The team stood outside Madarame's Palace fully rested and prepared.
Well.
As prepared as they could reasonably be for invading a magical art museum created from the distorted cognition of an abusive plagiarist.
Ren adjusted his gloves.
"Everyone ready?"
"Yep!" Ryuji said.
"Ready," Shiho answered.
Ann nodded firmly. "Let's finish this."
Orihime had been practically bouncing in place since they arrived. "Ready!"
Morgana puffed out his chest. "Naturally."
Yusuke stared toward the massive golden museum.
For a moment, he didn't answer.
Ren watched him but didn't push.
Yesterday had been spent resting. Actually resting. Yusuke ate, slept, drew for several hours and only apologized to Sojiro for existing in his general vicinity around six times.
Progress.
Probably.
Yusuke eventually placed one hand on the hilt of his Metaverse katana.
"I am ready."
Goemon appeared faintly behind him, puffing thoughtfully on his pipe.
'Excellent.'
Ren smiled.
"Then let's steal some art."
Yusuke looked offended.
"I would prefer we not phrase it that way."
Ryuji laughed.
Ren shrugged. "We're thieves invading an art museum."
"We are stealing Madarame's heart."
"Located inside an art museum."
"That does not make us art thieves."
"We might steal other stuff."
Morgana's ears perked up.
Yusuke stared.
Ren looked toward Morgana.
Morgana looked toward Ren.
"...For operational funding," Morgana said seriously.
"Exactly."
Yusuke closed his eyes.
"I have made a terrible mistake."
"Too late, Fox," Ryuji said, slapping him on the shoulder. "You're one of us now."
Yusuke sighed.
Goemon laughed.
---
Entering the Palace went significantly smoother this time.
Mostly because they knew what they were doing.
They slipped through the skylight one after another, rappelling into the museum before quickly moving toward the route they'd already mapped.
Yusuke landed beside Ren and looked down at the rope.
"I still find it fascinating that the feline constructed this."
"I am NOT—"
"Indoor voice," Ren warned.
Morgana glared.
Yusuke blinked.
"My apologies."
They continued.
The museum had apparently updated its security after their previous visit. More guards patrolled the halls, security lasers flickered across doorways, and several sections that had been open before were now sealed.
Ren wasn't surprised.
They had broken in.
Multiple times.
They had also directly confronted Madarame's Shadow, converted his adopted son into a supernatural gentleman thief and beaten several of his guards into black mist.
Yeah.
Security increase made sense.
Ryuji looked around.
"Dude, second Palace and we're already getting laser grids."
"Progression," Ren replied.
"What?"
"The first dungeon was a castle. Now we have a museum with actual security systems. Difficulty curve."
Morgana groaned. "Stop treating Palaces like video games."
Ryuji stared at him.
Ren stared at him.
Morgana's ears flattened.
"Don't."
Ryuji pointed around them. "We're wearing magical costumes."
"Don't."
"We have health and magic management."
"Skull."
"Enemies drop money."
"SKULL."
Ren nodded. "He's making a compelling argument."
"JOKER!"
Ann covered her mouth.
Shiho laughed.
Orihime tilted her head thoughtfully. "Do you think the next Palace will have a theme too?"
"Definitely," Ryuji said. "Maybe a pyramid."
Ren stopped walking.
Everyone looked at him.
Ryuji frowned. "What?"
Ren pointed at him.
"Don't."
"What?"
"Reality listens."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"The last few months of my life."
Fair.
Ryuji shrugged. "Fine. Spaceship."
Ren's expression became horrified.
"That's worse."
"What?! Spaceships are cool!"
"If I end up fighting aliens because you said that, I'm blaming you personally."
Morgana groaned.
"We aren't going to fight aliens!"
Ren looked at him.
Morgana paused.
"...Probably."
"Wonderful."
---
They avoided most of the Shadows.
That had been part of the plan.
Tomorrow didn't exist.
They weren't doing another retreat unless someone was genuinely injured or exhausted. Today, they were going as far into the Palace as possible.
Which meant conserving energy.
Ren actually found himself enjoying it.
There was something satisfying about moving through the museum without being seen. They'd learned how Madarame's security worked. The Third Eye picked out patrol paths and sensor lines while the others had gotten considerably better at recognizing when Ren was about to change direction without needing him to verbally explain every movement.
Shiho especially.
He leaned slightly left.
She moved left.
Ryuji almost continued straight before Ann grabbed his collar and dragged him with them.
"Hey!"
"Joker moved."
"He didn't say anything!"
"You should've noticed."
"How?!"
Ren looked back.
"Skill issue."
Ryuji stared at him.
"...You motherfucker."
Ren smiled beneath his mask.
Joker was having fun.
---
The second exhibition hall was significantly less fun.
Mostly because Madarame apparently had opinions about the human body.
They entered a massive gallery filled with sculptures and paintings, most of them heavily distorted. Faces stretched beyond natural proportions. Bodies appeared half-finished, limbs dissolving into golden frames as if the people themselves were unfinished material.
Yusuke's expression soured.
"These aren't his."
Ann looked toward him. "You recognize them?"
"Some."
His hand tightened around his katana.
"Former pupils."
Nobody joked for a few moments.
Then they rounded a corner.
Ryuji stopped.
Ren stopped beside him.
In front of them stood an enormous classical-style statue of a nude man holding a paintbrush dramatically toward the ceiling.
The statue was unmistakably Madarame.
Unfortunately.
Very unmistakably.
Ryuji stared.
Ren stared.
The statue stared proudly into the middle distance.
"...Why is it so detailed?" Ryuji whispered.
Ren's eyes moved downward.
He immediately regretted it.
"Vanity."
"Dude."
"Yeah."
"Is that accurate?"
"I don't want to know."
Yusuke stepped beside them.
"It is not."
Ren slowly turned.
Ryuji slowly turned.
Yusuke looked at the statue with the critical expression of an artist examining proportions.
"The shoulders are exaggerated, his abdominal structure is entirely fictional, and the anatomy below the waist is—"
"FOX!" Ann yelled.
Yusuke stopped.
Ann covered her face.
Shiho was shaking.
Orihime stared at the ceiling with a violently red face.
Ren nodded thoughtfully.
"So cognitive enhancement."
"Precisely."
Ryuji snorted.
"Bro gave himself the premium character creator sliders."
Ren lost it.
He bent forward laughing.
Shiho slapped both hands over her face.
Ann pointed furiously at the boys. "Can we PLEASE move on?!"
"I'm trying," Ren said.
"You aren't!"
"I genuinely am."
Ryuji looked back at the statue.
"Think that's what he actually thinks he looks like naked?"
"SKULL!"
"What?! That's literally what cognition is!"
Ren straightened.
"Unfortunately, his argument has academic merit."
"JOKER!"
Yusuke nodded.
"Indeed."
"FOX!"
Orihime had both hands over her ears now.
"I can't hear anything!"
"You can absolutely hear us," Shiho said between laughs.
"No I can't!"
Morgana strutted past them.
"Honestly. Humans are so immature."
Everyone looked at him.
Ren's eyes narrowed.
Morgana froze.
Ren smiled.
"So jiggly."
Morgana's face went blank.
Ryuji immediately understood.
"So jiggly," he repeated solemnly.
Morgana's ears flattened.
Shiho's expression became murderous.
Ann slowly turned toward him.
"Do not remind me of that."
Morgana began walking faster.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Uh-huh," Ren replied.
"I was merely surprised by Lady Hime's athletic ability!"
"Pervert."
"Manwhore."
Ryuji pointed between them.
"You guys really gotta stop using those like they're Pokémon types."
Ren nodded. "Morgana is weak to accusations."
"I hate this team."
---
They continued deeper into the exhibition.
Yusuke gradually relaxed again once the anatomically enhanced Madarame was safely out of sight.
Ren decided never to mention it around him in the real world.
Ryuji definitely would.
Oh well.
Not his problem.
They eventually entered another large gallery.
This one looked strangely empty.
Ren immediately stopped.
Everyone behind him stopped as well.
Ryuji frowned.
"What?"
Ren looked around.
Large room.
Several display platforms.
Golden frames.
A security terminal in the distance.
No visible Shadows.
No obvious lasers.
One extremely ornate golden vase sitting alone on a pedestal.
Ren narrowed his eyes.
"Nope."
Morgana walked past him.
"What?"
Ren pointed toward the vase.
"Obvious trap."
Morgana stared at it.
His pupils widened slightly.
"No..."
Ren looked at him.
Ryuji looked at him.
Morgana took another step.
"Mona."
"It's..."
Another step.
"Mona."
"Treasure..."
Ann frowned. "Morgana?"
Morgana's tail straightened.
"Treasure!"
Ren reached for him.
"Morgana, no—"
"TREASURE!"
He launched.
"MORGANA!"
The second his paw touched the pedestal—
BEEP.
Ren closed his eyes.
Of course.
Red lasers erupted from the walls.
"SON OF A—"
Metal barriers slammed down between sections of the gallery while bright security beams swept across the floor.
Ren dove beneath one as it activated, rolling over his shoulder and coming up on one knee.
Behind him, Ann and Shiho found themselves boxed inside a grid of red lasers.
"What the hell?!" Ann yelled.
Orihime and Ryuji were cut off on the opposite side.
"MONA!" Ryuji roared.
Yusuke stood on an elevated walkway with three layers of lasers blocking every exit.
He looked around.
"...Lamentable."
Morgana?
Ren looked toward the vase.
Gone.
"Morgana!"
"JOKER!"
His voice came from somewhere deeper inside the security system.
"I'm stuck!"
Ryuji slapped both hands against his face.
"You triggered the trap and got trapped the MOST?!"
"I DIDN'T KNOW!"
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KEEPS TELLING US TO WATCH FOR TRAPS!"
"The treasure distracted me!"
Ann crossed her arms.
"Really?"
"...Yes."
Shiho stared at him through several laser grids.
"So the professional thief got distracted by something shiny."
"I HAVE AMNESIA!"
"That's not how amnesia works!" Ryuji yelled.
Ren sighed.
Somewhere inside his head, Arsène was laughing.
'Do not.'
'Mon ami.'
'No.'
'Our guide appears to have been defeated by a vase.'
Ren pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Everyone stay where you are."
Ryuji stared through the lasers.
"Where the hell else are we gonna go?!"
"Good point."
"ASSHOLE!"
---
The first switch was easy.
Ren used Third Eye and immediately spotted an electrical connection running from Ann and Shiho's laser grid toward a security panel mounted behind a nearby sculpture.
A quick shot from his handgun broke the cover.
Button.
CLICK.
The lasers around Ann and Shiho disappeared.
Ann stepped free and immediately looked toward wherever Morgana's voice had come from.
"We are bullying him when we get him out."
"Agreed," Shiho said.
"HEY!"
"Quiet, prisoner."
Morgana made an offended noise somewhere in the distance.
Ren smiled.
This was healing.
Probably.
Freeing Ryuji and Orihime took longer.
Their laser grid was connected to something hidden in the gallery itself.
Ren scanned the room.
Nothing.
He looked again.
Third Eye.
Golden threads.
Security system.
Several paintings glowing faintly.
One was crooked.
Ren stared.
"Seriously?"
"What?" Ryuji asked.
Ren walked over and moved the painting.
A button sat behind it.
Ryuji looked through the lasers.
"No fucking way."
Ren pressed it.
CLICK.
The lasers disappeared.
Ryuji walked out.
"That's some Resident Evil shit."
"Pretty much."
"Why would anyone put the security button behind a painting?"
"Cognition."
"That's your answer for everything."
Ren shrugged.
"It's been working."
Orihime walked over to the painting and inspected it.
"Maybe Madarame thinks secret switches are artistic?"
Ryuji stared.
"...You know what? Sure."
They all looked toward Yusuke.
He remained stranded above them.
Yusuke looked down.
"Please don't ask me to justify his architectural choices."
"Wasn't going to," Ren said.
"I was," Ryuji admitted.
"I know."
---
Yusuke's section eventually connected to an upper walkway.
Ren climbed a stack of boxes, jumped onto a decorative ledge and pulled himself upward.
"That looks incredibly unsafe," Ann called.
"Probably."
"Joker!"
"I'm wearing magic shoes."
"THAT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING!"
Ren tested his footing.
It held.
"Apparently it does."
Shiho looked toward Ann.
"He's impossible."
"You get used to it."
Ren made his way across the ledge until he reached Yusuke.
Yusuke stared at him.
"You could have simply searched for another switch."
"Could have."
"But you chose to climb the wall."
"Yep."
Yusuke considered that.
"I understand why you are the leader."
"Thank you."
"That was not necessarily praise."
"I've been getting that a lot lately."
Together they found another switch and disabled the remaining beams around Yusuke.
Which left—
"Mona," Ryuji called. "You alive?"
"YES!"
"Unfortunately."
"SKULL!"
Everyone laughed.
"We're coming," Ren said.
"Please hurry!"
"I dunno, dude," Ryuji said. "This is kinda peaceful."
"RYUJI!"
"Oh, now I'm Ryuji!"
"GET ME OUT!"
---
Morgana had somehow managed to get himself trapped behind the most complicated portion of the security system.
Of course.
A terminal controlled the lasers.
Of course.
The terminal required a password.
Of fucking course.
Ren stared at the password prompt.
Ryuji leaned over his shoulder.
"Try password."
Ren looked at him.
"What?"
"People do that."
"You think Madarame's cognitive museum security password is 'password'?"
"Yeah."
Ren entered it.
INCORRECT PASSWORD
Ryuji shrugged.
"Worth a shot."
Ren entered MADARAME.
Incorrect.
Yusuke tried SAYURI.
Incorrect.
Ann suggested ART.
Incorrect.
Orihime suggested BEAUTY.
Incorrect.
Shiho suggested MONEY.
Incorrect.
Morgana shouted from the other side of the lasers.
"STOP GUESSING BEFORE YOU LOCK THE TERMINAL!"
Everyone froze.
Ren slowly moved his hands away.
"...Good point."
"YOU DIDN'T THINK OF THAT?!"
Ryuji crossed his arms.
"Man, trapped Mona is really judgmental."
"I CAN HEAR YOU!"
They eventually overheard two security Shadows discussing a new code while patrolling the hallway.
Ren held up one finger.
Everyone stopped.
They listened.
The guards walked away.
Ryuji stared after them.
"Did those guys seriously just say the password out loud?"
"Yep."
"NPC behavior."
Morgana groaned from the other room.
"They aren't NPCs!"
Ren entered the code.
The terminal accepted it.
"Counterpoint," Ryuji said.
CLICK.
All the lasers vanished.
Morgana marched toward them with as much dignity as a small catlike creature could manage.
He stopped in front of the team.
Nobody spoke.
Morgana looked at Ren.
Ren looked at Morgana.
Morgana looked at Ryuji.
Ryuji looked at Morgana.
Ann crossed her arms.
Shiho smiled.
Orihime tried desperately not to laugh.
Yusuke tilted his head.
Morgana sighed.
"...I made a mistake."
Ryuji immediately pointed at him.
"HE ADMITTED IT!"
"Don't make me take it back!"
"You spent like a month calling me reckless!"
"You ARE reckless!"
"You jumped face-first into a vase!"
"It looked valuable!"
"IT WAS ON A PEDESTAL IN THE MIDDLE OF AN EMPTY ROOM!"
Morgana opened his mouth.
Stopped.
Ryuji spread his arms.
"Come on! That's tutorial-level trap placement!"
Ren nodded.
"He's right."
Morgana looked betrayed.
"Joker!"
"Sorry."
"You aren't sorry!"
"Not really."
Ann crouched down and patted Morgana's head.
"It's okay, Mona."
Morgana relaxed.
"Thank you, Lady Ann."
"You were really stupid."
He froze.
Shiho lost it.
Ryuji doubled over laughing.
Orihime covered her mouth.
Yusuke nodded solemnly.
"A brutal critique."
"FOX!"
Ren adjusted his gloves.
"Okay, enough. We got everyone out. Nothing's damaged except Mona's pride."
"My pride is fine!"
"Critical damage," Ryuji corrected.
"Can Dia heal emotional damage?" Orihime asked.
Ren thought.
"I don't think so."
"I WILL BITE ALL OF YOU."
There he was.
---
They started toward the next hallway.
Morgana deliberately avoided looking at the golden vase.
Everyone noticed.
Nobody said anything.
For approximately six seconds.
Ryuji looked back.
"You sure you don't wanna touch it again?"
"No."
"Maybe lick it?"
"No."
"Rub your face on it?"
"Skull."
"Purr a little?"
"I WILL KILL YOU."
Ren looked toward the vase as they walked.
Something felt strange.
Third Eye.
The vase glowed.
Not like a normal object.
Not like a Shadow either.
Something moved inside it.
Ren stopped.
"Hold up."
Everyone stopped.
Morgana turned.
"What?"
The vase shook.
Ryuji slowly backed away.
"Oh, come on."
CRACK.
A fracture ran along its side.
Then another.
The entire golden vase exploded outward.
Ann raised her whip.
Shiho's spear appeared in her hands.
Orihime drew her gun.
Yusuke drew his model katana.
Ryuji hefted his mace.
Ren brought up his handgun.
Morgana drew his cutlass.
Something glittered in the center of the broken pedestal.
Not gold.
A jewel.
It bounced once.
Then began moving.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Ryuji yelled.
Morgana's eyes widened.
"A Treasure Demon!"
Everyone looked at him.
"A what?" Ann asked.
Morgana immediately shifted into guide mode as if the previous twenty minutes had never happened.
"Treasure Demons! They're extremely rare Shadows that hide themselves inside valuable objects!"
Ryuji looked toward the shattered vase.
Then Morgana.
"You knew those existed?"
"I remembered just now!"
"Convenient."
"My memories are damaged!"
"Extremely convenient."
Morgana ignored him. "They're different from ordinary Shadows. They're packed with energy, and defeating one can give you a huge amount of experience and money!"
Ren's interest rose sharply.
Money.
Morgana continued, "And Joker! If you manage to knock it down, you may be able to capture it as a Persona!"
Ren's interest rose even further.
"Can I use it?"
"Not normally in battle, but Treasure Demons are incredibly useful for fusion!"
Oh.
Oh, that was dangerous information.
Ryuji looked at Ren.
Ren looked at Ryuji.
Shiho noticed.
"No."
Neither boy responded.
"Whatever you're both thinking, no."
Ryuji pointed toward the jewel creature.
"So basically..."
Morgana sighed preemptively.
"What?"
"Metal slimes of the Metaverse."
Silence.
Ren considered it.
Rare enemy.
High experience.
High monetary reward.
Special recruitment value.
Tendency to flee.
He nodded.
"Accurate."
Morgana threw his paws into the air.
"Why do I even explain things?!"
"Flavor text," Ryuji answered.
"SKULL!"
The Treasure Demon bounced backward.
Morgana's expression immediately changed.
"Wait! Don't let it get away! Treasure Demons are slippery! If we waste too much time, it'll run!"
Ryuji's grin became almost feral.
Ren felt his own face mirror it.
Ann noticed.
"Oh no."
Shiho groaned.
"I know those expressions."
Orihime looked between them.
"What?"
Yusuke tightened his grip on his katana.
"I believe our leader and Skull have become motivated."
"That's not motivation," Ann said.
Ren kept his handgun trained on the Treasure Demon.
Ryuji rested his mace over one shoulder.
They looked at each other.
Years of RPG conditioning passed silently between them.
Ren smiled.
"Ready to go loot goblin mode?"
Ryuji's grin widened.
"Fuck yeah."
The Treasure Demon moved.
---