Chapter 35: We're Robbin' a Bank- Wait What?

(A/N: So... Funny story on why I did not upload last Friday... Something went wrong with my computer, and this got deleted... So, I have re-written it! Sorry for the delay!)

(Marinette's pov)

We continued our descent into Kaneshiro's bank. It looked way smaller on the outside... I swear, the Metaverse makes no sense sometimes! Anyway, after collecting more maps and keycards, we opened a vault, bills fluttering down from the roof and piling onto the floor.

"Is this..." I started.

"The money he stole from the weak..." Mona finished.

"... He's going to pay for this..." Queen muttered. I nodded my head as Joker took the lead. We dove even deeper into Kaneshiro's labyrinth of gluttony, and I mean that literally. The place was filled with twists and turns... I'm glad Joker was able to figure it out! We spotted Shadow Kaneshiro talking to a guard and made our way over. We went to confront them, but the guard that Shadow Kaneshiro was talking to struck. It was a powerful foe, and when it was finally defeated, Shadow Kaneshiro was nowhere in sight.

"Damn... got away..." Skull muttered.

"He dropped something!" I said, pointing to a booklet on the ground. Fox picked it up and examined it.

"It appears to be a journal... let's see what is inside..." He said, opening it.

"R=C=0, I=1, H=2," Fox read aloud.

"What does this mean?" He said, looking up from the booklet.

"The page is torn... maybe it's a code?" Queen suggested.

"That's a possibility... let's keep moving forward! We can't slow down..." I said.

"Princess is right. Judging from Kaneshiro's reaction, this elevator leads to the innermost part of the bank." Mona said.

"Which is where the treasure likely is. Let's go!" I said. The rest of the Phantom Thieves nodded, and we entered the elevator.

The elevator started to descend, and as it did, an odd sight was displayed.

"Hey, look!" Mona said, pointing to the glass side of the elevator. Outside, there were hundreds of vaults. They were arranged in a way that made them look like one of those optical illusions.

"Are we gonna have to look through all of those vaults?!" Pather asked, looking scared.

"I doubt it... I think the treasure is in the center." I said, pointing at the center of the massive labyrinth below us.

"Why do you think that?" Mona asked.

"Because every palace ruler we have faced had a God-complex and/or a massive ego of some sort. I feel like it's a trend. So, it only makes sense that this time would be no different!" I explained. Everyone stared at me after that.

"What?" I asked, looking around.

"I... keep on forgetting how clever ya are, Princess..." Skull said.

"I think she's right," Queen said, looking out of the glass.

"This looks familiar to me..." She said.

"Hmm... well, Princess's hunches are usually close to the truth... and Queen sounds like she knows something... let's go!" Mona said. A little while after that, the elevator stopped, and we got off. We walked up to what looked like a keypad. Just above the numbers and under the screen was the word: RICH. I observed the keypad for a moment before turning to Fox.

"Maybe this has something to do with that journal thing we found! Fox, can you repeat what it said?" I asked. Fox did what I said, and Joker typed in the code. The keypad flashed green, then the wall of vaults in front of us shifted to reveal a gap to walk through.

"Seems our deduction was correct, Princess," Queen said, looking at me. I nodded in agreement. Suddenly, Kaneshiro's voice echoed around us.

"Money... I need more money... I must grow richer! As long as I'm rich, anything will be possible..." It said.

"That voice... it's Kaneshiro! Is he watching us?!" Panther asked.

"That doesn't seem to be the case. It sounds more like the voice of Kaneshiro's heart... I guess all he really thinks about is money, after all." Mona said.

"So he blackmails people out of their savings, and that's still not enough? What a d**che..." Skull said.

"Oh~ I'm gonna enjoy taking his heart..." I mumble.

"Easy, Princess. Your evil aura is leaking out again..." Joker told me.

"How can she do that?" Queen whispered.

"We... don't question it..." Panther muttered to Queen. We dove deeper into the maze of vaults, unlocking doors, defeating shadows, and hearing more about Kaneshiro's gluttony that made me sick to the core. After too many puzzles, fights, and codes, we made it to the center. Yet another elevator awaited us there.

"H-hey, this is an elevator, yeah? So, a way down really did show up! You two are like some prophets!" Skull said to Queen and me.

"Well, it's mostly thanks to that notebook and Princess's ability to pick up on trends. We wouldn't be here without them. More importantly, did you hear all those things Shadow Kaneshiro was saying?" Queen asked.

"Oh, yeah, I was wondering about that! Didn't he seem kinda... insecure or something?" Panther said.

"Yeah... I got a little sick from listening to his ramblings, but... I think he experienced something in his past that led him to believe that being rich will solve anything. Maybe he was poor growing up... perhaps he was wronged by someone... We'll never know..." I mused.

"So... he's just a sniveling weakling then?" Skull asked.

"Maybe it's what's Princess said... He had rough beginnings and made himself believe that being rich could solve those problems..." Queen said.

"In any case... we'll learn the truth soon enough when we changed his heart. Let's go, Joker." Fox said, looking at our leader. Joker nodded, and we proceeded forward. One elevator ride later, we finally arrived at the treasure room. It was a spacious room with money on the floor, and a large vault door was on the other side of the room. Floating a few meters away from us was the treasure.

"Found it. It's right here!" Mona said.

"Is that the treasure?" Queen asked.

"Yup!" I said.

"Once we get this far, we use the calling card!" Skull said.

"A calling card... I see... Making the target believe that the treasure is in danger will cause it to materialize. That's quite a bold trick." Queen said.

"Ding, ding, ding! You are correct, Queen! You win a cookie when we get back to the normal world!" I said, knowing that I have quite a few cookies in my bag thanks to Tikki.

"Alright... we'll leave the timing of the calling card to you, Joker." Fox said. Joker nodded, and we turned around to make our way out of the palace. As we were moving along, I was lost in thought. I don't know how to describe it, but I felt a mixture of dread... and excitement. I wonder what will happen...

(Time skip! Brought to you by S.C.P: End of Civilization!)

Over the next few days, we prepared. Finally, on June 28th, Tuesday afternoon, we decided to send the calling card. I left Yusuke with the design and Makoto with the delivery. The next day, after school, we went into Kaneshiro's palace. As soon as we got to the treasure room, Shadow Kaneshiro was there, waiting for us with a few thugs. The treasure was gone too.

"Mon Dieu! The treasure is gone!" I said.

"That safe wasn't there before!" Mona said, pointing to the massive vault behind Shadow Kaneshiro.

"He must have hidden it! Clever man..." I muttered.

"Greetings. Welcome to my private city bank..." Shadow Kaneshiro said monotonously.

"I'm surprised you made it here alive. It seems you are quite lucky." He continued.

"Lucky? Don't be ridiculous..." Queen sighed.

"We are gonna change your heart and make you confess everything you have done." Skull declared.

"Kindly move, please... We are not afraid to use violence..." I said, pulling out the new steel fan that Joker gave me earlier.

"Those in power work the ones below them to the bone for money. Such is the hierarchy of this world. So, accept your fate as a source of my wealth!" Shadow Kaneshiro said.

"Like h*ll we'll do that!" I shouted.

"Yes, capitalism fails a lot of people and benefits a lot of bad people, but that does not give you an excuse to do this sh*t to other people!" I continued.

"Princess is correct... we'll never accept being your money cows..." Fox said.

"Yeah! And hierarchy? You have to be out of your mind!" Panther said.

"All of that was forced on me too, you know! I went through sh*t until I crawled my way out of the dregs! Now it's my turn to profit on everyone else!" Shadow Kaneshiro yelled.

"You're getting back at the wrong people! You are stealing money from kids who don't know any better! Doesn't that make you as bad as the people who wronged you?!" I yelled. Shadow Kaneshiro made a speech about how the clever and strong eat the weak, and stuff like that. It went on way too long... if you ask me.

"Oh, shut the h*ll up!" Skull yelled.

"Yeah! Just get out of our way! We don't want to hear your whining, you swine!" I yelled.

"I guess there is no talking sense into fools..." Shadow Kaneshiro started, his voice becoming more distorted. I recognized what was going on. I made eye contact with Joker and gave him a tiny nod. A fight was brewing... Shadow Kaneshiro started to laugh.

"I'll swarm all over you and squeeze out every last penny!" He cackled. Then he started to convulse exorcist-style and vomit black sludge. His entire body turned black, and two bulges began to grow on his back. The bulges burst open, and a pair of insect wings appeared on Shadow Kaneshiro's back, making his thugs run away. He rubbed his hands together, and when he looked up, his eyes were like a fly's. I wanted to vomit my lunch out...

"I can take care of this myself! Wassup yo? Now come get some!" Shadow Kaneshiro yelled. Cue internal vomiting...

Queen revved Johana's engine (When did she summon her persona?).

"You filthy fly on dirty money... get the h*ll out of my face!" Queen yelled. Shadow Kaneshiro laughed.

"Aight, here we go, yeh pieces of sh*t!" He said, pointing at us. Oh~ I'm gonna enjoy this~

Shadow Kaneshiro laughed about how being young is a crime or some B.S like that... He then flew into the vault, and a giant robotic piggybank appeared! After dodging a few attacks, I got an idea!

"Joker! I think we can destroy that thing with a Cataclysm if we distract it!" I said. Joker looked at his right hand, which the Black cat Miraculous was on his ring finger.

"Right!" Joker said, looking up.

"If we need to distract him, let's throw something expensive!" Queen advised.

"I got this!" I said. I started to use my lucky charm. Give me something expensive... I thought. In my hands appeared a golden ring. I smiled and threw it near the giant pig. Kaneshiro noticed it and got excited, and ordered the giant robot to pick it up. As the ping was sucking up the ring, Joker ran in, his right hand emitting black energy. Joker touched the robot with his right hand, and almost immediately, it began to malfunction.

"No... NO! What did you do to my Piggytron?!" Shadow Kaneshiro yelled as the robotic pig broke down. Shadow Kaneshiro flew out as his robot pig collapsed. Shadow Kaneshiro tried to keep fighting with fly guards, but the Phantom Thieves came out on top! He tried to retreat into his destroyed Piggytron, but it blew up...

Massive gold bars fell out of the destroyed robot with Shadow Kaneshiro. He laid himself over the gold in a weak attempt to protect it.

"Kaneshiro..." Queen muttered. The shadow began to whimper about his money and how he will let no one take it away.

"How is it your money?! You stole it from innocent people!" I yelled.

"You were used in the past, I get that! But that doesn't give you an excuse to do it to other people! You are contributing to an endless cycle of greed and gluttony! You surround yourself with people you use, and for what?! To feel a sense of belonging? You're pathetic!" I scolded. Shadow Kaneshiro sat up and looked at us.

"You're right... I am pathetic... What can I do?" Shadow Kaneshiro asked.

"Go to a place where you can make amends..." Joker said. Shadow Kaneshiro nodded.

"I'm glad you understand..." Fox said.

"Seriously? You guys have no tact. Especially with those powers of yours... those palaces cat net tons of cash! You can do whatever you want to peoples' hearts!" Shadow Kaneshiro said.

"We're no like you!" Skull said.

"We change peoples' hearts to fix society... not for our own gain..." I said.

"Where do you get that naive sense of justice?" Shadow Kaneshiro asked.

"You know, there's already someone out there taking full advantage of what palaces have to offer..." Shadow Kaneshiro started. When he said that, my head started to hurt slightly.

"What?" Queen asked.

"I'll let you in on a tiny secret. A criminal is using other people's palaces to accomplish whatever they d*mn well please. They don't care about consequences. Psychotic breakdowns, mental shutdowns... Anything goes." Shadow Kaneshiro continued. The more he talked, the worse my headache became. I tried to ignore it, but it was persistent.

"Is that... the same person Madarame's shadow spoke of?" Fox asked.

"Spill!" Skull demanded. Shadow Kaneshiro chuckled and said we were nothing compared to them and disappeared. The palace began to fall apart, so we had to move fast. We loaded the gold into the Mona-mobile and drove out of there!

Wait, weren't we in the sky? Oh no...

(A/N: wow! I am late! I am sorry! I'm going to go on vacation with family next week... so... a chapter next Friday is in question... Thank you for your patience!)