Chapter 19: Among Artists, Thieves, and Villians

(A/N: I'M BACK LET'S DO THIS!!!)

(Marinette's pov)

Saturday, May 21'st, my fellow Phantom Thieves and I stood outside Madarame's palace. We were trying to decide on a code name for our newest member, Yusuke.

"It has to be "kitsune." You know, with the kitsune mask and everything." Panther suggested.

"Hell yeah. That really leaves an impression." Skull agreed.

"What do you think?" I asked Yusuke.

"Are you talking to me?" Yusuke responded.

"Yeah, what do you want as your codename?" I asked.

"How about... "Da Vinci"?" He suggested... Cue mental facepalm.

"Nope!" Skull said. Yusuke looked sad.

"You've got that weird mask and tail... How about Abura-age?" Skull suggested.

... Skull... why?

I heard Mona snicker and was about to call him out on it.

"Very well," Yusuke said.

Did... he just agree with that name?

"He agreed to it?!" Mona said, voicing my thoughts somehow.

"Erm... I don't think so... Joker! What do you suggest?" I asked, turning towards our leader.

"Fox," He said simply.

"Jury says..." I say, turning to my teammates.

"Keepin' it simple? I have no complaints." Skull said.

"Sounds cool." Panther said.

"What do you say, Fox?" Mona asked.

"It's acceptable..." Fox said.

"Alright! Let's go!" I said. My fellow Phantom Thieves nodded, and we made our way to the palace.

(Several puzzles, fights, vents, and paintings later...)

Finally! We made it to the treasure room! This palace looked a lot smaller on the outside. Madarame must be really protective of his Treasure. Anyway, my fellow Phantom Thieves and I were on the metal ceiling beams just above the Treasure. The Treasure, as usual, was a glowing, golden blob hovering on a pedestal surrounded by bright red lasers. Shadow Madarame was standing just in front of the lasers.

"There's the Treasure... but how to get it?" I whispered.

"We can drop in and grab it, but how to get back up? And how do we make sure we won't be seen?" Panther asked.

"The crane above us looks handy," Mona said, pointing above us. Sure enough, there was a rope with a hook attached.

"Convenient..." I muttered.

"I saw a lever that might be able to control the crane in a room back there." Mona continued, gesturing to the room behind us.

We went to the room Mona gestured towards, and Joker pulled at the lever Mona mentioned. Sure enough, the lever controlled the crane above the Treasure. After making sure we didn't get caught, we started to put together a plan.

Mona will be lowered down by the crane to grab the Treasure by Joker. Panther and Skull would turn off the lights from the control room to cover Mona. Finally, Fox and I would be on the lookout to make sure nothing goes wrong. It sounded like a solid plan! I wonder what will go wrong?

(A few days later...)

The calling card is sent, looking more fresh thanks to Yusuke's artistic talent. Now... to grab the Treasure! All was going according to plan. We were running through the courtyard when Mona got too excited.

"I can't take it anymore! I need to see it!" He said, putting down the Treasure. The Treasure was a large rectangular object wrapped in purple cloth of some kind.

"Make it quick! We need to get out of here!" I reminded him. Mona then unwrapped the thing.

"Treasure!" He said triumphantly. This is his Treasure? I thought, kneeling over it.

"Huh?" Mona said, looking at the thing.

"This is his Treasure?!" Skull said, shocked. Is that a Lenny face? I thought. [( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]. Suddenly, black polls shot up from the ground.

"Get back!" Fox yelled. We all jumped back as blue electricity emitting from the polls surrounded where we just were.

"Medelsome vermin..." A distorted voice mused. I recognized that voice as Shadow Madarame's voice. Sure enough, the man was standing in front of the exit. In all of his gaudy, golden glory, two guards at his side.

"Is this what you're looking for?" Shadow Madarame said, gesturing to the guard on his left. The guard had something under its arm, which was likely the real Treasure.

"How dare you try and trap me like some kind of mouse!" Mona said, indignant.

"You clever b*****, you switched them out! You set up a trap!" I said.

"So, I did!" Shadow Madarame laughed.

"And you fell for it almost perfectly!" He continued. Does this guy want to get sniped in the head?!

"What made you change like this?! Is it because you became famous?! Can't you see how much it pains me to inquire about the crimes of my foster father?!" Fox questioned with pain in his voice.

Another pain in my chest... Oh, how those words sound so familiar... I want to ease Fox's suffering... yet I can't right now... My senses are telling me that a fight is brewing.

Shadow Madarame then started to explain that the only reason he took in Fox was his connections to Fox's mother. He said that Fox's mother never lost her passion for painting, even after her husband's death.

"Your mother and all the artwork she created-they're all MY works of art!" Shadow Madarame said with a crazed look in his eye.

"How low can you sink?!" Panther asked, disgusted. Is it possible to vomit and stab someone repeatedly at the same time? I thought to myself.

"I suppose I can grant you a gift before you die- a glimpse at the genuine 'Sayuri'!" Shadow Madarame said.

"Genuine?" Fox said, confused. Madarame gestured at the guard holding the Treasure. The guard walked up and held it up. I gasped... it was so beautiful. Instead of a woman looking down at some clouds, it was a mother holding a newborn baby with a loving look on her face.

"That's... the real 'Sayuri'?" Fox said, astonished.

"This can't be! Mom!" Fox said an alarmed look on his face.

"Huh?!" Skull said, turning his head towards Fox.

Don't tell me... Please... Don't tell me!

"Indeed, it is. This was painted by your mother. It's a portrait of herself. A woman who knew her death was coming painted her last wishes, for the son she would leave behind." Shadow Madarame explained.

"That is the truth behind the mystery of the 'Sayuri's' expression!" Shadow Madarame said with triumph in his voice.

I wanted to vomit and kill him at the same time...

"You stole something THAT personal?!" Skull said.

"Well-" Shadow Madarame started, but I cut him off.

"You stole something of unfathomable worth... you tarnished it for what?! Fame? Fortune? Vanity?! You disgust me..." I said, venom dripping from my voice. I took a step towards him, my bangs casing a shadow over my eyes.

"You have lied to people for your own gain. You have stolen and vandalized something that held more value than your own pathetic life. So tell me..." I said, saying the last part in a sickeningly sweet tone.

"Tell me... you inhuman son of a b****... does it feel good? Did you experience pleasure robbing people of their happiness, hope, and future? Did you enjoy treating human beings like they are OBJECTS?!" I screamed, a raging fire in my eyes.

I didn't know what came over me. It felt like I was staring at Lila. This time, however, I have power. I have friends to fight with. I looked back at them and noticed something.

"Fox?" I said to my tall friend.

"I've heard you destroy your "art" once they outlive their usefulness... Did that include my mother as well?" Fox asked Shadow Madarame.

... No... he wouldn't... he didn't...

"She just so happened to have a seizure in front of me. That's when a thought crossed my mind... If I don't call for help and leave her be, I could obtain her painting with no string attached!" Shadow Madarame mused.

I let out a demonic screech and tried to launch myself at him. Keyword: tried. Joker hooked his arms under my armpits and lifted me off the ground a little. I was too angry to realize how close he was to me.

"You let her die?!" Ann yelled over my cursing.

"She was physically weak. No one would doubt if she just dropped dead because of a seizure." Shadow Madarame said. I fought and struggled more. Joker had to wrap his arms around my waist to get a better hold.

Shadow Madarame kept prattling on and on. My urge to kill was rising by the second.

"Thank you... Madarame..." Fox said. That made me stop and stare at him.

"Every reason for me to forgive you has disappeared without a trace at this very moment! You aren't some rotten artist... You're a despicable fiend who wears the skin of an artist!" Fox yelled. I gave him an encouraging nod and turned back to Shadow Madarame.

"Prepare yourself, Madarame! You will pay for your crimes against all you have wronged!" I said, pointing at him.

"You good-for-nothing brats! Coming into my museum and doing whatever the H*** you want... Those who have the right connections make the rules; those who don't follow them. Not to mention, the value of art is all subjective! I make the rules in the art world!" As Shadow Madarame spoke, his voice became more and more distorted. I recognized what was happen and braced myself.

"I am the supreme being! I am the god of the art world!" Shadow Madarame proclaimed. Is every Palace ruler we face going to have a God complex of some sort?!

"Uh, oh! Brace yourselves!" Mona warned us. Shadow Madarame started to laugh a hideous and distorted laugh. His body then began to misshapen itself. It made me sick just looking at it. I turned my head away from the sight, hiding my face in Joker's chest (Joker: Currently turning into a tomato).

"I'll paint all over you!!" Shadow Madarame's voice shouted. I looked to see... what the H***? Did... did he turn his face into four separate paintings? I can't make this up. His eyes, nose, and mouth became giant floating paintings with the rest of his body nowhere to be seen! Too disgusting! I then noticed the position Joker and I were in.

"Joker... you can let go of me now..." I mumbled. It felt like my face was on fire... Joker then let go of me and muttered an apology.

"Now is not the time for flirting, you two!" Mona scolded. "We need to focus on fighting!"

"We weren't flirting! Joan, Kouga!" I yelled at the cat, aiming an attack at Shadow Madarame's left eye.

(Third person pov)

The Phantom Thieves fought Shadow Madarame with tooth and nail. When they defeated all of the floating paintings, they melted to the floor, turning into a pool of ink. Shadow Madarame emerged from that ink, but he didn't look defeated. He looked tired but not defeated.

"Madarame's out!" Mona said.

"I'm the great artist, Madarame! If you brats can't fathom that... Then you'll witness it for yourselves! Behold my master craft!" Shadow Madarame shouted. Pools of ink appeared by him, and duplicates of himself suddenly crawled out of them.

"What the-! Did he just clone himself?!" Princess asked.

"Apparently so..." Joker said, aiming his pistol at one of them.

"Creating duplicates is his specialty, after all!" Mona said, summoning Zoro.

After more battling and Princess resisting the urge to go full Sans Undertale on Shadow Madarame, by chucking a bunch of sharp objects, she created using the Ladybug Miraculous at him. Madarame was FINALLY defeated.

Princess watched as Shadow Madarame cowered at Fox's feet. If she wasn't so disgusted by him, she would have felt sorry. Then, Madarame said something interesting.

"Wh-what about the other one, though? The one with the black mask?" He said. Black mask? Princess thought.

"Who?" Joker asked.

"A black mask? Wait, who's he talking about?" Panther asked, looking at the others with a confused expression.

"There... was someone else in this Palace?" Princess asked. The ground started to rumble.

"There's no time! Hurry!" Skull said. Mona then turned into the Mona-mobile.

"Get on!" He called. They all did so, but Fox lagged behind to give Shadow Madarame some final words with the Treasure in his arms. When he was done, The Phantom Thieves drove out of Madarame's Museum of Vanity.

(A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAN EVERYONE I UPDATED!!!! To celebrate, I have an important announcement... I will now have a consistent update schedule! What a Christmas Miracle! Sorry, I've been gone for so long. I've been busy with life and exploring other fandoms (Might do a comic, I don't know). But yeah! I will update every Friday! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Let's hope 2021 isn't as bad as 2020!)