Chapter 15; Awaken Goemon

Location; Madarame Shack

After they left the museum, they were looking at the shack. "How're we supposed to get past that door?" Ann said to the others. "I dunno… You think there's some kinda off switch somewhere?" Ryuji said to the others and then Aqua said looking at Morgana. "I think Morgana knows."

"Yes I do, Aqua. I have a suspicious place in mind." Morgana said and then surprised everyone. Morgana then said to everyone. "Remember? This shack is the basis for Madarame's Palace. I actually scouted it out the last time we were here."

"Whoa… So this was your plan from the start?" Ryuji said and then Morgana said. "Correct."

"...You only went "scouting" because you were bored." Ann said and that surprised Morgana. Ryuji then said to Morgana. "So? Where's this suspicious place?"

"It's on the second floor. I noticed an unnaturally hefty lock on a door up there." Morgana said and then Ann said. "If it's locked, that means there's something in there he doesn't want people to see."

"But don't we wanna be opening the door in the Palace?" Ryuji said and then Morgana said. "Yes, and we're going to do that by opening the real one in front of Madarme's eyes. Basically, we're going to change his cognition that the door is unopenable."

"In other words… when we open the one in Madarame's house, that area in his Palace will open on its own?" Ann said and then Ryuji said. "I'm not really getting it… Is that gonna work?"

"Trust me! There's no chance it won't open! …I think! You understand, don't you, Joker?" Morgana said and then Ren said. "It can't hurt to try."

"Thanks for the faith Joker." Morgana said to Ren and then Aqua said to Morgana. "Ok, but what is the plan?"

"For the lock, I just need a hairpin. But it will take some time though. Doing everything by myself in front of Madarame would be impossible. If only there was someone who could distract him for a while…" Morgana said, looking at Aqua. Aqua got the idea and said. "Oh, no, no, no, no! I am not going to do Yusuke nude painting."

"I'm not saying you have to do it. It is simply the best excuse for you to enter Madarame's house without raising suspicions… So, we'd like for you to play the role of decoy, Aqua."

"And make sure Madarame sees the door is now open."

"Yes."

"Uh…! Fine. Fine, but if this doesn't work Morgana. Then I'll make sure to drive you into a lot of walls when we are in mementos." Aqua said as she left them and went home, still a little angry. Ryuji then said to everyone. "Is it just me, or is she a lot meaner after awakening her Persona."

"No, I see it too." Ann said and then Ren to Morgana. "You better hope this plan will work."

"Me too." Morgana said as they followed her. That night, Aqua texted Yusuke about how she would do the job. Yusuke was happy, but less so when Aqua wanted to do it tomorrow. Aqua wanted to get this over with the sooner the better.

Location; Madarame Shack

At the shack, as Yusuke was getting ready to paint, he said to Aqua, who had her normal clothes still on. "To think you'd really come… I assumed you were lying when you contacted me."

"Yeah, I understand. But I'm sorry it was sudden."

"Oh, it's not a problem. But as I told you yesterday, Sensei will be returning in about twenty or thirty minutes. So um… I'm sorry if that causes some anxiety on your part."

"That's why I'm here today, dammit."

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Aqua said as Morgana jumped out of Aqua's bag with one of her Pokeballs. And after Yusuke was ready to paint, Morgana let out his Nincada and Aqua's Phanpy. Yusuke was surprised to see Nincada and Phanpy as they were causing the shack to get a little wrecked. And after Morgana made her way to the door, Yusuke said to Aqua. "What are those things?"

"I don't know, but we better catch them." Aqua said as they started to chase Nincada and Phanpy. Yusuke and Aqua "chased" Nincada and Phanpy to the door Morgana was talking about. [Are you done, partner?] Nincada said to Morgana and then Morgana said. "Well…?"

"You're still not done!?" Aqua said as she saw Morgana still working on the door. Morgana then said to Aqua. "It's hard to do this… with cat paws!"

"Is something the matter?" Yusuke said to Aqua and then Aqua said to Yusuke. "Nothing. Hey, what with that room?" Aqua pointed to the door. "It's a storage area for old paintings." Yusuke said know which room Aqua was pointing to. Aqua then thought to herself. 'If it's a storage area, then why does it have so much security in the Palace?'

"Yusuke, what is going on in here!?" Madarame said as he arrived home and saw the damage that Nincada and Phanpy caused. "S-Sensei!?" Yusuke yelled letting Madarame know where they were. As Madarame walked towards them, Morgana opened the door, then he, Nincada and Phanpy went inside. Then Madarame said as he saw Aqua inside. "What are you doing there!?"

"I-It's… It's not what it looks like!" Yusuke said to Madarame. "No, this is what it looks like." Aqua said as she grabbed Yusuke and they both went into the room.

Location; The Museum of Vanity

"They seriously gonna be able to pull this off?" Skull said as he, Luxio, Joker, who was holding Keeper's gauntlet, Frigibax, Panther, Litleo, and Litwick were waiting by the gate. Luxio then said to Skull. [Well, since the Palace is starting to get wrecked, I think it is working.]

[Uh, guys? Look!" Litleo said, pointing at the gate. The security started to turn off and the door opened. Panther then said to them. "Looks like it worked."

"Ok, now let's get in there." Joker said as they all ran inside.

Location; Madarame Shack

"Kangofu-san, this is bad!" Yusuke said as he and Aqua were in the storage area. Aqua then said to Yusuke as she looked for the lights. "Maybe, but where are the lights?" Aqua then found the lights and then after the lights came on, they saw that it was not only a storage area, but had a lot of copies of Sayuri. Yusuke and Aqua were surprised and then Madarame walked in and yelled. "Get out!"

"Sensei, what is the meaning of this?" Yusuke said to Madarame, as Aqua found Morgana, Nincada and Phanpy hiding under an old painting. Madarame then said to Yusuke, as he and Yusuke didn't notice Morgana, Nincada or Phanpy. "I suppose I can't keep quiet now that you've seen this… Truth be told… I'm in severe debt. I handmade these "Sayuri" copies and have been selling them through a special connection of mine…"

"But why?"

"The real "Sayuri"... was stolen by one of my pupils long ago. I assume they begrudged my strictness… That moment was quite a shock for me… Since then, I've been mired in a terrible artist's block… Because of this distress, some of my pupils handed their ideas over to me from time to time… I knew I couldn't keep that up, so I attempted to recreate the "Sayuri" a number of times. However, it resulted in nothing more than replicas… That's when someone came to buy the paintings, knowing well they weren't original… It's all my fault. I couldn't pay the price of being famous. As expectations for me rose, it reached a point where I had no choice but to keep making them… I needed money to further your talents… I ask that you please forgive your cowardly teacher…"

"Please don't…!" Yusuke said before walking over to Madarame. But Aqua stopped Yusuke and said to Madarame. "Hold on… Something doesn't add up. If the original painting got stolen, how did you make copies of it?"

"I… happened to find a finely detailed photograph of it in an artbook."

"So you managed to sell copies of a photo of the original? I'm not sure how this works, but… Don't people who buy paintings generally have a keen eye for the fine arts? This sounds like a lie to me."

"What would you know!?"

"Something just doesn't feel right!" Aqua said before she noticed one painting under a tarp. "What's this?" Aqua said pointing at a painting under a tarp. Aqua removed the tarp and it was another Sayuri, but not a copy of the original. It was the original Sayuri. Yusuke then said as he got closer to it. "This… This is the real "Sayuri"!" Yusuke then turned to Madarame and said. "But you just said a moment ago that it was stolen!"

"That's a replica!"

"No, it's nothing of the sort! This painting kept me going… It's the reason I made it this far… Sensei… Don't tell me…"

"It's fake… Yes, a counterfeit! I heard there was a counterfeit spreading around, so I bought it!"

"You're lying, Sensei… Please just tell us the truth…" Yusuke said to Madarame. Madarame was disappointed that Yusuke chose not to believe his lie. Madarame pulled out his cellphone and said to them. "I've reported you to my private security company!"

"You have a private security company?" Aqua said before Madarame said. "I had it set up to deal with some problematic paparazzi, but I never thought it'd come in so handy."

"Please, wait! Let's talk about this!" Yusuke said before Aqua said, grabbing his hand. "Sorry, Yusuke, but it's time to Rollout!" Phanpy got the idea and used Rollout on Madarame. Madarame was surprised and hurt by Phanpy, and then they all ran out of the room.

Location; The Museum of Vanity

After turning off the security in the control room. They were back to the safe room to leave the Palace. But stopped when the Palace shocked a little. "What was that?" Panther said as they were trying to fall. Joker had an idea and said. "Something must have happened with the others." Skull then said as the shaking stopped. "I hope those guys managed to get away…"

"Cannonball!" They heard Keeper say above them. They all looked up and saw Keeper, Mona, Nincada, Phanpy and Yusuke appeared above them. Fletchinder came out of his Pokeball and made sure Keeper landed safely, but everyone else crashed onto Skull. [Oh! That's got to hurt.] Luxio said before Litleo said, holding back her laughter. [But it is funny.]

"Thanks Fletchinder." Keeper said as she landed on the ground safely. [It's no problem.] Fletchinder said before Keeper returned him to his Pokeball and Joker gave her back her gauntlet. After everyone got off Skull, Yusuke said, looking at everyone. "Who are you all?"

"Calm down, Kitagawa-kun! It's us!" Panther said to Yusuke, who was still on the ground. Yusuke understood that they were all Aqua's friends, but then looked at Mona and the Pokemon and said. "I don't recall ever seeing things like them before."

[We are Pokemon, minus the cat. Now get up. We gotta get out of here!] Litwick said as it pulled Yusuke up. "Hey! I am not a cat!" Mona said to Litwick. Yusuke got up, but didn't move. He looked around and said. "What is this place?"

"We're inside Madarame's heart." Keeper said to Yusuke. Yusuke said, still looking around. "Inside… Sensei's heart? I'm sorry, Kangofu-san… but are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"She ain't lying. This is what that bastard truly feels. He's nothing, but a greed-filled money-grubber." Skull said to Yusuke and Yusuke said to Skull. "Enough of this rubbish!"

"Kitagawa-kun! Didn't it cross your mind that something wasn't right about Madarame!?" Panther said to Yusuke, who didn't say anything. Keeper then said to Yusuke. "You may not want to believe it, but this is another reality as viewed through Madarame's eyes. …This is his true nature."

"This repulsive world? Just who are all of you!" Yusuke said and then Skull said. "I guess you could say… we're a group that changes the hearts of rotten crooks."

"If everything you say is true, then the sensei I know doesn't exist…" Yusuke said and then he fell to the ground. "Are you ok?" Keeper said as she, Mona, Phanpy and Litwick checked on him. "I'm trying to be rational about this, but my emotions are overwhelming me."

"Sorry, but we don't have time to dawdle. The security level's gone through the roof, which has caused the safe rooms to be closed. We need to get out of here at once!" Mona said, but Yusuke still didn't get up. "Here, lean on my shoulder." Joker said as he walked up to Yusuke and gave him his hand. Yusuke then got up and said. "...No, it's all right."

"Ok, then follow me." Keeper said as she led everyone out of the Palace. As they were heading for the exit, Yusuke noticed the paints and said after stopping at a painting of a female student. "Ah, this painting…!"

"Do you recognize it? We were thinking these might be his past pupils or something…" Panther said to Yusuke as they stopped too. Yusuke still looked at the painting and said. "But… Why are these paintings of them here?"

"Technically, those aren't actually paintings. They're the pupils themselves." Mona said before Skull said. "Madarame saw them as objects, so that's what they are in here… Oh, and uh… we found yours too." Yusuke didn't say anything and they started to move again.

As they reached the Exhibition Room with Madarame's statue of his plagiarizing. But before they left the room, the guards appeared and blocked the path. They were going to fight off the guards, but when they heard Madarame's Shadow said to them. "You thieves are not going around."

"We'll see…" Keeper said as they turned around and saw Madarame's Shadow. Shadow Madarame was wearing the same outfit as his normal outfit, but it was gold and his hair was in the style of a shogun. Also Shadow Madarame wasn't alone. Shadow Madarame not only had more guards, but Shadow Madarame was pulling a gold chain connected to a pokemon with white fur and had a tail with a green tip. Panther then said to Rotom, who flew out of Keepers pocket. "Who is that Pokemon?"

"Smeargle, The Painter Pokemon. It marks its territory by using its tail like a paintbrush. There are more than 5,000 different marks." Rotom said before returning to Keeper's pocket. Litwick looked at Smeargle and said. [Smeargle! At last I found you!]

[Litwick? What are you doing here?] Smeargle said before Shadow Madarame pulled the chain to shut her up. Skull then said looking at Shadow Madarame. "Talk about bullshit clothes! First a king, now some kinda shogun!"

"Welcome to the museum of the master artist Madarame…" Shadow Madarame said to everyone. Yusuke was surprised and then said to Shadow Madarame. "Sensei? Is that you? That attire…"

"Disgusting." Panther said to Shadow Madarame. Yusuke then said to Shadow Madarame. "This… This is all one big lie, isn't it?"

"My usual ragged attire is nothing but an act. Besides, a famous person living in that shack? I have another home… under a mistress's name, of course." Shadow Madarame said before Keeper said. "So you make your students live in that shack while you live in a nice house. You're the worst."

"Don't make me laugh." Shadow Madarame said before laughing. Yusuke then said to Shadow Madarame. "If the "Sayuri" was stolen, why was it in the storage room? And if you had the real one, why make copies!? If it's really you, Sensei… please tell me!"

"Foolish child. You still don't see? The painting being stolen was just a false rumor I spread! It was all a perfectly calculated staging!"

"What do you mean!?"

"Let me see… How does this sound? "I found the real painting, but it can't go public… You can have it for a special price, though…" Haha! How's that for preferential treatment!? Art snobs will eat it up, and pay good cash at that!"

"No!" Yusuke said before he fell down. As Keeper checked on Yusuke, Joker said to Shadow Madarame. "How can you turn that beautiful painting in a cheap way to get money."

"The value of art is purely illusion. What's the matter with providing that illusion to eager customers? Though I doubt a brat like you would ever come up with such a brilliant scheme!" Shadow Madarame said and then Skull said. "You keep going on and on about money this, money that… No wonder you ended up with this disgusting museum!"

"You're supposed to be an artist, right!? Aren't you ashamed of plagiarizing other people's work!?" Panther said to Shadow Madarame, who then said to them. "Art is nothing but a tool… A tool to gain money and fame! You helped me greatly as well, Yusuke… But with this monster, I don't need you anymore."

"You're his teacher and his guardian! How could you do this!?" Keeper said to Shadow Madarame. Shadow Madarame didn't respond, and Yusuke said to Shadow Madarame. "But what about the people who believe in you? Who thinks you're a master artist!?"

"...I'll tell you this alone, Yusuke. If you wish to succeed in this world, I'd advise you don't rise against me. Do you believe anyone could find success with my objection holding them down?" Shadow Madarame said before laughing. Yusuke then said to Shadow Madarame. "To think I was under the care of this wretched man!"

"You thought I took you in out of the goodness in my heart? Plucking talented, yet troubled artists allows me to find promising pupils and take their ideas… After all, it's much easier to steal the futures of children who can't fight back."

"I can't believe this…"

"Livestock are killed for their hide and meat! This is no different, you fool! …But I tire of this little chat. It's time that I–"

"You are unforgivable." Yusuke said shutting Shadow Madarame up and getting up. Yusuke then said to Shadow Madarame. "It doesn't matter who you are… I won't forgive you!"

"So, you repay my keeping you around for all these years with ingratitude? You damn brat! Men! Dispose of these thieves!" Shadow Madarame said and everyone got ready to fight, but not Yusuke. Yusuke laughed and said. "How amusing… It seems the truth is stranger than fiction, hm? I wanted to believe it wasn't true… I had clouded my vision for so long… My eyes were truly blind… Blind, and unable to see the true self behind this one horrible man!"

"Have you finally come to your senses?" A male voice said inside Yusuke's head. Yusuke's eyes turned gold, and as Yusuke fell to the ground holding his head, the voice continued to speak. "How foolishly you averted your eyes from the truth… A deplorable imitation indeed… Best you part from that aspect of yourself! Let us now forge a contract… I am thou, thou art I… The world is filled with both beauty and vice… It is time you teach people which is which!" Then Yusuke got up with a fox mask.

Everyone was surprised to see that mask, and then Yuske said. "Very well… Come, Goemon!" Yuske then ripped off the mask and blue flames burst from him. In that moment, Litwick attacked Shadow Madarame and freed Smeargle for him. Then both Litwick and Smeargle joined Yusuke as the flames revealed a Japanese man with an afro behind Yusuke, who was now wearing a black jumpsuit with a white top, gloves, and boots. Yusuke then said to Shadow Madarame. "A breathtaking sight… Imitations they may be, but tougher, they make a fine spectacle… Though the flowers of evil blossom, be it known… Abominations are fated to perish!" Yusuke then released a power ice attack that not only hit all of the guards, but sharder them like ice. Mona then said looking at Yusuke persona. "Whoa, this is impressive!"

"Hmph… Who do you think you are!? The price for your insolence will be death! Where are my guards!? Kill them all!" Shadow Madarame said as more guards appeared. Yusuke then said to Shadow Madarame. "The children who adored you as "father"... The prospects of your pupils… How many did you trample upon? How many dreams did you exchange for riches!? No matter what it takes… I will bring you to justice!"

"Let's see what you're made of." Joker said as everyone got ready to fight. Yuske then said before cracking a smile. "Very well, bring it on!" Then all of the guards turned into small versions of tengu and the one leading them was like a blacksmith.

As the battle got under way, Yusuke found that he was armed with a katana, and Litwick used a move that sent out balls of lights that confused the guards. Skull then said Litwick kept using that move and some of the guards started to attack one. "Whoa, what move is that?"

"That was Confuse Ray. It causes the target to get confused, but it's not permanent. So stop standing around and fight!" Keeper said as they attacked the guards. Smeargle then said to Litwick as he was using Ember on the guards. [Thanks for coming back for me, but I think we are in trouble.]

[Yeah, my fire isn't working on these guys.] Litwick said before Frigibax fired icicle shards at the guards, which caused major damage to the guards. "Nice job with those Icicle Spear, Frigibax." Joker said to Frigibax and then Smeargle said. [That will work.] Then Smeargle grabbed its tail and drew a circle around Frigibax. The others looked at Smeargle, who used Icicle Spear on the guards too. Panther then said to Keeper. "How is he doing that?"

"That move is Smeargle's only move ever, Sketch. And it can let Smeargle copy the last move used, which was Frigibax Icicle Spear." Keeper said as they kept fighting, and were able to defeat the guards. After the battle was over, Yusuke looked around and saw Shadow Madarame, who was close to the doorway they just came from. Shadow Madarame looked at Yusuke and said. "Yusuke, you've just thrown your bright future down the drain. I'll destroy every chance you've ever had of becoming an artist! You'll forever rue the day you dared defy me."

"Madarame!" Yusuke said to Shadow Madarame as Shadow Madarame left the room. Yusuke tried to chase after Shadow Madarame, but fell to the ground. Yusuke tried to get up and said. "Why can't I move!?"

"Sorry, Yusuke. But, you're totally drained. You can't do much, even if you wanted to!" Keeper said as she helped him up, and then Yusuke noticed his clothes. "When did my clothes change?"

"We tell you everything, but let's head to my house." Keeper said before Litwick and Smeargle stepped in front of Yusuke and Litwick said to him. [Wait, we would like to join you as thank you for what you did.]

"What did they say?" Yusuke asked everyone. As Keeper gave Yusuke to Pokeballs, Joker said to Yusuke. "Just thought of them with these. We'll explain later." Yusuke didn't understand, but he caught them and they all left the Palaces before more guards appeared.

Location; Aqua's House

After reaching Aqua's house and letting Yusuke and the Pokemon rest, Ann said to Yusuke. "You've known for quite some time, haven't you?"

"I'm no fool. Strange people have been coming by for years, and the plagiarism was an everyday affair. But… who would want to admit that the man they owed their life to was doing such terrible things?"

"Why didn't you leave, Kitagawa-kun?" Ann said to Yusuke, who then said to them. "Well, he is the one who painted the "Sayuri". On top of that, I owe him a great debt…"

"You mean because he raised you?" Ryuji said to Yusuke, who then said to them. "I… never knew my father. I was told my mother raised me by herself, but she died in an accident when I was three. That's when Sensei took me in. I heard he helped my mother while she was still alive. To be honest, I don't remember much about my mother either. I did everything I could for Sensei, I thought of him as a father… but he changed. To think he would treat the "Sayuri", the very foundation of his art, like that!"

"...A lot's happened to you, huh?" Ryuji said and then Aqua said to Yusuke. "I understand, but are you done running away from the truth?"

"Yes. And I am grateful for the chance to face what I have been denying all this time." Yusuke said and then Ryuji said to Yusuke. "You're way too serious, man. That's why you're always getting stuck in your own head. Look at me! I just go with the flow."

"For real." Ann said to Yusuke and then Morgana said to Yusuke. "What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know…" Yusuke said and then Ryuji said to Yusuke. "We can't help the fact that Madarame's gone and changed. But… we can change his heart. We'll make him pay for his crimes."

"That reminds me, you mentioned something about that "change of heart" earlier…" Yusuke said and then Aqua and the others told him everything about everything related to them as Phantom Thieves and about the Pokemon from Aqua's world. Yusuke was surprised, but then said to everyone. "...I see. And because of that, this PE teacher had a change of heart… The Phantom Thieves who steal hearts… To think they truly exist."

"Is it hard to believe?" Ren said to Yusuke and then Yusuke said. "I believe you, especially after seeing a world like that… And meeting…?"

"Litwick and Smeargle?" Aqua said and then Yusuke said. "Yeah. So your plan with Madarame-sensei- with Madarame is to force a change of heart, correct? Then let me join… as a member of the Phantom Thieves."

"You sure?" Aqua said as they all were surprised. Yusuke then said to them. "Had I faced reality sooner, this may have been avoided. I must put an end to this for the sake of the others whose future as artists were robbed, as well. That… is the most civil thing I can do for the man who was… in some manner, my father."

"...Civil, huh." Ann said before Ryuji said to Yusuke. "Sounds fine to me. We're gonna deal with Madarame anyways."

"He may have a mental shutdown if we screw up. We have ways to prevent that, but they aren't fail-safe. We told you about that earlier." Morgana said to Yusuke and then Yusuke said to them. "Madarame is a man who has the art world under his thumb. He has connections to many organizations. If someone like me raises my voice, it'll only be snubbed out… We have no option but this."

"It's a deal then." Morgana said and then Ann said. "We have a new member in the Phantom Thieves now! I hope we get along, Yusuke!"

"You better not slow us down." Ryuji said to Yusuke, who then said to them. "I'll do my best."

"Welcome aboard." Ren said as everyone was happy to have Yusuke, Litwick, and Smeargle. "Thank you. I ask that you coach me well." Yusuke said to everyone and then Aqua said to Yusuke. "Wait? What's going on with the real Madarame?"

"I contacted him before we came here. He believes that I continued pursuing Kangofu-san. And, just as you'll explain, it appears he knows nothing about his Shadow."

"What did he say?" Ann said to Yusuke and Yusuke said. "He was complaining to the security company about how they couldn't even catch one high school girl and a bunch of weird animals. However, he's still furious about it, and said that he's going to take legal action against everyone."

"Talk about being completely on guard…" Ryuji said before Ann said. "Legal action… He's acting way too desperate. Maybe he still has more secrets."

"When will he act?" Ren said to Yusuke and then Yusuke said to Ren. "It'd be after the exhibit is over. Any scandal during the show would be his loss."

"We'll have to force a change of heart before then, if we're to dodge this "legal action" thing. Looks like our plan must be accomplished while the exhibit is still open!" Morgana said and everyone agreed, and so Yusuke, Litwick, and Smeargle joined the Phantom Thieves of Heart.