Hey guys and gals, welcome back to the newest chapter of MHA the value of a thief and this chapter will be where I'm sending the Madarame calling card.
I've got a lot of ideas planned for this chapter and not only having to do with Yusuke's dad.
Not only that but I also have a surprise for the boss fight that you'll never see coming.
I'm super stoked for this chapter, so let's just go right for it.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my Oc's
Willseed room
Third person P.O.V.
Morgana proceeded to lead the group through the hallways, making sure to take cover and stay out of sight from Shadow's that may come their way.
Eventually, the Phantom Thieves arrived at where the Will Seed was. Luckily being on the opposite end of the next door they needed to go to.
"Phew, thank god we don't have to fall down a trap door into an Acid pit again" Skull sighed.
"If I may ask, what was in the last one all of you went too" Fox asked, looking over at the others.
"It was Kamoshida's cognitive version of All Might, he pretty much hated him for taking all Kamoshida's glory" Joker explained.
"I do wonder why this one was a lot easier to get than the last one…" Mona mumbled, crossing his arms.
"Well Madarame didn't sound like he hated this guy, more like he was confused and kind of frustrated with him" Panther reminded Mona who nodded.
"That is a fair point, well Joker you know what to do"
Joker nodded and took out his dagger before slashing the vines off the door "Okay here goes nothing."
With a push the group walked into the room, ready for anything only to see something they didn't expect.
"Hmm, hmm, hmm huh? Oh, yo!"
Standing there was a man that looked similar to Yusuke, being the same height and having a similar face as well as his eyes being the same, however the rest of him was very different. He has wild and messy red hair while wearing very baggy colourful clothes with a lot of them looking like they were inspired from different cultures. HIs Quirk gives him bird-like appearance like feathers coming from his arms and talons at the end of his fingers and toes, which is why he wears sandals.
The room around him looked to be some kind of art room with several paintings hung around the place, with the man standing in front of one that he was working on.
"Uh, what are you doing here?" Skull asked, completely confused.
"Me? Oh, well I'm just working on some paintings is all" he smiled, before continuing his paintings.
The paintings itself did look interesting, clearly being abstract paintings but with lots of colours. Such as one that was a mix of brown and green but with flashes of rainbow like colour or another that looked like grey with a mix of blue but with splashes of yellow faded in.
"Wait…these look a lot like some of Madarame's early work before he made the Sayuri back when he was first getting noticed" Panther looked at the paintings.
"You think these are Madarame's?" he blinked, looking at the group who slowly nodded.
"Well as long as people get to see them I don't really mind" he shrugged, getting back to work.
"Um…who exactly are you?" Panther asked, raising an eyebrow as the young man looked at them.
"Me? Call me Eiji, Eiji Kitagawa."
"EH?!"
"Huh? Is something wrong?" Eiji blinked, looking at the thieves confused.
"Ah jeez, how do we explain this…" Mona sweatdropped, rubbing his head.
"Fox, do you wanna…Fox?" Joker blinked, only to see Fox looking down and shaking.
"Fox…you oka-" "MAGNIFICENT!"
"WOAH!" The thieves yelped, as they were pushed aside so that Fox could get a better look.
"Such a colourful explosion of emotion!" Fox grinned, looking at the painting "Clearly showing the passion you hold within your work."
"Hehe thanks" He smiled, pointing to the painting Fox was staring at "I came up with this one after I visited Rio, I couldn't help but depict the feelings I felt when dancing and witnessing their carnivals!."
"Hah, you have been to Rio! I must admit I am envious, I personally have never left the country" Fox admitted, casting his look downward.
"Ah, I getcha took me years until I was able to scrounge enough money to travel abroad" Eiji grinned "But when I did I went to all kinds of places! I made a bunch of different paintings."
"Oh! Please, if you insist" Fox eagerly nodded, as the two looked around the room.
"Um, should we remind them what we're supposed to do?" Panther wondered, tapping her hip.
"Not really sure, not really everyday that you get a chance to hang out with the dad that you never met," Skull said, rubbing his head.
"Yeah but we don't know how long this will take, remember back in Mementos" Mona countered, but Joker crossed his arms.
"Well it is probably better if we take a break now, we still have a good amount of the Palace left to get through" Joker reminded them as he turned around "Let's just leave them alone for now."
The Thieves nodded at that before they left the room, leaving the two artists alone.
"Oh! I remember seeing this one!" Fox smiled, as he knelt down to one of paintings "It looks like far less aged then when I first saw it, but it still retains the beauty"
"Hehe well that does fit with its inspiration" Eiji smirked, walking up to the painting "I made it when I was in Pompeii checking out the old remains of the town."
"Ah I see, I can see the volcanic rage you must have felt witnessing such a tragedy" Yusuke nodded, but Eiji shrugged.
"Meh, not really."
Fox was surprised at this response as he looked over at the cognitive version of his father "Don't get me wrong, that was part of it but I also wanted to depict the spirit of the place, being there you really see the lives that were lived and the experience that were witnessed, I wanted to portray what was taken away but also what remained."
"I see…you have given me a lot to think about" Fox hummed, before standing up "If I may ask though, how do you know Madarame."
"Madarame? Ah, well he was my senpai back when I was first developing my skills" Eiji explained, rubbing his head "I used to live on the streets so to pass the time I would draw with whatever I could find on what I thought places I read in books would look like, Sensei saw my skills and brought me in to help develop my skills"
Fox nodded, getting more and more interested in this story as Eiji continued on.
"I don't think Madarame liked me all that much, but me and Sensei's daughter Mayuki would always try and push him out of his comfort zone so we can learn and try out new things" Eiji recounted, before opening his eyes.
'To think Madarame could take the work of someone who cared about him this much…and he never mentioned any of this before…perhaps I should ask him about it when I get back' Fox thought over.
"You know Madarame too, right?" Eiji asked, his smile turning to a frown "I already know about the things he's been doing,."
"You do?" Fox blinked, honestly surprised. "You;re right, and the things he has been doing too…the other students that called him father…I can't forgive him for what he's done."
"But are you sure you can do that?" Eiji asked, a serious look in his eyes. "You still have love and respect for him in your heart, don't you."
"..." Fox grimaced, glancing down at the ground "I admit, there are still somethings that I wish to learn about Madarame's secrets…I want to know the truth of what actually happened, why he started doing this…what truly happened to my parents."
"Then don't think of this like punishing him," Eiji told him, placing an arm on Fox's shoulder "Think of this… as a chance for a new beginning, after all…a piece of art can have multiple meanings."
Fox couldn't help but smile as he grabbed the cognitive version of his father's hand "Thank you, I feel my resolve to change his heart that much stronger now".
"I'm glad! I believe in you" he nodded, before his body shined.
Fox closed his eyes from the bright light but when he opened his eyes and saw that in his hand was a will seed.
Opening the door, Fox was met with the others resting up "Sorry I took all that time, I don't think we can get anything else out of him since he turned into this."
"Yeah that's why it's called a Will seed room," Morgana explained, looking up at Fox "We don't really know what it does, there's a guy in Mementos that opens it but all it dropped was a card".
"A card?" Fox blinked, as Joker pulled out his pocket.
"We don't really know what it does, but I've been keeping it on me just in case we need it" Joker explained, before putting it away.
"I see, still thank you for letting me handle this…I'm glad that you trust me, I feel my resolve is that much stronger" Fox nodded.
"Course dude, not every day you get to hang out with the dad you never met" Skull smiled, only for Fox to give him a shocked look "Uh, something up?".
"I'm sorry, I thought you said he was my dad," Fox smiled, shaking his head.
"Uh, he was your Dad Yusuke," Panther said, as Fox looked at her shocked.
"H-How could you possibly know that!" Fox gawked, making the others sweatdrop.
"He said his name was Eiji Kitagawa and he looks just like you just with a different hair colour and Quirk" Panther pointed out.
"Ah!" Fox blinked, looking down "I was so enraptured by his art that I didn't notice".
"For real?! How do you do that" Skull questioned, only for Joker to sigh.
"Okay, enough about dads!" Joker almost shouted, catching the others attention "I-I mean we're getting side tracked, we should focus on the rest of the Palace so come on".
The others looked at each other confused at Joker's sudden outburst before following him into the next room.
Opening: Flyers from Death Parade, lyrics be Leeandlie
WOAH! OH! WOAH! OH! OH! YEAH! YEAH!
In the middle of the city we see a gigantic statue of the number 1 hero All Might, however on his chest was a spray painted logo of a top hat and mask with flame coming out the eyes.
YEAH! YEAH! OW!
We then see a blur zoom past the statue, with the camera barely following its movements.
It's your haze of delusion versus reality
We see Joker running from rooftop to rooftop, with a light shining on him as several helicopters chased after him
Just keep stirring the pot to find your individuality
Arsene then flew up behind him before Joker jumped off the rooftop and grabbed his partner's Chain to help him fly.
Delete another problem that is plaguing your mind
We next see Skull running down the highway as several police cars chased after him, a wild grin on his face as he ran
From day to day! To end to end! That's entertainment of our lives
Captain kidd then sailed up and caught Skull as he cheered into the night sky, as face of pure joy behind him
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Dancing through the skies
Several paint marks were slashed at the walls, as we see Fox painting everything in the alleyway around him
Let's celebrate our time, and party while we're still alive
He then spun around as Goemon showed and blew his smoke allowing the paint to glow revealing he had painted different hero posters and stop signs.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Dancing through the skies
Panther then jumped down onto some train tracks and began dancing, as she began spinning around like a Ballerina
Kick your worries to the side and aim up to the sky.
Carmine then appeared behind her, and below a flaming tornado that spun around her as she smiled up at the beauty.
EVERYBODY! Put your hands up!
We see Queen riding on Johana with Mona on her back, as the two of them drove up an elevator through a window.
We'll be flying~ Can you imagine it?
We see a large UFO flying above the city with Oracle inside, before she tapped a few commands into it
Search and you'll find the stage set within your dreams.
The UFO then began flashing several colours like a Disco Ball that lit up the entire city.
The place where you're the one
Down below we see Noir and Milady dancing like in a ball on Shibuya crossing before the two spun around.
That's where you're meant to be!
Noir then struck a pose as Milady revealed the variety of guns below her dress.
EVERYBODY!
We then see the Thieves falling through the sky towards a variety of statues of Pro Heroes.
Put your hands up!
We see both Panther and Mona aiming firing their guns at a statue of Ryukyu which crumbled into pieces.
We'll be flying!
Then Skull and Fox quickly moved past a large statue Edgeshot, cutting it in half.
Can you imagine it?
Next we see Queen and Noir crashing, punching the large statue of endeavour into pieces.
Search and you'll find the stage you set within your dreams
In the UFO we see Oracle typing in a few more codes with a grin on her face, before snapping her fingers causing her UFO to drop a huge bomb towards the All Might statue.
The place where you're the one, that's where you're meant to be
Joker then grinned as Arsene threw him towards the bomb which he shot with his pistol causing a huge explosion of colours.
FLYIN! Within these memories!
We see the whole team of Phantom Thieves cheering at the beautiful explosion they were witnessing.
FLYING! That you're slowly forgetting!
Joker smirked before he spun around and landed towards the ground as the train passed by him.
Just listen close to the song that lies within you~
Ren then gets up in his school uniform with Morgana in his bag, before he waved to us and walked back towards the crowd of people passing by.
Soul~
My Hero Academia! The Value of a Thief!
Control Room
Third person P.O.V.
Within a control room, we see the Thieves talking strategy but as they did Fox was staring at the Will Seed he got from the cognitive version of his father.
"Fox…Fox…Hey Fox!"
"Huh" Fox blinked, before looking up and over at the others "My apologies, I was just thinking about what happened earlier".
"No problem just keep focused, this is an important part" Joker nodded, before joining back in the conversation.
After travelling through the rest of the Palace the group arrived at the treasure room, which looked to be heavily guarded by Shadows and even Madarame standing in front of it.
So they took a look around, finding a control room that allowed them to turn off the lights, turn off the electricity and unlock the doors around the room.
"Great, we can get around this place but how are we meant to get to the treasure?" Skull sighed, crossing his arms.
"If I could use my Quirk I could disorient them but this far in, that's impossible" Panther frowned "Is there any way I could keep the gas from my Quirk in a flask or something and bring it along?"
"Have you ever done that before?" Mona asked, who got a shaken head in response "Well I doubt we have the time to test that out, my keep that in mind for later".
"Hmm, wait what about that" Joker noticed, as the group looked up to see a hook hanging above where the treasure is.
"Ah, that's a pulley system for moving heavier works. It's used for positioning larger sculptures and the like." Fox explained, while Mona looked over at him.
"Would we be able to work it from here?" Mona asked, as Fox looked down at him.
"Not from here but I believe the controls are on the next floor considering that's where the ropes lead," Fox explained, pointing up at the pulley system.
"Uh but Madarame would totally see us going down the hook right?" Skull questioned, as Panther crossed her arms.
"I mean I guess we could shut the light off again, but do we have enough time?" Panther asked, but Mona just smirked.
"Hehe as long as you're cheering for me Lady Ann, that should be more than enough time for me" Mona grinned, making the others sweat drop.
"Alright, but how do we go about stealing the treasure if it's like that?" Fox asked, looking at the cloudy form of the treasure.
"Oh that, there's something special we can do in the real world that makes it materialise in reality" Joker explained, making Skull grin.
"Hell yeah! It's the return of the Calling Card! Man, how are we gonna top the first one? That one had a major impact" Skull wondered, with a smug smile.
"Oh Fox you should totally design the Calling Card! I bet you could make it look professional!" Panther suggested.
"That's not a bad idea, plus you do have the most stake in this. It would only make sense for you to be the one to write it" Joker nodded, but Fox just looked confused.
"What do you mean by a calling card?".
"Oh, well we taunt our target by letting them know ahead of time that their treasure is going to be stolen. That way in this world the treasure will manifest as what our target pictures as his treasure" Joker explained "Think of it like sending a declaration of war to them".
"A declaration of war you say…" Fox muttered, before smirking
"Sounds interesting".
Cafe Leblanc
Third person P.O.V.
"In recent news, Hero fans are stoked as the UA School Festival begins in a few days." A news reporter asked, as Ren listened to the TV while meaning the cafe in the last few minutes before it closed. "Do you have any predictions for these new upcoming heroes that are taking part in this event?"
Standing next to the reporter was Goro Akechi who had a pleasant smile on his face "It's hard to say, many of them show a lot of promise in their future as heroes, especially after the USJ incident not that long ago".
"Personally I would have to say the son of Endeavor or the brother of Inegium would have to win! They have such powerful Quirks and their family is legendary"
"Now, I don't think you should be ignoring the other students just because they're not related to great heroes. I mean look at me, I was able to win despite no one knowing anything about me" Akechi smiled.
"Indeed! No one expected you to win the sports festival, especially since-" The screen then changed as Ren switched channels.
"Hey I was watching that" Morgana groaned, looking over at Ren "Are you still salty about not getting to go to the sport festival".
Ren went silent for a moment before sighing "Something like that yeah…besides, they said they're preparing something else for my reward and I'm definitely inviting Ryuji and Ann to it".
"What about the third person though? I don't think you can bring Yusuke" Morgana wondered.
"Not sure, Sumi probably since she actually has friends there" Ren guessed, with a shrug "One of these days I'm going to have to learn her full name and not just the nickname".
The bell of the door then chimed as Ren looked over to see a slim man with pale skin, tinged yellow teeth, and a great deal of wrinkles around his bright red eyes. His lips were chapped and uneven, a small mole on the right underneath, with visible scars on his right eye and under his lip. He had messy, greyish-blue hair of varying lengths, the longest clumps reaching to about his shoulders, left hanging over his face in uneven waves. He wore plain red sneakers along with black pants which expose his ankles, and a matching long-sleeved v-neck shirt. He also wore a plain black jacket over the top with something in his pocket that Ren couldn't see.
"Coffee and Curry huh…looks like a nice place" The young man admitted, as he walked forward "Weird combo though".
"Ren…I'm getting a vibe from this guy" Morgana gulped, as Ren glanced at him before turning to the customer.
"You're in luck, we'll be closing up soon so what can I get you?" Ren asked, as the slim man scratched the back of his neck.
"I was just curious about this place, Coffee and Curry don't really seem like a good combination" he explained, looking around.
"Don't knock it till you try it, I was thinking the same thing when I first started working here" Ren smiled "Let me fix you up some and you can see what I mean".
"Hmm, fine let's see if the title actually fits" the man smirked, sitting down as Ren started preparing the curry and coffee,
After a few minutes Ren served the man, and went back to continue cleaning while turning back on the TV.
"...Okay that was pretty fucking good" The man admitted, moving back as Ren smirked.
"Everytime".
"You've piqued my interest, so tell me…what do you think of them?" He asked, as Ren raised an eyebrow.
"Them?"
"Those selfish bastards known as Heroes who use Justice as an excuse to flaunt their powers and become idols to the masses…not caring how their actions affect everyone around them" he explained.
"You seem to have quite the grudge on them" Ren said, before looking down "As long as they're still out there helping people, protecting people from getting hurt or worse then I don't have a problem with them. It doesn't matter what motive they have, they're still risking their lives helping people."
"And what about those they can't help?" he asked, as Ren looked at him "What about those that were abused and hurt by the masses that followed the heroes, all because they don't have a Quirk fitting this Heroic society".
"...Actually, I know what that's like," Ren explained, surprising that man.
"You do?" He blinked, looking at Ren surprised.
"Yeah, believe or not I'm actually on probation right now all because I tried to help someone in trouble and was going up against the wrong guy. He ended up taking charges, claiming that I had assaulted him using my Gun Quirk when I hadn't even touched him. No one I knew was on my side and I was forced to leave my home town and come here" Ren explained
"Heh, seems like we've both been affected by this shitty society bet it make you wish someone will destroy this shitty society-" "Reform" "Reform?",
"There are still good people in this heroic society, those who truly to want help people and make things better, but there needs to be someone who will challenge the beliefs of this society not to destroy it but to reveal the weaknesses of it to everyone and make them realise there needs to be a change" Ren explained.
"And you think someone will be brave enough to do this?" He asked, as Ren smirked.
"Well anyone can just need the courage and resolve, Life won't change if you don't do it yourself right?" Ren grinned.
"Hmm, you've given me a lot to think about" he nodded standing up before dropping some crumpled cash "Oh yeah, I never did introduce myself."
"Tomura Shigaraki, I'll come back here at some point…see ya"
Ren watched the man leave as he finished his work, a fire in his eyes to prove his resolve.
Atelier
Third person P.O.V.
"Hah…" Yusuke sighed, as he stared at the design he created for the logo that will be on the calling card they will be sending.
The design itself had elements of Ren's outfit along with his Persona. With a top hat and Ren's mask but with fiery flames similar to Arsene's face.
"Now to decide what I wish to write" Yusuke pondered, as he looked at the old newspapers Madarame had.
As he pondered this, he couldn't help but stare over at the Will Seed he had gotten from the cognitive version of his father.
After they had left the Palace, he had asked Takamaki's help to see if they could find anything on him. Unfortunately the most they could find on him was that his art was featured in an exhibition more than 20 years ago but besides that nothing else.
"I need to know…" Yusuke nodded, before standing up and leaving his room.
After a bit of looking around, Yusuke found Madarame reading the review submissions he had gotten during the exhibition before looking up at him "Yusuke is something wrong".
"Ah I was just wondering something, I was looking through some of the old art exhibitions and found someone's art that caught my away, apparently they used to study under the same master as you so I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about him" Yusuke asked, making Madarame raise an eyebrow.
"Very well then, why not…what was his name?" Yusuke gulped at that response, getting himself ready for the question.
"His name was Eiji Kitagawa" Yusuke told him cause Madarame's eyes to widen "His style was similar to your early worked, so I was curious if you were inspired by him"
"Eiji huh… I haven't heard that name in a long time…"
"So you do know him" Yusuke muttered "Please, you must tell me everything you know! I wish to learn as much as I can about his art".
Madarame went silent for a moment, opening his mouth open and closed before he smiled "Of course I know him, after all he was me".
"W-What".
"It was back in my early days when I wasn't so confident about my work, so just in case I used an alias to hide my identity it wasn't until I created the Sayuri that I was confident enough to use my true identity" Madarame explained "You probably he could have been your real father…right?".
"H-How did you know…"
"I've known you all your life Yusuke, even I was surprised that the boy I took in had the same name as my old alias" Madarame laughed, with a smile.
Yusuke gripped his hand as rage filled him but he still kept his smile "I-I see, very well then…sorry for disrupting your business…"
'To think you would take the legacy of someone who cared about you so much Madarame…I know what my message needs to be' Yusuke thought, as he walked back to his room.
The next day
Art Exhibition
Third person P.O.V.
The next day we see Yusuke watching Madarame who was speaking with several reporters.
"Master Madarame, this exhibition seems to have been a rousing success, even gathering attention from media across the country. What do you have to say about this?" The reporter asked, making Madarame laugh.
"Hahaha, so it has and once again I'm humbled. As an Artist, I could ask for no greater honour than for my work to be seen by so many appreciative people" Madarame smiled.
"What a humble and respectful statement from someone so famous! There truly is no one like you Master Madarame" Another reporter smiled "But what do you have to say to your numerous long time admirers who wish that the Sayuri could have been a part of this exhibit?".
"Yes…I can see why they would be disappointed. It is a pity it was stolen from me, but it was my own failings that invited that disaster" Madarame explained "Losing a precious piece of work is a painful and depressing thing yes, but it isn't the end of the world. You simply have to start again and create another".
"What a wonderful sentiment!" "As expected from such a great man!" "How very like you sir".
Yusuke frowned as he heard this praise towards Madarame, before seeing one of Madarame's security detail move towards him "Erm, Madarame you need to hear this".
"Pardon me a moment, I should take this" Madarame waved them bye, before walking to a more secluded area of the museum.
"Now, what do you want?" Madarame asked, getting a more serious look before being handed the calling card "The Phantom Thieves?".
"We found several of these outside…and it's talking about you" he explained, as Madarame read the card.
To Sir Ichryusai Madarame, the Talentless Artist of Vanity.
You are an artist who uses his fame to shamelessly steal the works of your pupils, as well as using your gift to silence those who looked up to you as father by trapping them in tombs of their own artwork while you get all the credit and fame.
On top of that, you have also destroyed the legacy of the one man who believed in you more than any other, erasing his legacy and taking it for yourself.
We can no longer ignore these crimes of yours so we have decided to make you confess all your crimes with your own mouth by taking your distorted desires from your Museum of Vanity.
Think you can stop us? Well then, catch us if you can~
From, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.
Madarame's eyes widened in fear, worry and shock as he stared at the Calling Card 'H-How…did they know…how could they have known about any of that!'.
"WHO DID THIS! TELL ME!" Madarame yelled, making the guard jump.
"U-Uh that's the thing sir, w-we don't know. The security footage showed that the cards were dropped from a bag that was carried by a Black Bird, we're not sure if it was a trained bird or somebody's Quirk" The guard explained.
"Somebody's Quirk…a Black Bird… Ah!" Madarame's eyes shot open before he growled.
'It has to have been those brats, so it wasn't some dream…, they must have heard about what I've done from the other students but how could they have known about what I did to Eiji-' "Yusuke…".
"I have an idea who it was! Tell my Lawyer to begin the proceedings for a Lawsuit" Madarame directed, surprising the guard.
"A-A lawsuit sir, are you su-" "DID I STUTTER! JUST DO IT!".
"Now! Yusuke, where's Yu-" Madarame growled, before seeing that Yusuke was now gone "Damn it…what are they thinking".
There was then a flash as we see Madarame now being replaced with the Shadow version of himself.
"They think they can steal my treasure! Please, they are nothing but rats! I'll have them exterminated before they even reach my domain!".
As Madarame walks off, we see someone watching him with a raised eyebrow.
Madarame Palace
Third person P.O.V.
Within the treasure room of the Palace, we see the Shadow version of Madarame standing guard in front of his treasure, which now took the form of a painting covered by a purple cloak.
"Lord Madarame! A security breach has been detected!" The Shadow guard yelled, making Madarame smirk.
"So they've arrived, good…I need you to increase the security all over the Palace! Leave no stone unturned, lock up the Palace until they're cornered!" Madarame yelled.
"Y-Yes sir!" The shadow gulped, before dashing off.
However unbeknownst to Madarame, the Thieves had already gotten into the Treasure as we look up to see Fox and Mona above him.
"Yeow! Not so tight!" Mona groaned, wiggling around as Fox tied the rope around him.
"My apologies, I'll try to loosen it" Fox apologised, while he worked on the rope before looking back at Joker who had a hand on the lever.
The two nodded to each other, as they awaited for the lights to turn off.
Down below, we see Skull and Panther stationed outside of the security door, as they look inside to see a few guards.
"Ugh, of course there would be guards inside…" Panther frowned, looking inside.
"Lemme draw their attention away and while I'm doing that, you deal with the lights" Skull suggested, with Panther nodding before taking cover.
"HEY! YOU GUYS GOTTA SEE THIS! THERE ARE A BUNCH OF WEIRD GUYS ON THEIR WAY!" Skull yelled, dashing away as the guards slammed the door open and chased after him.
"Dang, could you have been any louder Skull?" Panther sweatdropped, before she entered the security room.
"Okay…here we go," Panther nodded, before switching the lights off.
"What the hell?!" Shadow Madarame growled, before turning to the guard "You! Go see what the hell is going on in the security room!".
"Hehe, Madarame doesn't even know I'm here…I can't wait to see the look on his face when he turns around and sees his treasure's-huh?" Mona blinked, as the hook suddenly stopped.
"W-What" Fox gasped, before turning around "Joker, why did you stop!".
"I didn't! I think there wasn't enough rope for the hook!" Joker explained, gulping a bit.
"I can't reach for the treasure! I'm so close" Mona growled, gritting his teeth.
"What are you louts doing! Get the light back on now!" Shadow Madarame yelled, stepping forward "Find those intruders now!".
"Dang it, this is going to be risky…" Mona frowned, before sharpening his claws.
Fox's eyes widened as he saw Mona slashing the rope, forcing him to quickly jump down.
"Ah!" Joker gasped, before he quickly pulled the lever to bring the others back up.
Flash!
The lights then went back on making Madarame sigh "Hmph, about time they got those lights work-WHAT! IT'S GONE!".
Shadow Madarame growled, before turning around to his guards "SEAL THE WHOLE MAIN HALL NOW! MAKE SURE THEY CAN'T ESCAPE!"
As the guards dashed out, up above we see Skull and Panther regrouping with the others.
"Nice you got it!" "There weren't any troubles right?" Skull and Panther asked.
"A little, turns out the rope wasn't long enough so I had to cut myself free to get to the treasure" Mona explained.
"Luckily I was able to jump down and catch by the tail before he hit the ground" Fox finished off.
"Sweet, looks like we cut it pretty close" Panther smiled, before looking down "Looks like the treasure is some kind of painting".
"Hee hee hee! I can't wait to take a look, let's have a little peek!" Mona grinned, slowly lifting the cloak.
"Wait guys, some people are coming!" Joker said, noticing some of the guards moving towards the control room "We'll have to forget the big reveal and head back! Follow me!".
The others nodded, as they followed Joker through the rooftop before jumping through a window.
Courtyard
Third person P.O.V.
The window led them outside, onto the side of the golden building. It didn't take long to leap down the side of the building to the courtyard that had given them so much trouble only days ago.
"Did we lose them?!" gasped Panther as she tried to catch her breath.
"I think we did that when we jumped through a window." Joker groaned, rolling his shoulder, not hearing any sounds so most likely the guards were still searching for them.
"Treasure…" Mona grinned, almost vibrating in excitement as he clutched the purple cloth in Skull's arms clearly resisting the urge to uncover their prize.
Skull noticed Mona's excited looking staring daggers at him "Mona. We don't have time for this! Don't you dare-!"
"I can't take it anymore!" Mona jumped towards Skull and snatched it out of his hands and placed the Treasure on the floor, peeling off the violet material.
"Ugh for real…" Skull sighed, shaking his head in annoyance.
"Well we still have time, might as well take a look" Joker shrugged, as Mona pulled the cloth of the treasure.
The revealed painting was… unimpressive. It was just a blank canvas with a few black scribbles on it, somewhat resembling a face.
"That's it?" Joker blinked, staring at the painting with a baffled look " This is the source of his distortion that we risked our lives for.?!"
"It's certainly odd…" Fox agreed "It doesn't fit the aesthetics of the rest of the museum at all. It doesn't even match the paintings we were forced to traverse-"
Fox's ears then twitched as his eyes widened "Everyone! Get back now!".
At Fox's yell, the thieves leapt away from the Treasure, just in time to escape a laser cage.
"Hahahahahahahaha, not bad Yusuke" A deep distorted laugh accompanied by footsteps caused the Thieves to turn around.
Walking down the stairs was Shadow Madarame along with two guards, one holding a painting covered in a golden cloth.
"So you had a fake prepped, huh?" Mona scoffed. "You'll use counterfeits to the very end!"
"So what? I'd make a thousand counterfeits if it meant keeping this one safe from filthy rats like you!" Shadow Madarame laughed.
"Madarame!" Fox yelled, glaring at Shadow Madarame "Tell me! What made you like this! Why take the work of your closest friend and my father as your own! Why ruin the lives and careers of so many of your students then trap those who try to rise up in paintings with your Quirk!".
"Hehehe, so you did find out…not surprised" Shadow Madarame scoffed "Your Father simply put, was a fool, he had so much talent in his work especially for someone who came from the streets and far surpassing even my own!".
"Yet he never once capitalised on his skills only painting when he had the urge to do so and rarely if ever showed it, he was never after fame or fortune! So why can't I use the work he never showed off to reach fame and fortunes of my own" Shadow Madarame declared "After all, who's going to stop me since he's been gone for so long".
"So what you're saying is that you were jealous of Yusuke's dads skills and just had to take his work after he died! You sick son of a bitch" Skull growled.
"How did you even get the work, wouldn't it have gone to his wife!" Mona asked, as Madarame smirked.
"It was that fool's own fault, thinking he could take pity on me and let me live in his home! He knew my feelings for Mayuki who he had stolen from me and wished to mock me at the happiness he had achieved while I was left to wallow in the trash!" Madarame growled.
"Mayuki…is she my…" Fox muttered, making Shadow Madarame.
"Ah yes, Mayuki the woman had stolen my heart. She was the daughter of my old teacher and I thought the two of us were meant for each other but then Eiji had to come along and take her." Madarame scoffed "When he was gone I thought I finally had the life I had always wanted but the devotion to that bastard stayed strong until the very end".
Madarame then grinned evilly as he stared at Fox "...Now that I think back, the only reason I kept you around was due to your mother. Her skills were always quite astonishing, even surpassing both me and Eiji… and you, Yusuke, inherited both your parents' passion and talents! The ultimate tool. But without me, neither of their works and your work would ever see the light of day! Both you and your parents are my works of art!"
"How dare you! You raised him! You've known him his whole life! And all you think of him is as your tool! How low can you get!" Joker yelled, gripping his hand.
"You swine misunderstand! After all, without them I wouldn't have my career in the first place! Perhaps I should grant you a gift before you die - the Kitagawas' greatest contribution, the genuine Sayuri!"
The guard with the true Treasure stepped forward and held up the painting in its grasp.
As Madarame said, it was the Sayuri, but there were two significant differences, the purple haze covering the lower half of the painting was gone, revealing a baby within the woman's arms and the woman now had fox ears and nice tails coming from behind.
"It truly is beautiful, isn't it? I almost felt bad adding the touches that I did, but it was necessary. Staging the mystery behind Sayuri's expression is what got the public's attention after all! And as for why I took away the parts that came from her Quirk, well, who would care about those freaks with Physical Quirks" The Shadow scoffed, before grinning at Fox's pained expression
"This is your mother's only self-portrait and her last painting. She painted her and her husband's last wishes for the son she would leave behind. But what value is there in sentimentality when there is money and fame to be reaped!" Shadow Madarame cheered, as he and his guards laughed into the air.
"You stole something that was personal to his family! You bastard!" Skull growled.
"I had a feeling it was something like that" Joker frowned, as the others looked at him "The woman was in a pose that you would only be in if you were carrying a baby and I doubt anyone would care about a little extra paint covering where her Quirk was".
"You're right, I had the same feeling… I knew something was off the moment we found those counterfeits," Panter nodded and quickly glared at Shadow Madarame "If you truly treasured that painting, you wouldn't even think about replicating it for profit! You don't love art at all!"
"Although you have a real Treasure, your true skills are nothing more than the scribbles on that fake!" Mona agreed, before noticing Fox looking down "Fox?".
"There's still one more thing I must know…you trapped every person that got in your way within the paintings…but you also say that you love my mother…what happened to her"
"Oh I didn't do anything personally, I just happened to be there when she had a particularly bad attack" Shadow Madarame grinned evilly.
"She'd always had a frail body but even then she put everything she had into making art only to show and inspire your future, even when your father's work wasn't enough" Madarame frowned.
"The Sayuri was the one she put the most effort into finishing" Shadow Madarame explained "All that work must have taken its toll, she collapsed shortly after she finished it and seeing her lying down on the floor struggling to breathe…a thought came to mind".
"If I simply stayed quiet and didn't call for any help…I COULD TAKE ALL HER ART AND PUT OUT EVERY LAST PAINTING UNDER MY OWN NAME!" Madarame laughed.
"YOU BASTARD! You just let her die!" Joker yelled, glaring at Madarame.
"You didn't love her at all! You just wanted to own her and all of her work!"
"I LOVED HER! I DIDN'T KILL HER! SHE'D ALWAYS BEEN WEAK! IT WAS ONLY THE MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED! I JUST LET NATURE TAKE ITS COURSE!" Madarame yelled, before pointing at Yusuke.
"You should be grateful, Yusuke! If it wasn't for me you would be living in poverty and never would have had the chance to show yours to anyone! I MADE YOU YUSUKE! I OWN YOU!"
"You…did what to my mother…" Fox growled, gripping his hand.
"Yusuke, you've betrayed me and joined those rebellious thieves! I saw it's about time I cashed in on you too!" Madarame grinned "With my Quirk I'll make you into a piece of art the whole world will love! And it won't just be you, I'll do the same for your friends too!"
Madarame snapped his fingers, causing several empty portraits to appear next to him.
"Oh my god! You really only think of everyone around you as objects for you to use" Panther yelled.
"Yeah! You're nothing but a piece of trash!" Skull nodded, as they got their weapons ready.
"He's right, you're the worst kind of trash who doesn't deserve the fame he has!" Joker agreed, readying his knife before they heard Yusuke laughing.
"Hahaha…I owe you my thanks Madarame…any reason I may have had to forgive you has just vanished like dew in the sun…" Fox muttered, gripping his hand before looking up with a face full of fury.
"YOU ARE NOT JUST A ROTTEN EXCUSE FOR AN ARTIST, NO…YOU'RE NOTHING BUT COWARDLY FILTH STRUTTING ABOUT IN THE GUISE OF A HUMAN BEING!"
"Here we go guys!" Mona yelled, before pulling out his slingshot and firing at the guards causing them to fall back.
The Thieves then took the chance to dash forward and attack Madarame at the same time but their weapons moved through him like liquid.
"You good-for-nothing children! Barging into my museum and doing whatever the hell you want!"
Several figures shot out from Madarame knocking the Thieves back, before they skidded to a stop.
Standing around Madarame were several people made of dripping black paint with glowing coloured eyes that looked exactly like the students that were depicted in the paintings.
"Holy shit! A bunch of paint zombies" Skull gawked, looking at them.
"So he doesn't even care what his students looked like! Just that they can work for him!" Fox growled.
"Hehehe… I make the rules in the art scene. I am the supreme being! I AM THE GOD OF THE ART WORLD!"
Madarame's face begins to stretch out in a very unsettling way, as though its features are trying to break away from his head, all the while he laughs maniacally.
Eventually, he explodes into a pillar of Shadow Goo that was the same substance as the clone, revealing a set of four paintings, depicting two eyes, a mouth and anise.
The mouth painting then moved in and ate the treasure, licking its lips before it grins maliciously. "I'LL PAINT ALL OVER YOU!"
The paint students rushed towards the Thieves, attacking them in groups to keep them separated.
"Geh!" Joker growled, as he jumped away from the paint clones attacking him.
"Hah!" He yelled, kicking one of the clones in the face before taking out his dagger and slashing another in the face.
The clones froze for a moment before exploding into a pile of paint which flew up into the air "So they're not that strong, that's good…COME! SHIISA!"
Ripping off his mask Joker summoned his Persona who dashed forward and bit into one of the clones causing it to explode before firing a nuclear attack at the other.
"YOU'RE WIDE OPEN!" Shadow Madarame yelled, before one of the eye paintings began spinning very quickly.
"Huh? Woah!" Joker yelped, jumping away as the eyes tried cutting into him like a saw.
"Ew! These things are so gross!" Panther growled, swinging her whip at the clones who each exploded with each strike.
"And they're paint is getting all over my clothes too" Panther frowned, looking at the paint covering her outfit before some kinda shadow covered her "Eh? Why did it get- oh no!".
"NOM!" Shadow Madarame yelled, as the mouth painting tried biting into her but Panther jumped out of the way.
"What the?! Ugh that's so gross" Panther grimaced, as ran off while the mouth continued chasing after her.
"Got you~" Panther froze before looking to see she was lured right where Madarame wanted her as an eye painting looked down on her.
"GAH!" She screamed, as the eye painting fired an ice blast that knocked her away before she was grouped on by the paint clones.
"PANTHER!" Mona yelled, before raising his sword to block an attack from one of the paint clones.
"Damn it! This would be so much easier without all of you!" Mona growled, before jumping back to dodge on attack.
"Gonna need your help! Zorro" Mona called, summoning his Persona who manifested behind him and created a tornado to knock the clones into the air.
The two of them then leapt into the tornado and began slashing at the paint clones causing them all to explode around them before the liquid flew into the air.
"Hah…hah… how's that?" Mona grinned, looking around before jumping as one of the Eye paintings flew up behind him.
"You're all fools!" Shadow Madarame laughed, and fired a ball of fire towards Mona knocking him towards the paint clones.
"HAHAHAHA! It's fruitless! An ant cannot come even close to killing a god!" Shadow Madarame laughed, while creating more and more paint clones.
"Grr, GOD MY BUTT!" Skull yelled, as he dashed towards Shadow Madarame and jumped into the air.
"SOMEBODY NEEDS TO KNOCK YOU DOWN A PEG OR SIX!" Skull grinned, readying his bat so he could swing at the painting.
"Huh?! HEY!" Skull cried, as the mouth painting bit into his bat before shaking him a bit before throwing him away.
"WOAH! WOAH! WOAH!" Skull found himself falling towards a group of the paint clones who moved out of the way to let him crash onto the ground.
"Wh- hey! HEY! STOP IT!" Skull yelled, as the painting clones began beating on him.
"Gggh! Everyone!" Fox growled, as he blocked the attack from a paint clone before kicking it back.
This was then followed by Fox slashing downward, cutting the paint clone in half causing it to explode before the liquid flew up into the air.
Several more Paint clowns came rushing in, forcing Fox to reach for his mask and rip it off "COME! GOEMON!".
His Persona stood proudly behind him before shooting a beam of ice that froze the Paint clones in place.
"Now's my chance" Fox declared, before forward slashing each clone into pieces.
"Wait…they're not flying back up?" Fox realised, looking at the frozen remains but then a large empty portrait landed opposite him "What?".
"BWAHAHAHAHA IS THIS REALLY ALL YOU'VE GOT! HOW PATHETIC!" Shadow Madarame laughed "You thought you could defeat me with your paltry skills? Laughable! You truly are just children playing about as if this were a game!".
"Says the one who stole the ideas and creations of children! You can't even face us without those children protecting you!" Fox yelled, pointing at Shadow Madarame.
"Aah yes that, I'm actually quite grateful to you for that Yusuke. After all, you were the one who showed me just how easy it was" Shadow Madarame said, before grinning evilly "Yes! I do believe I owe you some proper thanks!".
Fox's eyes widened before he was blown back towards the empty portrait by a powerful gust of wind coming from the Nose painting "HAHAHA! YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY YUSUKE! YOU'LL BE FROZEN A PORTRAIT FOR ALL TOO ENJOY!"
'I-It's too strong…I'm going to fall…Mother…Father…I'm…so-' "OH NO YOU DON'T"
Fox's eyes widened before he was by Joker swinging in and kicking him out of the wind vortex.
"F-Fox…don't give up so easily!" Joker growled, fighting back against the wind "This bastard has done so much to you! To all of you family! So what are you for! Get mad! STOP HOLDING BACK!"
Joker then pulled out his gun and jumped into the air, firing several bullets towards Madarame causing the Shadow to scream out in pain as Joker was pushed into the portrait.
"JOKER!"
Joker found himself falling down a black void with seemingly no end, but as he began losing consciousness he noticed the care Jose gave them beginning to glow.
Velvet Room
Third person P.O.V
"THAT IDIOT!"
"H-Huh? I'm…here again" Shadow Sumire gasped, opening her eyes before looking around "W-What, how did I get here…last I remember I was watching the fight when Ren-huh?".
Shadow Sumire blinked, as she saw Caroline growing and kicking the wall "Why would he just let himself fall into a trap like that!".
"C-Can they not see me…" Shadow Sumire muttered, looking at
"We must have just overestimated his abilities…" Justine frowned, looking down "To think someone chosen by our master would fail like this…".
"A-Are they talking about Amamiya-kun and Arsene!" Shadow Sumire gasped, looking at the two guards.
"It seems I thought too highly of humanity" She heard, looking back too see Igor tapping his finger on the table "And now their only hope…their Trickster is gone, the path to ruin is inevitable for humanity"
"No…NO!" Shadow Sumire yelled "I've been living with all of his Persona's! I've seen everything he's done! There's no way Ren or Arsene give up like that! They still wanna fight no matter what!".
"Something…there has to be something I can do to help them" Shadow Sumire frowned, looking down.
"I might have an idea".
"Huh" Shadow Sumire blinked before turning around to see the silver haired man in his cell "Who…are you…".
"...Narukami…Narukami Yu, a Wild Card like Amamiya-kun but unlike me his Fool's journey is being tampered with…and you might be our one chance to help him" he explained, looking at her.
Shadow Sumire went silent as she stared at the imprisoned Persona user, normally she wouldn't trust someone in a situation like his…but the look in his eyes was the same look Arsene had…the eyes that told her she can trust him.
"Okay…if you really think you can help him…then I'll trust you" she said, reaching out her hand making Narukami smile before he reached out for the hand and grabbed it.
The Velvet room began shaking as Shadow Sumire, much to the surprise of Caroline and Justine.
"W-What the hell?!" Caroline yelped, as she fell to the ground.
"I-Is something happening to the Inmate!" Justine gasped, as she looked around.
Igor's grin for a moment turned to a frown as he watched what was going on in reality.
Madarame Palace
Third person P.O.V.
"Joker…" Fox muttered, after seeing the person he first saw as a nuisance sacrifice themself for him.
"Ren…" "RenRen…damn it…" "Joker…" Panther, Skull and Mona muttered, as they were forced to watch their leader and friend getting sucked into the painting.
"Mwahahahaha! Now do you see what happens when you cross me Yusuke! Let his death be a lesson to you and stop this meaningless rebellion! NOW!" Shadow Madarame ordered.
"Madarame…" Fox muttered, slowly standing up.
"You stole and tarnished my Father's legacy…you simply watched as my other died in front of you…you abused my brothers and sisters, stole their works and trapped them within tombs of their art…and now you have done the same…to the person who tried to help me…even when I pushed him away…" Fox muttered, as Shadow Madarame summoned several Paint clones in front of him.
The sky began to darken above, but this was unnoticed by Fox as he proceeded to unsheathe his Katana and enter a fighting stance.
"For these crimes you have commited…I will make sure…THAT YOU WILL PAY FOR EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR SINS-"
(Play Reach out to the truth -first battle-)
BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!
Fox's eyes widened as a bolt of electricity shot down and killed the Paint clones in front of him "W-What!".
"WHAT IN THE WORLD! HOW IS THERE THUNDER IN MY PALACE!" Shadow Madarame roared, before more thunderbolts shot down.
BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!
"W-What the?! Skull is this you" Panther asked, now free from the paint clones that were killed by the lightning bolt.
BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!
"N-No! Look my mask's still on, this ain't me" Skull explained, as he was also freed from the now dead paint clones.
BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!
"Which means the only one it can be is…" Mona muttered, before all three looked towards the painting.
Fox went silent before slowly turning around to see that the painting Joker was trapped in now had several cracks all over it, with a yellow and red light emanating from the cracks "I-It can't be…"
BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!
Everyone covered their eyes as the painting exploded in a bright light, and when they recovered and looked back as Persona was now in the painting's place.
The persona in question was a tall and lanky humanoid that looked like an automata. It was dressed in a long black coat closed in the torso section with red sleeves and a red plaid pattern as well as a zipper like parts at the edges of the said coat. The lower section was composed of a pair of grey knee-length pants with a bright red crotch section with a zipper in the middle, it also wore a pair of red knee-high, high heel zip-up boots with extra heels acting as geta. The head looked very robotic done in black with a metallic face that had two 'horns' and a pair of yellow eyes surrounded by black mascara in the same pattern as Joker's mask as well as four holes where the mouth should be topping it off with a long red headband tied to the forehead. On its right hand was a Nagamaki and on its left was an exhausted looking Joker.
"JOKER!" The Thieves cheered, as they rushed towards the large Persona holding their leader.
The Persona looked down and gently placed Joker to the ground as the Thieves ran up to him.
"I-Is he okay?" Panther asked, looking worried as Joker looked dizzy.
"Ugh, I miss my mommy, she was a demon and her hair was funny" Joker slurred, before being hit on the head by Skull.
"Yeah he's okay" Skull smiled, as Joker rubbed his head.
"Joker! How did you do that! This isn't one of your usual Persona's" Mona asked, pointing up to the large Persona looking down at them.
"Uh, not really sure but I think Jose's gift came in handy" Joker explained, pulling out the now glowing card "I think it's name is…Izanagi Picaro".
"Joker, you're eye" Fox gasped, causing Joker to reach for it out of reflex "It's returned to normal".
"It has…" Joker muttered, before looking up at Izanagi Picaro "Could that mean you are…".
"HEY! Did you forget about something!" Shadow Madarame yelled, catching the Thieves' attention as they got back "I don't what this is but it's not gonna help you! Get them!".
With that command several paint clones came rushing in towards the group as they got ready to fight.
However before they could fight, the now named Izanagi Picaro moved in front of them and raised its hand.
"ZIODYNE!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!
With a voice that was a mix of a boy and a girl voice, the large Persona summoned a powerful bolt of light that knocked the Paint clones back.
Rolling its neck, the Persona gripped its large sword before darting towards the paint clones as they recovered.
Izanagi Picaro then slashed it horizontally and vertically at the Paint clones, making them explode into paint which Izanagi Picaro dodged.
Shadow Madarame growled, before firing a fire blast and an Ice blast towards Izanagi Picaro who moved out of the way.
The Persona then manifested more lighting towards Shadow Madarame which damaged it's nose and mouth but didn't affect its eyes which fired again.
Izanagi Picaro raised its sword blocking the attacks, before swinging his sword and dashing towards the Shadow.
Readying its sword, the Persona did another Horizontal and Vertical slash which knocked the eyes and nose back but the mouth moved in and took the most of the damage.
"Will you just fuck off a already!" Shadow Madarame yelled, before sending more Paint Clones towards the Persona who began fighting them.
"Guys, did you see that" Joker asked, getting up "Izanagi Picaro was able to reveal the weaknesses".
"Wait for real?! What are they" Skull blinked, making Mona smirk.
"Easy, its nose and mouth are weak to normal elements and its eyes are weak to special elements while its mouth is immune to physical elements," Mona explained.
"So we just need to split up and take on each painting one at a time" Panther guessed, but Joker shook his head.
"No, you guys go in groups of two. Skull and Panther will go for the mouth, Mona and Fox go for the nose and I'll go for the eyes" Joker directed, as he got up before tensing.
"Are you sure Joker? You're still hurt from before" A concerned Fox asked, causing Joker to look back at him with a smirk.
"I can do this all day, besides I'm the only one with Persona abilities to handle them" Joker said, taking a drink of medicine Takemi gave them while the others looked at each other worried.
"Alright, let's go!" Joker yelled, as the Thieves nodded before they rushed forward.
"Hey Madarame!" Skull yelled, catching the large Shadow's attention as Skull rushed in and swung his bat.
Madarame scoffed and simply bit into the bat again "Did you really think doing it again would work?".
"Well this time I'm not alone, CAPTAIN KIDD!" Skull roared, as his mask burst off and summoned the Pirate Persona.
"Wahahaha! Finally! I almost thought you forgot about me!" Captain Kidd smirked, before firing a blast of electricity at the painting stunning it.
"ALRIGHT! YOU'RE TURN PANTHER!" Skull roared, as he threw the painting towards his fellow thief.
"Okay! It's your time to shine! CARMEN!" Panther smirked, ripping off her mask and summoning her Persona.
"Fufu, I've been waiting to take part in this dance, my other self" Carmen smirked, before creating two big fire balls and throwing them towards the mouth causing it to crash to the ground.
Mona and Fox were currently getting pushed back by the Nose paintings wind attack.
"H-Hey Fox! Mind giving me a boost, I think I got an idea" Mona asked, looking back at his fellow thief who nodded.
"Very well, Goemon! Sukuja!" Fox declared, ripping off his mask to summon Goemon behind him.
"Well now, I wonder what mister kitties got planned" Goemonn grinned, before blowing a green wind that covered Mona's body.
"Alright! Let's give this a shot!" Mona cheered, before using his extra agility to dash closer to the nose through the window before jumping into the air "Zorro! Garu!".
"Face me! If you dare!" Zorro declared, before using his sword to create another Tornado to knock the nose painting towards the ground.
"I see! Brilliant plan Mona!" Fox grinned, before jumping into the air along with his Persona "Come Goemon! Bufu!".
"WAHAHAHA! I like you even more Cat! HERE TAKE THIS!" Goemon laughed, before firing several ice shards into the nose pinning it to the ground.
The two landed on the ground as Mona turned to Fox with a frown "When is your Persona going to stop calling me a cat".
As this was happening, Joker was swiftly dodging the blasts that came from the eye paintings "Well at least it can't talk any more smack".
"Fufufu, you've been having so much fun and you never even bothered to invite me. I'm heart broken my other self" Arsene smirked, as Joker slid under a blast.
"Well you do seem like the guy who loves to be fashionably late" Joker grinned, before ripping off his mask "So how about you arrive now! ARSENE! MAEIHA!"
With a blue flame, Arsene materialised behind him, who looked back at Izanagi Picaro fighting the Paint clones with an amused grin.
"Well now, I certainly have to look cool for my junior now don't I?" Arsene smirked, before opening his palms and charging up two purple balls of energy.
"HAH!" Arsene yelled, firing the two blasts at the eyes knocking them towards the ground.
"Damn it… I'm the great Madarame! You brats need to shut up and learn your place!"
"And leave you to trample on the lives of others as you please? Enough of your infantile rambling!" Fox yells "Come everyone! All out attack!"
All five then rushed in before jumping into the air, attacking the shadow in all directions before dashing past him.
All five then struck a pose, with Joker fixing his glove, Skull doing a rock out sign, Mona crossing his arms with a grin, Panther doing a cute pose with a peace sign and Yusuke striking a dramatic pose.
Behind them we see energy in Shadow Madarame burst out before he exploded behind them.
(End song)
However when they turned around, they found Shadow Madarame still standing with an annoyed frown.
"When will any of you get it! I'm Madarame! The great artist! Behold my mastery!" Madarame yelled, before reaching his hand into the air.
With that command, the paint that had been floating above them rushed down before it engulfed him.
"What the hell?!" Skull gawked, as they saw the paint engulfing Madarame before transforming into a gigantic Madarame face made out of paint.
"LOOK AT ME! I AM THE VERY DEFINITION OF ART ITSELF!" the giant Madarame face laughed.
"Can this guy get any more annoying?!" Panther asks incredulously. "Whatever, I'll just take them all out! Maragi!"
The Persona nodded, and threw several fire balls towards the large mass which didn't do anything "WHAT?!"
"BWAHAHAHAHA! NOW DO YOU SEE! ANYTHING YOU DO IS POINTLESS! I AM INVINCIBLE! NOW PREPARED TO BE MADE INTO MY NEXT MASTER" The Madarame face declared, before reshaping into a large tendril and dashing towards the group.
Izanagi Picaro noticed this before moving past the paint clones and intercepted Shadow Madarame's attack, protecting the Thieves.
The Persona then began firing several lightning bolts to try and keep Shadow Madarame back.
"Damn, how are we meant to beat it now! We can't even really kill the paint clones" Mona gulped.
"No, there is a way," Fox told them as the others looked at him.
"For real? How?" Skull asked, looking over at his companion who nodded.
"Yes, when I froze them and shattered them they didn't turn into liquid I believe that's our best bet" Fox explained.
"But what about the rest of Paint clones, couldn't they just replace the ones we froze" Panther realised, looking at the other Paint clones rushing towards them.
"Then we'll need to destroy those guys first, hey Izanagi" Joker called, as the Persona looked at them "Think you could keep Madarame busy for a bit?".
Izanagi Picaro went silent for a moment before nodding and flying into the air.
"Hey! Where are you going!" Shadow Madarame yelled, turning into a tendril and chasing after Izanagi Picaro while the Thieves ran to fight the paint clones.
(Play Time to Make History)
Izanagi Picaro looked down at the mass of black paint flying towards them, shifting its form as it got closer.
The Persona raised its sword, blocking the incoming attack before moving out of the way.
It then spun around and performed a cross slash on the mass of black paint but it swiftly recovered.
"Hah did you really think that would work?" Shadow Madarame grinned, before striking Izanagi Picaro all flew out of the way.
Meanwhile, Skull and Kidd were busy blasting every copy they saw one electric blast at a time.
"Man, this is like one of those zombie games." Skull said he clobbered more paint clones with his bludgeon while the persona fired more electric blasts.
The clones then decided to surround both of them, only for the pirate to shoot out a black projectile from its arm cannon before Skull jumped as high as he could in the air, once mid air he used his bludgeon as a baseball bat to send the projectile at the clones causing an intense electric blast instantly frying them.
"Hell yeah!" Skull celebrated… Prematurely, as more paint clones started to head towards his direction.
"It seems you've celebrated too soon." The persona said as it readied its cannon.
"Yeah. But, hey, look on the bright side. More of them to smash." Skull said as he lifted his bludgeon once again.
As this was happening Panther and her persona were doing everything they could to keep the Paint Clones at bay.
"Jeez! Why are there so many of them" Panther frowned, as she fired at the paint clones with her gun.
Several explosions of flames were shot out destroying more of the paint clones, as Panther looked back to see Carmen next to her.
"To be fair my other self, this is the final stretch nobody said it would be easy" Carmen commented, before grabbing the vines that held the heart guys she was standing on using them as weapons to knock them back.
"Y-Yeah, I guess that's fair" Panther sweatdropped, not realising that more of the clowns were sneaking up on her.
"ZORRO!" Mona yelled, summoning his Persona to come and punch the paint clones back much to Panther's surprise.
"Huh, woah that was a close one" Panther jumped, before turning over to Mona who was running up to her "Thanks for the assist Mona".
"Hehehe, well of course! Was I cool or what Lady Ann" Mona asked, with a smug smile.
"Uh…yeah sure" Panther awkwardly smiled, before the two continued to finish off the last of the Paint clones.
"NUE!" "GOEMON!" Joker and Fox yelled, as they leapt into the air and summoned their Persona's.
Goemon attacks first by using his Katana along with Fox to deliver several slashes at the enemy.
At the same time Nue came crashing down and slammed its fist knocking the enemies into the air before Joker pulled out his gun and fired at each one killing them and sending more of the paint back to Madarame.
"Hah…hah…is that enough?" Fox asked, while wiping away some of his sweat.
"Yeah, I think the others can handle the rest" Joker nodded before looking back at Fox "Which means we need to finish off Madarame, you ready?".
"Yes, lets- hmm" Fox blinked, as his ear twitched for a moment.
"Is something up?" Joker asked, with a raised eyebrow.
"It's nothing, I just thought I heard something…let us go" Fox nodded, grabbing onto Joker who took a stance and shot his grappling hook towards Izanagi Picaro who noticed this and grabbed onto the hook.
The two were shot towards Izanagi Picaro and grabbed onto the Persona's shoulder before they looked up to the large Madarame made of black paint which had grown significantly bigger from all the paint clones joining back to him.
"What are you rats even doing! All you're doing is making me stronger!" Shadow Madarame yelled, looking down at the three of them.
Joker gulped, before looking back down at the others as they finished off the paint clones.
"CAPTAIN KIDD!" Skull yelled, dashing forward as his Persona fired a missile. Skull then leapt into the air before using his bat to slam the missile towards his group of paint clones.
"CARMEN!" Panther smiled, as she was lifted into the air by her Persona with the two spinning around before firing a powerful flame blast at the clones.
"ZORRO" Mona smirked, as the two leapt into the air while pulling out the sword and using the wind magic to slash at the clones in several directions including up into the air before they exploded.
Joker smirked before looking back up at Shadow Madarame "Wrong, all you've done is make one target to focus on! You ready Fox?".
"Yes! Let's end this!" Fox nodded, before the two of them jumped off Izanagi Picaro and ripped off their masks
"GOEMON!" "AME NO UZUME!" The two Persona's appeared behind Joker and Fox before they pointed at the target "DOUBLE MABUFU!".
"W-What! No! NO! NOOOOO-" Madarame screamed, before being frozen in place by the attack.
Fox landed on Izanagi Picaro with Goemon next to him, before the trio nodded and dashed forward "And now! The curtain falls!".
"GIANT SLICE!" "CROSS SLASH!" The group declared, before they rushed in and slashed at the giant Madarame, cutting him into pieces.
Joker in the meantime uses his grappling hook to swing himself above Madarame while reaching for his mask.
"Alright, ARSENE! IT'S A SHOWSTOPPER!" Joker declared, as he and his Persona leapt into the air before delivering a simultaneous kick towards Madarame sending him crashing towards the ground causing a large explosion.
End song
"Woah! Woah! Woah!" Joker screamed, before being caught by Izanagi Picaro and brought to the ground.
"Phew thanks for that, I don't know who you are but you were a big help" Joker smiled, looking up at the Persona.
However Izanagi Picaro just stared down at him making Joker sweatdrop "Is something wrong?"
"Amamiya Ren…please…I need your h-" SHINE!"
"GAH!" Joker cringed, before Izanagi Picaro shined brightly and disappeared leaving two balls of light.
One of them flew off in the direction of the Palace's entrance while the other flew back into Joker before he saw the card Jose gave him crumble away.
"It really was you…but what did you-" "Hey Joker! He's coming too".
"Huh? Ah! Coming!" Joker yelled, as he ran off to meet back up with the others.
From the remain Shadow Madarame slowly got back up, a face filled with rage as he glared at the group "You impertinent children! You'll never…!"
He tries to summon morepaint clones, but this time nothing arrives.
The plagiarist's face quickly shifts into fear as he slowly starts backing away from the Phantom Thieves as Fox walks towards him.
"No, wait! We can talk about this… Yusuke! You'll forgive me, right I practically raised you, so-""Silence!"
Fox grabs the oldman's robe to hold and lifts him up into the air "You have no right to speak of forgiveness after everything you've done! To me, my mother, my father and all the others who lived under your roof!"
Fox throws him down to the stonework, where he simply cowers in place.
"I'm a victim in this too! The masses don't care for true art - all they want is branding!" He once again looks to his ex-student to try and validate himself. "You need money to rise up in the art world… You don't understand how miserable it is to be a poor artist, I just didn't want to live that life again!".
"Like hell he doesn't after the way you treated him and all your students" Skull barked, glaring down at Shadow Madarame but Fox walked ahead.
"...I see no reason to spare my mother's killer any more words." Fox states, as he picked up the Sayuri "It's time you returned to reality and confessed your sins - every last one!"
"You-you're not going to kill me?" Madarame gulped, as Joker looked at him.
"If we kill you now you won't be able to confess your crimes" Joker explained, crossing his arms "And you're going to count up for each and every sin you've committed and pay them back".
"SWEAR TO ME THAT YOU WILL!" Fox yelled, pointing out his Katana towards Madarame.
"EEK! I SWEAR! I SWEAR!" Madarame screamed, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Looks like everything has been settled," Joker smiled, patting Fox's back who nodded.
"Awesome! Then let's head on home" Skull grinned, with the others nodding.
"S-So he really isn't coming?" Shadow Madarame heard, catching the Thieves' attention as they looked at him.
"T-The one in the black mask, y-you aren't going to summon him are you?" Shadow Madarame asked, clear fear in his eyes "I-In fact, c-could tell him not to kill me? Please! I beg you!".
"Black…Mask…?" The Thieves questioned, looking at each other.
"Could there have been somebody else that entered the Palace?" Panther wondered, crossing her arms.
"Nah, he's probably just bull shiting us" Skull shrugged, crossing his arms.
"I don't think so…I thought I sensed someone else moving around during the battle with my Quirk but so much was going on I wasn't certain" Fox explained.
"So that means there is someone else that's been infiltrating palaces" Mona frowned, looking down.
"But how, I'm the only one with the app?" Joker questioned, before they felt rumbling.
"Crap! We don't have time for this! We gotta get out of here! Move! Move! Move!" Skull yelled, as the group began running out of the Palace.
"Y-Yusuke wait!" Madarame cried, causing Fox to look back at him "What am I supposed to do now! Please, you have to help me".
"...My father told me that this is a chance for a new start for you, try to find your own form of art that you can be proud of" Fox stated, before leaving Madarame.
"COME BACK! YUSUKE! DON'T LEAVE ME! YUSUKE! YUSUKE!"
Real World
Third person P.O.V.
(Play Infinity by lyn)
Destination not found
"There we go, the Palace is gone" Ren confirmed, as they hung around the station in Shibuya "Now we just have to wait and see if his heart's been changed".
"So his treasure was the Sayuri itself" Yusuke muttered, looking at the painting "To think this was the root of his madness…the only saving grace is that mother and father can never learn what happened to this final piece".
"I'm not sure about that, I think his real treasure might have been the cognitive version of your mother" Ren explained, as Yusuke looked up at him "Think about it, it was his jealousy that your dad took your mother from him, especially having to live with them and watch their happy family, that drove him to start selling your dads paintings…almost like he was trying to be a copy of Eiji…I bet some of the stories about his life he's told the news was also taken from Eiji as well…"
"So I never even knew the real Madarame…" Yusuke muttered "But this also means this isn't just the Sayuri…but the spirit of my mother taken form".
"The real one is still in the Atelier where Madarame painted over it, this kinda means in your hands is the one true Sayuri" Morgana smiled, looking up at Yusuke.
"It's really a beautiful piece…and, though it was a bit delayed…it finally came into your hands Yusuke" Ann told him, as she looked down at the painting.
"Yes… and I'm deeply grateful but there's no way it will ever get the recognition it deserves from the art world" Yusuke frowned.
"Oh come on, from what we've seen I don't think your parents would care" Ryuji pointed out, as Ren nodded.
"Yeah, I bet they're just happy it finally came into your hands" Ren told him with Yusuke nodding.
"Indeed…the expression on her face doesn't seek for fame or glory…so this was my mother, it seems the shock I felt when I first saw the painting was no mistake after all".
The Thieves looked at each other and smiled at the face Yusuke was giving off. Satisfied with what they've done.
"So Yusuke, what are you going to do now?" Ryuji asked, crossing his arms.
"I'm guessing you mean about my place as one of the Phantom Thieves?" Yusuke asked, with a raised eyebrow.
"I mean you joined us specifically to stop Madarame, but with your skills we could definitely use you on our team" Morgana mentioned.
"I'm not necessarily opposed to remaining with all of you." Yusuke assures them. "But I do wonder, why do this in the first place? The four of you didn't have anything to do with Madarame at first, after all."
"To help people, who can't be helped by the heroes" "To give people courage to stand up for what they believe in" "To get back at those shitty adults who are making people's lives a living hell".
The group looked at each other for a moment, before laughing at their disunity.
"Well you get the idea, we all have our own goals in this but it's for the same goal to change the world" Ren explained.
"I see…well these Palaces might give me more inspiration for my future works and I must say I am interested in helping others in trouble but I won't have anything to do with any inelegant plans" Yusuke declared, making the others grin.
"Well Yusuke, or should I say Fox, we could definitely use a guy like you on our team so welcome to our show" Ren smirked, raising his hand.
"Indeed, I'll make certain that I live up to your expectations and beyond" Yusuke nodded, as the two shook their hands while the others cheered.
And boom! Finally done, man, that took so long and I was having a lot of trouble deciding how I should end the chapter but thank god I managed to finish it.
So what did you guys think of this chapter? I'm glad I managed to finish it so much like Ren meeting Shigaraki and a surprise appearance of Izanagi Picaro.
And yes I will try to have the other Picaro Persona's show up in this story, so you better look forward to that.
But for now, how about we get to the reviews.
ShadowJoestar: And now all the truth has been revealed, but there may be more to come so just wait for that.
Gamelover41592: Thanks, glad you like it
Guest:...Maybe
Grand chaos master: Thanks
TheBeatles211:
I was going to do something with that but to save time I decided to skip it, hopefully I can do something later in the story
He was both Jealous of Eiji and also couldn't understand why Eiji wasn't taking advantage of his skills to get fame and glory when Madarame would kill for that.
Thanks I based that on a few other stories I saw that did something similar and thought it would be nice to put it in here.
Anyway don't forget to review and favourite this story, and of course.
SEE YOU NEXT CHAPTER.