlive their usefulness. And you say her death was by 'natural causes'. How did she die? What was the cause, Madarame?"

Thump-thump-thump.

A sickeningly innocent smile spread across the Shadow's face.

"She just so happened to have a seizure in front of me. That's when a thought crossed my mind— if I don't call for help and leave her be, I could obtain her painting without any strings attached."

"No… you let her die…?!"

"You… you…! You call letting her die like that 'natural causes?!"

Thump-thump-thump.

"She was physically weak! No one would doubt if she just dropped dead because of a seizure. Above all, Yusuke, didn't you think it was odd that I discovered your talent when you were only three? The reason I kept you around was to keep you from realizing the truth behind 'Sayuri'."

"You… KILLED her!"

Madarame ignored Yusuke's words. "The artistic talents you inherited from your mother were a delightful miscalculation, though. If I'm to steal ideas, it's much easier robbing the futures of brats who won't talk back to adults. It's thanks to you that I came up with the idea. You have my gratitude."

Thump-thump-thump.

Fox closed his eyes and didn't respond. Then, his lips twitched and he began chuckling. Panther looked over in concern. "...Fox… Yusuke?"

"Ah… ahaha… I thank you, Madarame. With that, all reason for me to forgive you has disappeared without a trace at this very moment!" When his eyes opened they were glowing with malice, and he placed his mask back on his face. "You aren't some rotten artist… You're a despicable fiend who wears the skin of an artist!"

"All you good-for-nothings…! Barging into my museum and doing whatever the hell you want!" The air darkened, and a rumble ran through the Palace. "Those who have the connections make the rules; those who don't, follow them. Not to mention, the value of art is subjective! I make the rules in the art scene! I am the supreme being! I am the GO̴D̴ ̷O̴F̴ ̸T̷H̶E̷̯͊̄ ̷͙͈̃͑A̷̩̯͂Ȑ̶͚T̴̩̀ ̶͎͖͗̃W̵̥̺̍O̶̢̠͗Ṙ̶̩͎L̴̳̳͑̐D̶̪͌!̸̛̮͋"̵̪̪͆͒

"This isn't good! Get back!"

Thumpthumpthumpthump.

The Phantom Thieves jumped away as Madarame's body expanded, but not in the same way that Kamoshida's did. While the false king's body had ballooned up into the grotesque, oversized baby-like Asmodeus, Madarame stretched, becoming thinner, before exploding with black ooze.

When the dark blood settled, his new body was revealed, a set of four disturbing paintings, two for his eyes, and two for his nose and mouth, the eyes bulging out of the canvas and looking every which way, the nose sniffing the air, and the mouth biting at nothing. "̸̨̾͠Ï̷̧-̷͑͋ͅI̵̯̬̾̉̐-̷͕͙̭͆͌͘Ḭ̴̘͛͒'̴͎̪͗̓L̶̤̂̈̓L̸̨̟̐̀͝ ̶̡̘̈́͆̀P̵̹͋A̸͉̎̋̓Ì̴̬͘͝Ņ̵̫̄̈́̚ͅT̸͓̲͐̽ ̵̱̊͝ͅÁ̸̖͇Ļ̶̈́̾L̸̨̓ ̵͔̃͜͠O̷̞͉̪̽̏͝V̵͙̖͗͊E̴͚̓R̴̲̈́ ̷̼̻̈́̕Ỵ̶̒́̈O̴̻̩͂͆U̶͇̐!̷̞͕̗͑"̵̭͚̳͐͝

"Bring it, asshole!"

Everyone backed up, creating space, as Madarame's paintings moved forward in sync with each other. "̸͚͇́͘N̷͔̆́ö̸̙͈̔ẅ̴̟͙́,̷̦̄̐ ̵̯̓͝l̶̳̉e̴̻̜̎ṱ̵̍'̷̯̓s̸̬̃̕ ̶̧̂̍ͅb̴̞̣͒e̴̗͛͠g̶̮̃̒͜ī̶̬̀n̷̛̻,̸͓̍̅ ̵̧͇̓̈́y̴̖͗o̵̳͊͒ů̵͍ ̷̮͔͑v̷̮̀ḙ̷̛̖r̵͇̪̆m̵̠͝i̷̤̭̋̄n̴̤̰͛̑!̸͓̦̇"̷̜̈͌

Joker felt Makami shiver within him. Azazel tough… But we win this!

"You used others for your despicable desires, Madarame…" Joker saw Fox gripping Yuibitachi's hilt, crouching down as rage flashed through his eyes. "You aren't even worth the art you 'create'!" The mouth painting moved out of sync, attempting to bite down on Fox, who swiftly dodged back out of the way. Joker and Skull ran forwards, Skull jumping toward the left eye while he went for the right.

"Carmen!" Both paintings flinched back as they stuck, and he looked over his shoulder to see Panther readying her Persona. He motioned at Skull and they dove to either side as a Maragi spell flew past. When he rolled to his feet he grimaced when he saw that the spell hadn't been successful. Hell, it had probably the opposite effect. The eye paintings, which had bruises on them, had been healed by the spell.

In response to the attack one of the eyes bulged and red light surrounded the nose, which then unleashed a burst of fire toward Fox. "̴͔̟͋̿B̵̡̪͌e̸̩̝̾͠ḣ̴̝̝o̴̲̍ͅl̷̙̇̑ͅd̶̺͋͆ ̵̘̈́̇m̶̟̊͘y̵̠̎̍ ̸̘̒'̸͓̫͌̈F̴̡̄ͅl̵̘̊a̴͎̜̒̿m̴̘̟̔̉ẻ̴͙̏ ̷̲̿͌D̴̫̠̿ḁ̴̀͛͜n̵͔̜͌c̸͉̐̅e̶͖͂̏'̴̙̏̓ͅ!̵͚̺̈́"̶̝̎

"Wha—" as the scorching flames washed over the battlefield, he growled and waved a fist at the Shadow. "'Flame dance'?! Goddamnit, that was just a stronger Agi spell under a different name! You're plagiarizing our attacks now too?!"

Fox just growled, flashing forward and slashing with his blade, aiming at the mouth painting. Instead of damaging Madarame, it was as though his blade swiped through nothing, slicing into Madarame's painting like water, and the burn marks from Carmen's Maragi spell had been removed.

"Damn, this'll be tricky! It looks like the eyes can drain magic attacks, and the mouth drains physical!"

"Then it's my turn to shine! Alright Captain Kidd, hit 'em hard with the Adventure Galley! Rampage!" The pirate ship soared forward and crashed through the group of paintings, throwing them all aside except for the mouth.

"God, you're such a pirate nerd…"

"̸̫̂G̸̤̃͐-̵̨̩̐G̴̛̭̤͐a̵̳͉͑h̸̑̈ͅ!̸͈̾̂ ̷̖͚͊̈D̴̬͂͂à̴͉̖m̵̜̫̚n̶̩̋ͅ ̸͎̞̃̕ỳ̸̥o̵̮̬͑̉u̵̱̇̋!̸̝̺͐́"̶̝̔One of the eyes attempted to unleash a whirlwind of air toward Skull, so he sprinted forward and tackled the lighting user. They both rolled out of the way of the attack, while Mona and Fox jumped forward and summoned their Personas.

"Garu!"

"Bufu!"

The sharp winds and freezing cold washed over the painting, and it retaliated by blasting forward and attempting to bite down on them. Both boys dodged back, but the mouth attacked again faster than expected and struck at Panther. She cried out in pain and reflexively tried to bat the painting away with the butt of her whip, but just ended up phasing through it. "C-Carmen!"

The Agi that spewed from Carmen's mouth burned both Panther and Madarame, but it at least got the Mouth Painting to let her go. Joker grimaced as he watched her stumble back, sprinting in and ripping his mask off. "Makami, Frei!" The nuclear blast forced the mouth painting back further, and he grabbed Panther, pulling her back.

"Zorro, Dia!"

The magic washed over Panther but didn't do much. He grimaced at Mona and the not-cat nodded, using the spell again. In the background he could hear Fox and Ryuji fighting the paintings, frantically attempting to avoid the mouth painting while striking at the eyes and nose. Their magic, so much weaker than Mona and Panther's, did very little when they were able to actually use it against the chomping piece of artwork.

He narrowed his eyes and let energy flow down into his hands. "Skull, Fox, dodge!"

Both thieves heeded his warning and jumped to either side, leaving all four paintings wide open. "Rebellion ɑ!" The psionic attack struck like a wave and with each painting impacted, exploded with energy. So he was right in that the psychic attack was able to connect and do damage to the eyes, but that was too draining to rely on…

In fact, he was so drained that he almost didn't notice Mona's warning. "Joker, look out!"

He refocused and scrambled to dodge as Madarame coughed up black sludge, similar in color and consistency to the blood that Shadows bled and formed from, and covered his body in it.

"Ah…" he felt his strength being sapped from him and stumbled, the inky liquid soaking through both his clothing and body. "Shit!" A bolt of lightning, too fast to dodge, shot toward him. "Izanagi-Picaro!"

What should have been blocked by the God Maker's electricity immunity instead caused him to scream in agony as the lightning bolt flashed through him.

"Joker!"

He wasn't sure who shouted, perhaps everyone had at once, but he was in too much pain to focus. Suddenly a warm feeling washed over him and the pain fled him as he sat up, Panther kneeling next to him, the Ring of Lust glowing on her finger. It may have been a product of Kamoshida's twisted mind, but Panther was strong enough to wear it despite her hatred of the man, and the spell inscribed on it certainly helped.

A healing and damage boost combination, and while it didn't remove the black paint so he still felt weak, the raising of his attack power wouldn't go to waste. He pushed himself up and ripped his mask away, Izanagi-Picaro speeding toward the mouth painting. "Zionga!"

His return blast was enough to send the painting flying away, but a massive gust of razor wind blew across the area thanks to one of Madarame's eyes, and everyone was thrown away, crying out in pain, but he and Skull were hit the hardest even after he tried to switch to Makami.

He bounced along the ground and grit his teeth as he struggled to stop himself and stand back up. "Joker, do not push yourself!" Fox helped him to his feet, some of the black gunk sticking to the ice-wielder.

"Careful… this crap… I think it's made me weak to every element!" Fox let him lean on his shoulder, while Panther and Mona helped Skull up.

"̷͉̉I̴̲͗̚ͅṅ̴͔̯̂d̶̡̀e̷̗͐ě̸̢d̴̛̟͆!̴͉̳͝ ̵̙̖̌̂T̸̥̄h̷̫́͐i̴̹̹̎͋s̶̤̈̚ ̶̬͈͆͐i̸͔͌s̴̼̿͌ ̶̥̔s̴̫̑͝i̵̢̋m̵̮̔p̵̲̮̏l̵̯͌͝ÿ̴̳́̇ ̸̪͑͝a̷͕̍̽n̷̍͜o̶͖͐̔t̸̰̚̚ẖ̵̛̏e̶͉̋ṙ̸̺̭ ̶͓̒o̵̫̗͝f̶͕͎̓̕ ̶̧͛m̷̰̻̄y̶̢̦̅̚ ̶͕̤̑̈́t̴̺̙́̿ä̴̞̮́̐l̸̡͖̍̚e̵̛̘̅n̸̥̬̔́ţ̷̄̎s̸̩̹̏ ̸̣͖́̈a̴̯̲͗̃s̶͉͝—̷̫̾!̸͍̤͘"̷̘̬̂

"Oh shut up! PSI Rebellion α!" Another blast sent the paintings careening back, but Joker grimaced and lurched forward, getting dangerously low on energy.

"Here, take this!" Mona hopped over and threw him a Snuff Soul. He took the candy and swallowed it, feeling a rush of power. Mona looked him over and nodded, having Zorro cast a Dia on him, before looking back towards Madarame. "What are we supposed to do about this? Try to hit all the paintings at once with a physical attack and the mouth is healed. Focus on the mouth and the rest will retaliate while we're distracted… we need some way to hit them all at once, and your Rebellion is way too costly!"

"Maybe Fox, Joker, and Skull can keep the eyes and nose distracted while you and me fight the mouth?" Panther suggested.

"Mona and I," Joker absently corrected.

"I don't want to risk Joker fighting without either of us there to heal him while he's covered in this black paint…"

"̵̗͠B̷̫̘̑e̸̫̎h̷̹͌ö̴̻́͑l̴̠͍̽ḑ̶͈͌,̷̬͙͗ ̶̠̤̓̀ã̴̠̗̆ ̴̜̣̃͝'̸͙̑͂S̶̝̓͝i̸̮̞̎̕l̵̜͇̀̅ę̴̀n̷̝͉̒͑t̴̼̒ ̶̙̿̀S̴̝̽n̸͖̤͋̚ȏ̶̺w̴̘̔͌s̷̹̏̒c̵̤̃͝ͅa̵̲̣̚p̴̼̰̈͗ě̴̟́'̵͎͚͘!̴̼͛"̷͙̓ Pillars of ice began erupting from the ground, and Fox scooped him up, jumping to the side, while Skull, Mona, and Panther yelped and all dodged the freezing strikes.

"'Silent snowscape' my ass... that shit was just a bufu!"

"Black paint… Ah, that's it!" Joker's eyes gleamed as he remembered the first time they had entered the courtyard with Fox as an official member, where they had passed by several cans of black paint. "I'll be right back, can you all focus on fighting for now?"

"Leave it to us, dude! Whip 'em, Captain!"

He turned and began limping away, before settling into a jog as he recovered more energy. Where the hell were they…? He looked around the area, eyes flitting back and forth as he tried to find the cans of dark paint. Of course, there was always the chance that he was wrong about the paint being the same thing as the ooze Madarame had used on him, but this really was their best chance at winning. Damn him for pushing his luck against that Will Seed guard and not just leaving it…

Hell, he didn't even know what the thing did! It was just a hunk-of-junk currently!

Focus, Trickster! Look there!

He snapped his head back and spotted the cans. "Yes!" He grabbed two and turned, sprinting as fast as he could back to the battle. As he went he winced when he witnessed Fox being thrown back through the air, covered in black sludge. "Apsaras!" The nymph caught the boy, before setting him down and beginning a dance to cast Media over everyone.

"Joker, you got the paint?!"

"Right here!" He lugged the cans forward, then grimaced. "Now, uh… how do we get it on him?" He couldn't exactly just chuck the buckets with how heavy they were and how drained he was, and there was no guarantee that they'd splash all four paintings.

"Leave that to me." He jumped and looked to the side, Fox having appeared without him noticing.

"You're still covered in the paint, and this stuff is pretty damn draining… are you sure you can do it?"

"Yes."

The Emperor is capable of this. Have faith.

"…alright." Then before he even realized that Fox had moved he was gone, along with the buckets of paint. Joker's head snapped to the side and he watched with wide eyes as Fox sped across the battlefield, much faster than someone covered in energy-draining paint should have been able to move.

It seems his anger has given him strength beyond his limits.

"Yeah. Everyone, get ready!" One of the eyeball paintings looked towards him, before realizing that Fox was no longer on the battlefield. It and the other eye both flew back and up into the air, twitching wildly as they attempted to find where the blue-clad boy had gone.

Panther and Ryuji were able to easily dodge the magical and physical attacks that were coming at them thanks to the mouth and nose no longer having a clear view of them. "Whip 'em, Captain!"

"̴̡͉͗W̵̦̞̐h̶͔̊e̴̘͇͛r̶̳͛è̷̝̊ ̷̛̖̑d̸̰̘̈į̴̱̎ḓ̶̒ ̶͚͝h̷̪͛ȩ̶̻̃—̶̰̕͝?̶̘͋!̷̣̾̓"̶͚̪̏

"It is time to sully these horrid works of art!" Fox had used the electrical poles to jump up, dumping one bucket of paint all over the mouth and nose canvases. The eyes were too far up for him to splash the other bucket onto, so instead he landed on Captain Kidd's boat, and the skeletal pirate grabbed him and threw him high into the air.

He spun midair and lashed out with the bucket, black ooze flying out and splashing across the eyes. "̴̪̝̈́͝Ḋ̷̖̓a̵̳̱̓̕m̴̢̙̏ņ̴͘ ̸͔̠̇ḯ̶̡͙̊ť̷̼͖!̸̥̏ ̶̯̋Ḣ̷̖͍o̴̰̹͑̊w̴͈̚͝ ̷̮̥̿͌d̶͇͌͐a̵̛̙r̸̘̙͑e̴̗͐̐ ̴͚̼͑͝y̷͓̔õ̴̬̯̿ṷ̷́̀—̴̝͐!̵͇̔͆"̴͎͌

"Joker! The time is right!"

"Got it! Everyone, give that bastard hell!"

"Rampage!"

"Maragi!"

"Hyah!"

"UrrrAHHHH!"

The Captain's ship crashed through the various paintings, a wave of fire followed like the wake of his ship and washed over them, Mona's slingshot pellets and Joker's bullets piercing through the canvas easily, and Fox descended from above like an Angel of death, his sword more like a blade of light as he slashed at each painting a dozen times in only a few seconds.

When Fox landed he rolled to bleed off the momentum as the paintings clattered to the ground, but nearly collapsed from the exhaustion his maneuver had wrought on him. Joker cursed and grabbed him, dragging him back and away from Madarame. He wasn't certain if that had been enough, after all, and he could hear the others preparing another assault their thoughts on the same track as his own… before suddenly the paintings began melting.

His eyes widened as he helped Fox to his feet, and watched as the ooze all mixed together, before slowly rising into a humanoid form, Madarame's Shadow, huffing from exhaustion. For half a second he thought that they had done it, Madarame was back in his human form like Kamoshida had after his defeat, but Ichiryusai 'Azazael' Madarame grimacing and lifting a palm crackling with red energy killed that notion.

He and Fox, who had regained enough energy to move without his prodding, both dived to the side as a weak wave of fire passed where they had just been. "̵͈̃D̶̳̄a̸͉̚m̸̗͂n̷̗̓ì̵͚t̷̻͘…̷̤̈́ ̴̼̈Ḯ̵̯'̴̿ͅm̵̡̆ ̶̣͛t̸͍́h̸̞̾ė̴ͅ ̸̥̋g̶͎̑r̵̲̄ĕ̵̝ä̸̫́t̷̠͒ ̶̭̆M̷̨͝ȧ̵͎d̵̗͛a̸̟̕r̸̤͒a̷̜͐m̸͍̅e̴͚͝…̸̫͛"̴͉͆

"Surround him!" As Madarame muttered to himself they ran and circled him, pulling out their guns and aiming.

"̵̲̄T̵̬̾h̴̞̓ê̵͖ ̶̘̉M̷̰̈́a̸̍͜d̶͖̀ả̵͍r̸̠͊ả̶͚m̵͈̒e̷͇̽ ̸̓͜w̵͖̒h̸̻͝o̶̝̾ ̵̬̎ǵ̴̪a̸̧̽t̴̞̋h̸̫͒e̴̤͘r̴̥͠s̶̮̀ ̴͙͌å̸̭ ̶̽ͅf̵̼̈u̸̯͗l̵̦͛l̵̛̦ ̶̤͌c̸̟͒ṛ̵̆o̸͓̍w̵̝͝d̴̢͋ ̶̦̂ė̴͉v̸͝ͅë̴́͜r̵͈̕ȳ̴̪ ̸̞͌t̶͚͐i̵̬̒m̵̥͛è̸͇ ̶̟͝h̴̢̛e̵͇̕ ̷̞̾o̶͉͐p̸̼͂ẽ̷̪n̴̯͝s̸̬̽ ̷̗͗å̷̺n̶͙̊ ̷͖́e̷͉̋x̶̪͆h̵̫̒i̴̛̪b̸̭͠ī̶̱t̸̥͛!̵͔̈́ ̵͈̕I̵̔ͅ'̶̱͋m̵͚̈ ̷̖͆n̶͇̓o̶̘̚t̶͓̎ ̴̺̊ṣ̶̍ö̵͎́m̴̲̀e̴͉̔õ̴̙n̴̬̚e̶̙͝ ̸͉́t̷̖͐h̴̤̾a̶̩͠t̴͈̐ ̶̧̛w̶̧̒o̷͖͘r̴̠͐t̴̤́h̵͖̾l̶̨͂ė̴̪s̷̠̚s̷̫̓ ̴̮̀b̸̢̒r̷̬̅ă̷̤t̴͈̉s̴̺̓ ̶͔̅l̷͙̈́i̷̞̔k̴̼̆e̴̹͘ ̸͜͝ÿ̷̖́ọ̵̈́ù̴ͅ ̴̗̽a̶̩͘r̶̡̆ę̸͗ ̸͚̇ä̶̖́l̶͉̋l̷̹̈́ȏ̴̩w̸͈͑ë̵͉d̸̢̓ ̷͓̀t̶̲̿ǫ̸̃ ̴̖̈́d̸̬̕è̸͖f̵̼̃y̵͙̓!̶̦̅"̴͓͠

"Enough of your egotistic ranting! Taste the wrath of all those you've preyed upon!"

"All-Out Attack!"

They jumped to it. Hacking and slashing and bashing, they put as much energy as they could into the attack, and when everyone leaped away to gain distance, Madarame stumbled back, gripping one of the slash marks that had cut through his robe.

"̷̬̉V̸͙̾e̶͈͑r̷̲͒y̶͉̐ ̸͖̓ẇ̶͓ȅ̷̝ḽ̸̔l̵̹͂!̸̬̃ ̷̖̕i̶͓̿f̷̼͋ ̶̟͆ỷ̷̞ö̶̠u̸̮͋ ̶̪̎c̷̲̑å̶ͅn̶͔͐n̴͖̆ô̸̙t̴̛̩ ̵̗͐f̷͖̆ḁ̶̕t̶͕̏h̵͕̓ọ̴̈́m̶̟̓ ̴̹̀j̴̱̋u̸̝̕s̸̱̓t̵̢͒ ̵̦̑w̷̦͠h̵̦̔ö̴̻́ ̴̻̆I̷͙̕ ̴̣͑a̴͖͠m̸̠͗…̴͚͐ ̷̳̿t̴̹̅h̷̞́e̷̥͗n̷̦̒ ̶̋͜y̴͔͘o̸͉̎ü̵̞'̸̢̾l̴̬̐l̷͖̓ ̵͚͆ẇ̶̦i̴̞͝ț̷̈n̴̟̚ĕ̷̲s̵̹̅s̶̝̊ ̶̢͝i̶͍̎t̸̻́ ̵̢̍f̸̱̆o̷̡̿r̶̪̄ ̴̜͊y̵̻͛o̷̤̿ű̷͓ŗ̵̀s̵̫͠e̴̩̔l̷̮̎v̵̘͊ĕ̶̬s̴̺̈!̶͙̏ ̷̥̌B̷͖̈́e̸̗̓h̵̡̀o̶̩̔l̷̜͗d̵̙̀ ̷͚̄m̴̬͛y̵͓̐ ̴̡̀m̴̩̐a̵̬̓ś̵̲t̷͇̊e̸̝̐r̶͔̍ ̶̱̚c̵̱͐ř̷̤a̶̺͛f̴̯̊t̶͈̎!̷̮͗"̵͕̐

Then, with a blur of color, four fake Madarame appeared around the real Shadow. Joker couldn't help the snort that escaped him. "So your master craft is making counterfeits? Ha! Yeah, that fits!"

The counterfeits weren't even identical to him. One wore orange shades robes and had lightning crackling around him, the second deep red robes with flames billowing at his feet, a third was covered in deep blue robes, and motes of ice were constantly cracking into existence near him, while the fourth wore green robes and a constant wind was picking up the golden leaves falling around the battlefield.

Mona laughed at his words. "That makes sense, creating duplicates IS his specialty!"

"Then let's get to work kickin' their asses!" At Skull's shout, the Captain materialized again and shot a blast of lightning at the wind Madarame. The Zio stuck down but didn't kill the Shadow, and the fire-type launched a ball of flame at him.

Panther jumped forward and took the hit, clapping Skull's hand as she went in a baton pass before launching a Maragi out. The ice-type was thrown onto his back, the fire-type grunted but clearly wasn't that hurt, and the rest were lightly burnt.

A bolt of lightning shot towards her, barely singeing her as she dodged, clapping hands with Fox. "Goemon, strike!" A path of icicles erupted from the ground and pierced the fire user, turning it to ash in the wind. The lightning user attempted to attack but was too late, as Fox baton-passed to Mona.

A massive windstorm erupted as Zorro appeared, a Magaru attack sweeping across the battlefield and striking down the lightning and fire Madarame, leaving only the true Shadow and the wind user. "It's up to you, Joker!" Mona passed the baton to him, and he sped forward.

Even with that Snuff Soul, he was getting dangerously low on energy. But it would probably be worth using some of it if it meant getting a devastating hit in. "Leanan Sidhe, Psio!" Multicolored orbs flew forward and struck the True Madarame, throwing him back several feet. Wind Madarame retaliated with a blast that threw him across the gardens, and Mona leaped up to catch him, but only really managed to cushion his fall. "Thanks, Mona."

"̴̲͗D̴͎̎ả̷͍m̷̲̈n̸͉͂ḯ̴̲t̵͚̍!̵̟̾"̷͙̈́ Madarame struggled to his feet, looking much worse for wear. His gaze focused on Fox, and he stumbled forward a step. "̸̙̅S̷̭̐t̵̤͋o̴̘͘p̶̥̆ ̴̪̒ẗ̷̹h̷͚̆ì̷͈s̸̘̀…̵͍̒ ̴̺͗ì̶̪s̸̫̈́ ̶̜̄t̸͇̆h̷͙͊ỉ̷͎s̶̗͝ ̷͐͜h̴̤̿o̸̱͝w̶̬̍ ̵̮̄y̷̻̔o̸̞̓u̴͐͜ ̷̗͆s̶̪̃h̵͑͜o̸̫͆w̴͕͐ ̵͎͑y̴͉̾ȍ̵̥ŭ̵͕ŕ̴̝ ̶̲̎g̴̖̀r̷̨̿ḁ̴͑t̵̖́ỉ̸͎t̸̻̆u̷̻̾d̶͚͒e̶̡͆ ̷͕̓t̶̘̐ȏ̷̟ ̴̲̑ţ̴̓h̴̦͆e̸͙̍ ̵͎̾m̷̨̐a̶̗̎n̸̆͜ ̵̝͛w̵̨̾h̸̻̀o̵̭͊ ̸̡̔ř̷̠ą̵̓i̶̖̅s̷͈͝è̶̘d̵̠̎ ̵̬͂y̶̕͜õ̴͍ü̴̗?̴̲́!̸͔̂"̵̳̉

Even as he spoke more fakes appeared, two Fire Madarame, and two Ice. "SILENCE! Don't waste your breath!" Fox launched himself forward and began slicing at the Shadows, but they were clearly resistant to his strikes with how he was barely cutting into their yukata.

Panther and Skull chased after him, snapping and striking with whip and hammer, before Panther leaped back and summoned Carmen. Another Maragi washed across the battlefield, sending the two Ice Madarame to their knees. Skull roared and swung his hammer, slamming it into one Ice type's head with a crunching noise that sent the Shadow flying, while Mona sped forward and sliced up the second. "Fox!"

Fox clapped Panther's hand as he sped past, Goemon appearing by his side. Two Bufus struck the Fire Madarame even as they attempted to strike him back with twin fireballs, but even with his strength drained and energy running low, the anger that was pushing him forward was enough to let him outspeed both fakes and kill them.

"̸͎͐D̷̛̖-̸̬̌D̵̳͆a̸͔̐m̵̮̈́ń̷̦ ̸̦́y̶̻̋o̷̧̐u̴͖͝!̷̲̈"̸̱̓True Madarame backpedaled, flinging his hand out and spraying black ooze from it. Joker cursed as he jumped back, as did everyone else. "̷̥̌T̷̬͛h̴̻͗e̵͚̕ ̵̦͝T̴̟̈r̴͇̔ư̵̖e̶̋ͅ ̸̊ͅA̷͎̚r̶̘͘t̶̢͝i̶͙͠s̷̭̑t̸͉̓'̶̭̕s̶̬̄ ̶̧̂Ḡ̴̰r̷̼̉a̶͓̓c̵̠͒e̶̘̎ ̵̛̳s̸̽͜ḥ̸̀á̶̩l̷̻͛ľ̴͕-̸̠̐!̵̛͍"̵͖̇

"Shut your trap already!" Skull baton passed with Fox and roared as he powered through the ooze, ripping his mask off. "Rampage, Captain Kidd!" The Adventure Galley sailed forward and crashed through the Ice and True Madarame, and while the fakes were crushed into a slurry and the real Madarame was once again tossed back, tumbling end over end, the black paint that Madarame had unleashed still managed to cover everyone.

Joker gasped, feeling his strength wane. It was difficult to stand now, but still ripped his mask off and summoned Leanan Sidhe. This would drain even more energy, but they had to be getting close to taking Madarame out… "Damn… hit him as hard as you can! Don't let him make more fakes! We're getting too worn out! Rakunda!"

"Goemon!"

"Zorro!"

"Captain Kidd!"

"Carmen!"

A maelstrom of energy crashed down onto Madarame after the Rakunda had weakened the Shadow, but again he stood. However, he was limping. Panting. He was almost down and out. They almost had him…

"̷̮͐I̷̗̅…̸̗͠ ̶̩̈́Ì̸̥ ̶̻͛ẅ̶̰i̷̢̐l̸͚͝l̷̟̄ ̷̦̓n̸̯̒o̵̫͆t̸̰͑ ̵̹̍f̸̙͠ȧ̷͙l̸̼͛l̴͔̓…̸̟͑ ̶̤̅ȳ̴̲e̶͕͌t̸̲͂!̶̤̇"̷̋ͅMore copies, another round of baton passes. But they were becoming exhausted, it was harder to dodge the attacks of the fakes, and even though the Real Madarame was getting battered with each round, the old man was surprisingly stubborn.

Then, Shadow Madarame made a mistake.

"Hey, something seems wrong… could he have…?!"

Real Madarame did a double take, two of the Fakes were misshapen and asleep. "̵̭̈́W̸̱͒-̵̦̎Ẉ̸̉h̴͕͒a̴͚̐t̷̪͗?̴̱̕!̴͚̇ ̶̞̈I̶̢͂,̴̭̾ ̷̯̓ṯ̶̍h̴̡͆ẽ̴͕ ̷͙̃g̴̝̈́ŗ̴͝e̷̫̕à̵̩ẗ̷͉ ̸̥͑M̴͇̂ạ̷̋d̴͚̐ą̷̌r̷͕͋ä̷̫m̵̳̀e̵̢͂,̵̖̌ ̴͈̐m̷̩͘á̶̭d̸̝̂e̸͉͋ ̸̛̤ä̶͍́ ̶̟̀m̴̠̚i̷̦͗ş̴̈́t̶̹͛ȃ̷̩—̷̡̓?̷͓͝!̴̱̈́"̷̰͐

"Keep your head in the game, asshole!" Skull laughed and emptied his shotgun, filling a Fake with holes and turning it to dust.

"Even you can eventually falter, Madarame," Fox snarled.

"̸̘̚D̷̗̓a̴̻̋m̴̟͐ń̴̦ ̴̠̈i̸̡͑t̶͕̏!̴͈̃ ̵̱̈́V̷͚͝e̵͜͝r̶̅͜ỷ̴̡ ̵̒ͅw̶̺͗e̶̥͝l̴͕͋l̷̞̉,̷̻̑ ̶̫̉ë̷̘́v̷̡́é̵̹n̸͎͑ ̸̙͗i̸̭̽f̵̩̄ ̷͎͒t̷̮͛ḣ̶̥ė̴͜y̷̺̍'̸̥̃r̴̖̊e̷̬̾ ̶̢́f̸̗̿a̷̡̅i̴̢̽l̷̥̚ú̴͜r̸̭̒e̴̘͐š̴̟,̶̙͠ ̵̛͜I̴͈̾ ̵̼̓s̴̖̀ĥ̵͈a̴͉͐l̵̏ͅḻ̷̊ ̸̮̚s̵̝̈́i̴̠̒m̵͚͊p̸͙͋l̶̙͑y̸̟͗ ̷̬̾o̶̡̾v̸̤͋e̴̥̓r̶̫̋w̷̍͜h̵̜͌ė̴͈l̶̪͝m̸̯̎ ̶̻̑y̷͚̎o̷̡̒u̵͖̓!̶̠̎"̶̢̒ Another set of Fakes spawned even though the previous set were still standing. Most of them were defunct in some way, but there were enough that the Phantom Thieves were going to be very overwhelmed.

"Crap! Joker, do you have any ideas on how to get us out of this one?!"

He grimaced at Mona's words. Everything that he could do just took way too much energy. If he could just strike Madarame once more it would probably be enough to take him down for good, but he had no way of getting to him. Using his Shadow PSI to try and sneak around the battlefield and then behind Madarame could work, but the second they realized he was gone, he'd be willing to bet that Madarame would spawn even more fakes to cover his back.

He narrowly dodged a ball of flame, and fired back with his pistol, more fakes spawning every few seconds.

He needed them to be unaware for long enough that he had time to get right up to him and strike. A smokescreen? It would last a few seconds before the attacks coming its way dispersed it, so there was a chance…

Icicles crept up his side while he was distracted planning and he cried out in pain. "Mazio!" Weak bolts of electricity crashed down, and he jumped back to make space. He couldn't focus on his teammates right now, he needed to make this work!

More copies attacked, while others stood still. Damnit, he needed something! His head was throbbing as he ran dangerously low on energy. Should he just risk it? If this failed and he was caught before he could strike down Madarame he'd be separated from the other Thieves by an army of Fakes and out of options. It would likely mean his, and everyone's, deaths.

But this… was their best shot. And damn him, he would give this his all, every last bit of energy! He grit his teeth in determination, ready to rebel against the chance of death, hand wrapping around a smoke bomb in his pocket… before he felt, no, heard something in his head. It wasn't one of his Personas or the crashing of chains. It was something he'd heard once before.

The shattering of a lock.

As the power rushed through him, he smirked and raised his fist. "Everyone, get ready!" He threw the bomb down and smoke exploded across the gardens as his eyes flashed silver. "PSI Mimic α!"

•Madarame•

Madarame shielded his eyes when the bomb was thrown, half-expecting a flash bang or similar weapon, and growled when the smoke obscured his view. "̴̳̂B̸̙̐e̴̫̓g̸̗̏o̷̢̎ǹ̵̞e̷̚͜ ̸̫̀w̶̻̑i̴̖̊t̶̝̀h̸̛̞ ̸̜́ț̶͐h̴̯͂å̵̰t̵̮̂!̴͍̋"̴̯͋ He threw his hand forward, commanding several Wind Fakes to launch deadly gales of wind into the cloud which quickly dispersed it within seconds.

Yusuke and the rest of those petty thieves were breathing as heavily as he was, with their leader standing front and center, much more composed than the others, and glaring right at him. "̴͇͠S̴̼͗o̴̤̓m̴̭̉e̵̢̕t̷̝̿h̴̹̎i̷͘ͅn̶͇̆g̸̟̊ ̴̤́a̴̤͒s̷̤̈ ̶̏͜ş̶̆i̵͉͑m̷̪̈́p̸̰͗l̵̤̓ë̷̬ ̴̺̎a̵̼͋s̵̻͂ ̶̻̒ȁ̴̹ ̴̞̚s̵͙͛m̶̢̔ó̶͙k̷̀ͅḙ̴͋s̴̟̓ĉ̵̜ŕ̸̟e̸͈͗e̶͍̚ń̶͖ ̴̬̄c̷͇͊o̸͊͜ù̸̼l̵͚̅d̴̹̊ ̵͉͒n̸̙̾ė̷̪v̵̐ͅẹ̴͝r̷̲̈́ ̷̳̌w̵͙͗o̵̻͊r̸̡̐k̴̲͐ ̷͇̓a̵̬̽g̸̯͝ä̶́͜i̸̝̋n̸͙̊s̸̀͜ẗ̵́͜ ̷̩́m̵̨̏e̸̪̎!̴̱̄ ̵̢̊N̵̢̒ȏ̵̺ẘ̶͈,̵̜̅ ̵̞̈́p̸̳̿ḙ̵́r̸̘̄į̵̿s̴̙̓h̴̫̋,̶̡̌ ̸̳̏y̵͌͜o̸̯̿ű̵͉ ̸̖̈́d̶̲̋a̸̢̒ḿ̸̼n̴̳͊ ̷͓̚t̶̢̃h̵̼̋i̵̤̊ë̷̫́f̶͉͒!̴̯̇"̸͉̎ He threw his hand out, and multiple Fakes attacked.

"JOKER!"

At the same time that the various magic spells struck the black-clad boy, Madarame gasped as he felt intense pain, stabbed in the back by a dagger. "Surprise." He grunted and stumbled forward, trying to reach behind him before the weapon was pulled out and he turned, eyes wide when he saw the boy standing before him.

"̷̪͠Ḣ̴̬õ̸̪w̸͇̋—̴͕̓?̶͈̂!̴͍̔"̴̧̓ Before he could do anything Joker rushed forward and stabbed him in the gut, and he heard a roar from behind him. That brief moment when he'd been distracted his fakes were too, and Yusuke had taken the chance to leap up and prepare his blade.

Even when he was mere moments from death, he had to know— how?! His eyes drifted back to the other thieves, and there, still standing before them, was the boy's body. Then, like a desert mirage, his body slowly became translucent and finally disappeared. As he processed the sight, Yusuke fell and struck him down.

His eyes became unfocused, and his True Fakes disappeared with bursts of black. He fell to his knees, a single cut from his left shoulder to his right hip appearing as Yusuke sheathed his blade. At the same time, he felt the strength of his Treasure leaving him, the true 'Sayuri' appearing in his arms. "̸Y̶-̷Y̵o̶u̴…̷"̵

"Yep." The infuriatingly smug voice of the black-clad boy answered, wandering around to his front and twirling his dagger. "A little puppet illusion of my own. I figured plagiarizing the plagiarizer would be an… apt way of finishing things off. Too bad I can't make it move or attack like yours can, but, hey, you're the true master of Fakes around here. Now, Fox, it's time to make a choice."

Joker turned to Yusuke, and Madarame could only watch as he unholstered his gun and held it out to his pupil. Yusuke looked down at it in confusion. "Joker?"

"I gave the option to Skull and Panther when we took down Kamoshida. Change his heart, or end him. I won't judge you, no matter which you choose."

"Y-You're going to ki—?!" Madarame shut up when both children aimed fury-filled glares at him, and he watched in horror as Yusuke slowly lifted the gun, aiming the barrel at his forehead.

•Yusuke•

"Y-Yusuke, please! No one cares for true art… all they want are easily recognizable brands! I'm a victim in this too! Wouldn't you agree?!"

Skull scoffed somewhere behind him. "Excuses now?"

Madarame shook his head. "The art world revolves around money, after all. You can't rise up without any money… Yusuke, you understand, don't you?! Being a poor artist is truly miserable! I just didn't want to return to that life!"

Oh, yes, he understood. After all, that life was something Madarame had put him through, just to use him, not out of love for a pupil. That he had blinded himself to that fact for so long… Yusuke scowled, disgusted with both himself and the groveling old man. He leaned down and snatched the man's collar, grinding the barrel of the gun against Madarame's head.

"A fiend like you has no right to speak about the world of art! You're done for, along with this whole wretched world!"

"No, please! Just… don't kill me!"

He scowled and threw Madarame to the ground, the old man coughing pathetically. "Return to yourself in reality and confess your crimes. All of them!"

"Y-You're not going to kill me?"

"Swear it!"

"All right… All right!" He narrowed his eyes, before slowly nodding and throwing Joker's gun back at him. After a moment, as though certain that if he made any movement Fox would take back his decision, Madarame looked back up. "Wh-What about the other one though? The one with the black mask?"

"Hm?" He looked back at the others in confusion. No one present had a black mask, even Skull's was a dark gray of storm clouds than black. And Mona's was more of a bandana than anything else. Was that a mask? Did Mona's qualify as a mask?

"Who are you talking about?" Joker questioned with a glare as Fox pondered what exactly was on Mona's face.

"A black mask…? None of us have anything like that…"

"It can't be… there was another intruder besides us within this Palace?!"

The Palace suddenly rumbled, and he nearly fell over. "There ain't time for that! We gotta go!" At Skull's urging Mona made some space and transformed, while he turned to take the 'Sayuri' from Madarame. As he walked away, Madarame scrambled after him, fear and uncertainty splashed across his face like paint upon the canvas.

"Hey, Yusuke… what should I do?"

He looked down on the Shadow, and just shook his head. "…Put an end to all this and use your own artwork for once."

"Yusuke!" He resumed walking to the bus, all while his former Sensei cried out for him, slowly being drowned out by the sound of the collapsing Palace.

"No, wait! Please! Yusuke! Yusukeeeeeee!"

He sat in the bus, placed the 'Sayuri' into his lap, and held it tightly as Joker drove them out of the Palace at top speed. Even with the dallying they made it with time to spare and warped to the real world as the Navigator spoke. "The designation has been deleted."

Finally… it was over.

They had stolen Madarame's Desires.

And unknown to them, a dark-suited intruder exited the Museum as well, dropping into Mementos to avoid the Phantom Thieves as they thought about the new developments.

And so, Madarame is down and out. I hope everyone enjoyed the fights leading up to Madarame, as well as his fight. The Will Seed guard I wanted to be a tricky fight for Joker since he had to do it solo, and couldn't rely on All-Out's after a good hit with a Frei, or technical attack. To solve that he uses a Fusion Spell with Ame-No-Uzume and Apsaras, since both are known for their dancing.

Of course, this does leave him drained for Madarame's battle, which isn't good against a Boss that can make you vulnerable to every element and hits like a damn truck. You really want to rush him down. That also means that for phase two, where you want to abuse baton passes, he just doesn't have the SP to continuously hit those weaknesses.

So, new PSI has been introduced, Mimic α. I was fighting with myself on whether to call it Mimic or Decoy, but Mimic seemed to fit better, especially for what the β, γ, and Ω will be able to do.

I don't want this AN to go on for much longer, so before I sign off, I'll be doing a new thing where whenever a new PSI ability or level is introduced, I'll add a little blurb on its use, like the Mother wiki. I'll do the same for new Personas too, and I had a lotta fun writing them, so if you guys want extra info on Personas and Akira's PSI, well, just keep reading. If not, then just let me know what you think of the chapter, or just leave a 'nice,' both are always great to read. See y'all next time!

PSI descriptions:

PSI Rebellion— α

Akira's special PSI named after his favorite thing. It is an area of effect attack that can raise Akira's attack power by 1.

A deadly PSI Gift that only Akira can use. It's a psychokinetic wave generated by concentration that, when in the Metaverse, deals 50 damage on average to each enemy. Full range is 20-80. Requires 10 PP. When in reality, it deals 60 damage on average to each enemy. Full range is 30-90. Requires 9 PP.

Phoenix's Notes: I liked the idea of Rebellion raising Akira's attack rather than decreasing Psychic Shield Strength like Hope/Rockin' does, since Sapphire/Ness is more of a support and tank that could hit hard with Hope/Rockin', while Akira is an all-rounder as the Wild Card. Similarly, Rebellion does slightly less damage, even more so when in the realm of Cognition where PSI is weaker.

PSI Mimic— α

Creates a static, perfect illusion of Akira that can only stand in place. Anything that impacts with the illusion will pass through the space it occupies.

An incredibly accurate fake that can only stand in place, mimicking whatever pose Akira was in when he cast the ability, as well as whatever state his body and clothing was in. Good for a brief distraction, but anyone who sees the real Akira or sees their attacks passing through the illusion will quickly realize what happened. However, it is very cost efficient. When in the Metaverse, it requires 3 PP. when in reality, it requires 2 PP.

Phoenix's Notes: Mimic at the alpha level can barely be called a distraction considering how it can only stay in one place, and it's pretty easy to tell which is fake when you see attacks passing through it like air, or the real Akira moving around, but to counterbalance that I made it the least energy-intensive PSI. Of course, what it can do in the latter stages will definitely be deserving of higher PSI requirements. For alpha, though, Akira will have to use his brain like he did in this chapter to make it useful.

Persona stats and background:

Tangoo

"I am Tangoo… Ssso, you, too, desssire power? Perhapsss we can ssstrike a deal…"

Arcana— Devil

Level— 11

Trait— Foul Odor (Increase chance of inflicting Ailments after a Baton Pass)

Strength— 6
Magic— 8
Endurance— 11
Agility— 5
Luck— 11

Inherit— Ailment
Resist— Psy, Curse
Weak— Bless

Skills:

Innate— Dormina, Inflict Sleep (High odds) 1 foe
Innate— Eternal Rest, High chance of instantly killing any Sleeping foe under 30% HP. (Unique)
12— Dokumu, Inflict Poison (High odds) 1 foe
14— Garu, Light Wind damage to one foe
17— Magaru, Light Wind damage to all foes

Electric Chair execution:

Normal— Waking Ring (Accessory that grants the skill Resist Sleep)
Fusion Alarm— Spiral Waking Ring (Accessory that grants the skill Null Sleep)

Background: "A greedy human who attempted to strike a deal with a magical snake for power, not knowing that the snake was the Devil in disguise. In exchange for his power, he was transformed into an inhuman monster."

Phoenix's Notes: I mostly followed the lore I wrote out in BBOH and Tangoo's stats in Earthbound. I took its sleep ability and gave it Dormina, and turned its poison ability into a custom ailment, Dokumu. Since it has a flute, I figured wind spells would make sense, and its stats are balanced around its decently high HP and some luck for ailments. Foul Odor, of course, for the ailment boost. Devil Arcana, obviously.

Resistances and weaknesses are obvious going by the lore I gave it and how it canonically isn't weak to Fire or Freeze, resists ailments, and Flash has a good success rate. I also balanced Eternal Rest by making it untransferable in Fusion and needing the targets to be very weak, but without the weaknesses of Mudo and Hama where Shadows can be immune to their elements. I think I liked what I did for this Persona!