3 days left, nighttime

After all this time, his love should've realized Ren had complete control of Wish.

He wasn't surprised the Thieves hadn't understood yet; after all, they'd been exposed to the Metaverse only this year. But as a fellow Wildcard (well, former Wildcard- Ren still felt a dull pain in his chest when he recalled the previous night's events) he was almost disappointed the Rogue Shadow didn't get it. Yaldabaoth's sake, he'd make an entire building vanish in front of him!

And he most certainly hadn't been showing off!

Ren shook his head. He'd expected more of a challenge, but if they didn't realize that he could rip the street out from under them and feed each Thief to the sharks, that was their issue. Besides, he wanted a little fun out of this. So he hopped onto the roof and snapped his fingers, instantly turning the world's fabric semi-permeable.

Semi-permeable: only allowing certain things through it. Science class had its uses, Ren thought as he sank in a control descent through the walls. Of course, he could've flown down, but it would've taken more energy than the dramatic entrance was worth. And he didn't want to be seen. Plus, he could only affect the world he was currently residing in, not his actual body. How would that even work?

Ren's curiosity ebbed away as he finally reached the bottom of Leblanc Tower. The Thieves, Trae, and Goro were crowded around it. It was easy enough to see that Yusuke, Makoto, Ann, and Haru were on the front lines, with Trae, Morgana, and Ryuji as backup. Akechi didn't seem to want anything to do with his- apparently shaky- allies, but he was talking surprisingly comfortably with Arsene.

Ren cautiously amplified the soundwaves around him. Their voices trailed into his ears, still faint- they were a good distance away- but easily understandable.

"...And you, of all people, believe that's a good way to go about sneaking in?" the Rogue Shadow was saying. He gestured at the tower, which loomed more menacingly than usual. Perhaps it was because Ren had felt dramatic and bored, so he'd toyed with the delicacy of the street and the length and opacity of the shadows.

"Akechi, you've referenced it quite often, but I was of the impression you'd read everything about me," the Persona dryly stated. "I assume you realize it would be easy enough, especially given their simplistic pulley designs."

The windows. Arsene wanted to get in through the windows. Ren debated sealing them shut, but decided on leaving them be. After all, he could easily trap Arsene and whoever was fool enough to follow him now.

"If you want to die for the second time- third time," Goro amended, a dark lilt to his voice. Ren shivered in delight. Even if it wasn't the real Goro, his cognition had certainly nailed the most attractive aspects of him. "Wasn't there some... incident within Kamoshida's Palace? I seem to remember seeing Joker with you and a Pixie, and he vanished. A few minutes later... did he not appear with a different Persona?"

"This seems unimportant." For a Thief, Arsene's tells were painfully obvious. Unless he was aking those tells. "I'm only telling you this in case... In case I cannot later. Understand."

"Oh, of course." Goro's voice dripped sarcasm. "You had some sort of brilliant plan, I presume?" Ren could feel the anger rippling off his Persona, even from his hiding spot in the wall. "Oh, you think whoever it is will hear you? If they're as powerful as I assume, I'm sure they already know."

Arsene's wings twitched, the only hint of his discomfort.

The assassin grinned behind the jagged black mask. "You're terrified."

"It's necessary."

"You're a terrible liar. Look, your wings are trembling." The slightest snarl entered his voice. "Don't tell me half-assed lies if you don't even believe them."

Arsene gave a short laugh. "Has anyone told you how perceptive you are?"

"They should. I masqueraded as a detective, you realize."

Ren felt a cold, sharp emotion stab him between the ribs. His own Persona was so relaxed, so calm around the Rogue Shadow and vice versa. It'd taken months to get Goro to trust him even slightly, yet it was effortless for them. Was Ren unaware of something?

No, of course not. It was preposterous to think he was jealous of two Shadows. They were only obstacles to his goal. He only had three days to go.

Three days, his stomach loudly contradicted, was a long time on very little food.

Right. That was the other thing. Steal every ration they had with them.

Finally, finally, the Thieves fully assembled and entered Leblanc Tower. Ren rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, changing the walls once again and wondering how to put just a little more weight on Arsene's dragging chains.

---

The only thing to catch Ren's interest was on the fourth floor, which must've been what his cognition decided was an information center. The entire room was full of papers, all filled with a font size so small only Goro and Queen would be able to read them. Everyone he'd ever met and everything he knew about them was compiled there, but that was only a third of the papers here. The rest was his research on mythology- he'd been around distortions long enough to realize how much history and myths he needed to catch up on.

So maybe he was a bit of a nosy stalker... but he had good reasons!

Carmen eyed the first paper. "Ann, check this out..."

Oh. Right. His full compilation of information about Ann and her Persona. She would not be happy about that-

Her voice took on a nervous edge. "Guys, is it okay if I burn it?"

Queen's brows seemed to crinkle behind the mask. "Who knows the consequences? As long as it doesn't hinder our progress, there's no reason to destroy it."

Clearly Panther disagreed, because she nodded to Carmen, who snatched up the paper and turned it to ashes.

"Crow," Haru said in her gentle, delicate voice, "I'd like to check this room a bit more. Would you mind staying back? I'm sure there's something interesting here..."

If anything, Goro's guard seemed to go up even more. He looked even more pissed off than usual, meaning he was borderline nervous. Ren didn't blame him. Haru was not someone Goro should be left alone with, especially given his hand in murdering her father.

Why would he be nervous? Ren reasoned. The former Trickster wasn't the one who had to deal with it. If anything, Haru killing the Shadow would help him.

The Rogue Shadow's eyes narrowed, debating his answer. "Of course," he said at last. Arsene tilted his head at Milady, who stood silently behind her master. The warning was clear enough, but Goro blatantly ignored it. "I'll assist Noir-" Oh, French was so beautiful on his lips- "and you cannon fodder go absorb some damage."

This elicited an outraged cry from Mona, Panther, and Skull, but Fox was the one to drag Makoto out of the room. Considering she- the actual law-abiding one- looked to be seriously considering homicide, it was particularly brave of him. Goro looked at him with something almost like approval, and Ren growled under his breath, shifting in the wall.

Yusuke, he cursed silently.

"We should continue," he called over his shoulder. "We must find Ren as soon as possible."

"Why don't we just look for his Treasure?" Mona asked, hopping off one stack of paper. "It'd be easy for a small team to find it. Like... me and Panther!"

"Simp!" Ren snickered at Skull's remark, and how furious Mona looked.

"I considered that, yes," Fox said, "But Oracle and I thought better of it."

"I ran his current and past behaviour through a program," she said, startling Ren. The camouflaged Necronoicon must have been right next to him, and absolutely unaware. "The short answer; he's too different now. Whatever side of him we knew isn't a side he's wearing. We have no idea what the Treasure might be, and it's fair to assume this Palace works differently than the Metaverse." If he knew Oracle right, she was grinning. "So we target the final boss and force him to accept defeat."

It was a good plan, Ren thought, if he wasn't willing to die for the prize. Anything was fair game to get the real Goro Akechi back. Anything.

"Right! Follow, minions!"

"Ah..." The temporary leader seemed at a loss for words. "Yes. Follow."

The moment they turned the corner, Ren heard the whoosh of a blade through air and crackling sparks. When he turned back to the room, a furious Noir was- unsurprisingly- holding the enormous axe just beside his throat. The Rogue Shadow held white-blue flames in his palm, but he was frozen with it halfway to the blade.

"I would like answers, please," she said pleasantly. "Don't worry, it'll be..." Noir thought carefully. "Painless. One way or another."

"I'm clearly backed against a wall," the Shadow said, voice dripping with sarcasm. Globs of fire spilled over his hands and splashed against the paper stacks, but none caught. "This is about Okumura."

It wasn't a question, and Noir didn't answer.

"What question would you have about it?" He frowned, pushing his mask out of his face. Ren could see his beautiful eyes and the graceful curve of his cheekbones. Pretty thing, but the real Goro, he was sure, was even more so. "It was fairly straightforward. Listen to him beg like a spineless worm, and shoot him twice."

The axe trembled, but she didn't interrupt.

"Once in the heart. And once in the head." Noticing her silence, Goro raised an eyebrow. "Would you have preferred to kill him yourself?"

Noir bit her lip.

Yes.

"Holding trash hostage will only work for so long," Goro reminded her. "Do you see these papers? I believe only direct contact will ignite them, as none of my flames have done so yet."

That didn't take very long, Ren thought proudly. Even a Shadow understood it.

"You see," he said. "As you kill me, my fire will continue burning for a few seconds at the least. Enough, I believe, to ignite at least three stacks, and as we're in the center of the room, there is little chance of you escaping." He laughed, and it was a dark, beautiful thing. "So I think you can put this worthless axe away, because if you value your life, you won't use it."

Noir considered him, then slung the axe back over her shoulder.

"That's what I thought." He folded his arms. "Now, I can see you're fully willing to kill me- probably the only one out of the Thieves who would. You, unlike the buffoon and the cat, can use your head instead of your heart. So just why is it you miss that scum of a father?"

"Crow, have you ever loved someone?"

Goro blinked once. "No," he said sharply, but the syllable dragged out like a question. "Of course not," he tried again. "I'm an assassin."

"You wanted your father's approval," she said, moving to block his subtle edging towards the exit. "Despite that scum-" she spat the word the same way Goro had, "- ordering you around like a minion and viewing you as pathetically disposable. Is it such a hard thing to imagine I felt the same?"

"And when he gave you that approval?"

Noir stared him in his wine-red eyes. "He would have disappeared, along with the other twisted shits who wipe their asses with money from suffering workers." She said it so plainly that Ren choked. He'd never heard the delicate girl swear before. "But I still loved him."

"I have no reason to tell you about me," the Rogue Shadow snarled. "And I'd advise you to stop dancing around the point and just say whatever point you're trying to make. I'd like to be there to tear Ren's face off."

"Ah. About him. You were always surprisingly close to our former leader," Haru said. She blocked him again and advanced, forcing him against the wall. He looked like his face had been drained of color. "Deny all you want, I'm sure you felt strongly about him. I'd like to ask you to accept that about yourself."

"And why do you care?"

"Ren was- is- a close friend. He saved me from essentially becoming a slave. I owe a lot to him," she said, and Ren smiled. "Consider me... the stereotypical big brother."

"Who says I do feel that way?" Goro challenged, his red eyes narrowed. It was almost convincing, but... no, the dark tone he always adopted was missing. He wasn't angry.

He clearly didn't expect her silver laugh and for Noir to step back. "You didn't deny it." At this, Goro's face whitened further. "I have accepted the fact I shouldn't kill you," Noir said. "You are, by every miracle, alive. It is not my place to take that from you." She smiled softly. "I wasn't allowed to choose my love before Father died, you know. May I suggest it was the same for you?"

The Rogue Shadow was silent.

"Mona-chan told me about the Velvet Room and what Lavenza said," she said. "You wouldn't let yourself care, and as the Detective Prince, you would never be able to act on your feelings. But you've been given a second chance," she pressed. "I think you should use it to be free."

He's only a Shadow, Ren wanted to say, but kept his mouth shut. Still, those thoughts continued to spin outwards. A worthless, imitating Shadow that mocked everything Goro was and was consistently a pain in his ass.

"At least be honest with yourself."

That seemed to shake Goro, but not enough to discourage him. "Considering there's no reason for me to tell you, of all people, about my love life, why don't we go?"

Noir wasn't giving up. "Consider it a... a trade for killing Father."

"You want to know about me that much?" He sounded genuinely confused. "You could ask a cockroach and get more interesting answers."

"Interesting," she pointed out, "is a matter of perspective." Noir picked her axe off the ground and started for the staircase. "Just think about it," she added over her shoulder. "I respect you too much to let you stay in denial."

The Shadow froze. He slowly mouthed the last word, then laughed silently and shook his head.

Ren didn't understand why, but he felt his heart sink even as he ascended the last few floors.

---

Two seconds after he got back to the dusty attic, the Thieves barged in with the stealth of an elephant herd. More accurately, Skull broke down the door and he, Morgana, Panther, Oracle(now done with her camouflage stuff until the battle started again) Fox, Queen, and Haru fanned out, blocking his exit. The Rogue Shadow swept in behind them with Trae at his heels, both looking murderous.

Ren couldn't help but smile. That look was beautiful on Goro Akechi's equally lovely face.

"You know why we're here," Fox said.

His attention snapped off the curve of the Shadow's neck and locked onto Fox. Simple and direct, just as always. It was unbearably irritating. "For tea?" he quipped, feeling his irritation rise in his chest. Ren tapped it back, giving it a stern warning. These were his friends, who he'd abandoned. The least they deserved before he cut them down (if they still chose to oppose him) was a civilized conversation.

Without the butcher's knife Trae was holding, preferably.

On that topic... "Who gave Trae the knife?"

"Dryad!" Mona hissed. "Put that away!"

She gave him a cold look, colder than her Persona's Diamond Dust, and very slowly slid it up her sleeve.

Fox gave a relieved sigh. "Joker, surely you have a reason for remaining in Wish?"

He could be so dense sometimes. "I'm here of my own will for the next three days." Even if it killed him, he was staying. Anything to get Goro Akechi back.

"You became a Ruler voluntarily? I highly doubt you would do this unless you received some sort of motive... And if that is so, you must have allowed your views to become distorted- yet that takes too much time!" The artist's frustrated voice rose sharply. "Ren, what did you do?"

"I'm doing this for..." Thanatos had warned him against giving details of their deal to the Phantom Thieves. "It's a good reason," he promised.

"That sounds kinda sketchy." Skull shrugged at the annoyed look Ren sent his way. "Hey, I'm just sayin', something doesn't sound right. You sure this guy can even deliver?"

"I have to try."

"Don't be an idiot!" he exploded. "The Palace gets torn down in three days, and you can't leave unless you agree to! Whoever told you that's trying to trap and kill you!"

"They are," Ren agreed. He'd felt Wish's growing instability a day ago and immediately understood, but to get rid of a Joker, they would have to try much harder. Besides, Thanatos was a god. He was most likely bored and running him through challenges like a lab rat. If being a lab rat brought Goro back, he was fully willing to play the part. "But I'm better." In actuality, he had a plan involving the rate in which the Palace crumpled and what parts would fall first. But they didn't need to know that.

"You don't know that!" Noir cried. "We already died once and you have already suffered enough! What makes you believe you can escape?"

"My escape doesn't matter," Ren said simply. "Only-" Oh. He still wasn't allowed to say. "Only the prize does."

Panther's eyes narrowed through the red-pink mask."If they know you well enough to bribe you, they know you well enough to cheat you. Skull's right." She unfurled her whip, and the spades tip snapped against the ground sharply. "I don't care what it takes, I'm taking you back to reality."

"And I don't care what it takes to stay," Ren countered. "Seems like a... what did Goro call it?" He cut a sideways look at the Shadow, who stared steadily back. "A conflict of interests."

"We all want to save you," Fox said.

"Consider that I might not need to be saved."

Finally, Trae stepped in front of the others and pinned him with a vicious glare. For once, Ren felt the hade radiating off her and felt genuine fear. Trae had been his only friend for years, and now she was going to try to kill him.

It seemed that no matter what he did for others, they would always turn on him with the drop of a hat.

"You tricked me and lied to me. You would've let me die." Her voice wavered on the last word.

"Trae-" Ren started.

"You used me for a stupid goal!" In a flash, the tall, ash-skinned Persona that had injured him before reappeared. "I'll kill you!" she screamed.

He winced, the words backing up in his throat for a moment. "Trae," he repeated softly. "I didn't mean to lie."

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I didn't!" His voice gained strength. She was, after all, no matter how special, still a nine-year old. Trae still respected him to some measure, still seemed to think of him as the town's showman- Wonder. Otherwise, she would've tried to punch his lights out. "I wanted to help you get out of Jamestown!"

"Then why didn't you." Her voice was flat, dripping with unrestrained malice the way only a child's could.

"Because you can't. You can't leave Jamestown."

Her skin drained of color under that delicate, arched mask. "I can too!" she hissed.

"It's not a matter of wanting," Ren said. He'd realized this while mulling over the last battle, the way she'd reacted to the fog. Originally, he'd thought it was her young age, but everyone in Jamestown had been exposed to the Metaverse. It wouldn't affect her differently. The more Ren thought about Trae, the more that didn't seem to make sense. Now, he thought he might have the answer, and if not the answer, something close. "You are unable to leave Jamestown. You can try all you wish, but the barriers will stop you... won't they?"

Trae lunged.

Well. That seemed definitive enough.

Ren grabbed her wrist, disarming her quickly. "If that's the way it'll be," he sighed. The red-eyed Ruler knew it would come to this, but he still hoped they would see sense and go away for just three more days.

Also, he didn't want the stash of chocolate he stole from Haru to be crushed. He needed something to eat, dammit!

"Lineup," Ren murmured. Akechi, who was too busy wrestling Trae away from him, didn't hear, but the other Thieves looked up. Their eyes widened at the eight flashes.

Morgana, Skull, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, and Noir. The copycats stepped forward, smirks identical to their Thief counterparts.

"Call it, Joker!" The Shadow Oracle snapped her fingers, summoning a holographic computer.

Ren did a quick count. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...

Hadn't there been eight flashes?

"Boo," his Goro snarled from behind. Ren whipped around, instinctively bringing Iwai's knives up and out. He saw the Shadow Goro- not the one with the Thieves, the fake one he'd created to be a sad little puppy- lunging at him in full Prince garb.

He blocked the Shadow's strike and disarmed him easily. "Traitor," Ren spat.

"That I am," he said proudly, his chin tilted up.

"I am your creator!" the red-eyed Ruler roared. "You follow my orders!"

"Follow orders?" The Shadow broke out into laughter. "Follow orders?! Do you think I'm some simpleminded soldier?" He wiped tears from his eyes."I know where I come from and I know what I am! I am not your plaything or your punching bag, you waste of space!"

The anger he'd tried so hard to hide broke every last one of his barriers. He was going to kill that Shadow. "You're worthless! I could make a million of you with just a thought! I control you!"

"Then you must wonder how the real Goro Akechi got hold of those maps." He smirked, and Ren's blood froze in his skin.

"You," he said slowly. "You betrayed me!"

"Fool me twice," he said proudly. The Shadow locked eyes with someone behind him, and Ren turned halfways so he could see. Goro Akechi- the one this bastard said was real- stared at his copycat with something like admiration in his wine-red eyes. "Crow, this place is not what it seems," he said urgently. "Arsene Lupin is correct. He knows this world is fake! He's facing him as we speak!"

The Rogue Shadow narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Before the copycat could respond, Ren took hold of him with his mind. The fake Goro went still, and the Ruler grinned wickedly, manipulating the threads around him like a puppeteer. Slowly, choppily, he raised his knife and let it rest against his throat.

"No!" Trae screamed.

But she had made the choice to become an enemy, and Ren never listened to his enemies.

Ren forced the blade from one side of Goro's neck to the other. Blood exploded from his throat, soaking Akira's hood and jacket, spattering his bare feet. The headless body thudded to the ground with a sickening noise, and the Thieves staggered back. Emotions roiled through their faces- terror, anger, disgust.

And damn if that didn't feel good.

The euphoric moment lasted barely a second before Ren had to fall flat. Two ice spells shot over his head.

"Attack!" Ren and Fox roared in unison.

"Roger that!" the two Oracles yelled. "Necronomicon!"

For a single, paralyzing second, Ren felt very real fear his plan would fail. Then he heard a female scream, and the Egyptian Persona collapsed, shifting to a small, dark-skinned girl with short black hair. She trembled, curling in on herself. "Stop!" Necronimicon wailed, her current form glitching into different people- an old man, a baby, was that Pikachu? "Stop it!"

All around him it was happening; both the Shadows and the real Thieves called to their Personas, and one by one, they were forced to dismiss them. After all, Ren had created these Shadows to be the equals of their masters. That included every experience the real Thieves had been through to earn them the Persona.

Everyone, that is, except for Trae and the Rogue Shadow.

Having no knowledge of their true strength, Ren couldn't accurately copy it. How would he, when it was crucial to send the Personas back to their world? If they were kept here, once the Shadows were weakened, the Thieves could call them back again. No, the Personas would need time to return here, and good timing, Ren knew, was essential.

Trae unsheathed her knife again, and the face she and Chrysopelia were making sent chills through him. "Ren," she growled, pointing the blade at him. "I'll put you in the grave!"

What nine year old says that?

But of course, Trae was much more than a nine-year-old.

Goro summoned a snakelike Persona. "Trae," he muttered.

"Yes?"

"Go for the throat."

Ren was fast enough to duck the first blow, but the furious way Trae was attacking him meant she had far more training than he'd thought. Enough to rival his own, although he was years older. She was almost as fast as Goro was, and coupled with her ice attacks- Ren hissed as one such attack tagged him on the arm and sank in- he had a feeling she was the worse of the two.

He dropped to the ground and swept a foot out, knocking her to the ground. She scrambled up, screaming to Chrysopelia to throw another Diamond Dust. Seriously, her energy reserves were endless.

Ren flipped another slash and tried one of his own. She parried easily, and he noted the opening on her left. The Ruler swept his arm up in a dramatic strike, leaving his chest wide open. She took the bait, lunging with her teeth open and bared, and Ren brought his knee up, clocking her in the chin.

Trae dropped her knife and staggered back, choking. Instantly, Goro took her place, a wicked-looking red sword in his left hand and fire in his right. "You hurt her," he snarled.

"I did," he agreed. He wouldn't let himself be killed, not even by her. Although maybe if the rogue asked nicely, the Ruler would let him tear him open.

Goro cautiously tested Ren's range. "What are you thinking that's turning your face red?" he demanded.

"I was thinking how pretty your blood would look on the ground." And on his face. Ren wanted to compare the color to the beautiful boy's eyes, to his lips. He imagined they would be equally beautiful.

He was so deep in thought, Ren didn't notice the blade cutting into his hip until the serrated blade carved gaping holes in his muscle. Still, Ren noticed dimly as he gaped at the certainly-not-Goro's-blood gushing from his hip, it didn't hurt as much as he'd thought.

The sounds of the Shadows and Thieves came into sharper focus as the pain dulled. Ren laughed softly to himself, wondering at Goro's furious expression. The Palace would give him strength- the sole thing Yaldaboth hadn't thought to prepare. If they had fought the False God in his domain; the Velvet Room, or perhaps even in the true Metaverse instead of combining the two worlds, they would have never won.

"Stop laughing before you bleed out," Goro snarled, two knives now in his hands. Ren flicked his hands up his sleeves and retried Iwai's knives- beautiful, silver things. He grinned.

"You're as confident as always."

Sparks flew when their knives clashed, but Ren's senses felt someone else behind him; someone made of fury and malice. Trae.

He sidestepped just in time; her knife whizzed past him, slicing Goro's cheek open and drawing a drop of ruby blood.

So it was as beautiful as the rest of him.

"Careful where you throw that," Goro hissed. "I'd like my head to stay on!"

Trae all but ignored him. She went for Ren again. He backstepped, keeping an eye on Goro and Chrysopelia, who were shifting into better positions. "Die!" she screamed, the knife coming dangerously close to his eye. "Diamond Dust! Bufudyne!"

Ren didn't know how long it went on for- the Thieves battling their Shadows, the two people Ren cared most about trying to cut him up, and Ren doing his best to return the favor- but at some point, he realized he was exhausted. The wound in his hip had barely stopped bleeding, and the Palace's support was dimming. Ren was making mistakes, but on the bright side, the others were, too. Trae was starting to slow down, he noticed. Her energy was finally running out- her fault for overusing Diamond Dust.

Then again, if she spammed it enough, it might hit-

Ren flew backwards and crashed against the window as one of Chrsopelia's spells punched him in the stomach. He doubled over, brutal cold rippling through him and goddammit, Trae was stronger than any mortal he'd faced before. He could barely breathe.

A blow to the head sent him reeling, black sparkling over his vision, and next thing Ren knew, he was on the floor. Goro's face was a breath away, contorted in bloodlust. Yusuke, he thought distractedly, scrabbling for his knife, would never be able to create a masterpiece worthy of pure beauty, because the only pure beauty in any world was this Shadow.

"Stop smiling," Goro hissed. Above them came the crackling of ice, and the spot where Ren's head had been a second ago exploded into shards.

"You saved me." Ren was amazed. Hadn't the Rogue wanted to kill him? "Why?"

He groaned and dragged a hand over his mask. "Everyone asks that, but it's actions alone that matter, don't you think?"

"I think you finally like me."

Goro slugged him in the face. Warmth poured down his nose and an uncomfortably sharp feeling told Ren his nose had just been broken. Of course, the Palace would help him heal, but it didn't stop it from hurting. "Shut your mouth."

Sorry, my love...

Ren scissored his legs, flipping Goro to the ground. He sprang up just in time to avoid Trae's fury-driven knife. The Ruler caught her hand in his and forced her against the wall, effectively rendering her entire arsenal of spells useless.

"Let me stab you! Die!" Trae thrashed. "You promised! You promised you'd help me get out!"

"You can't leave," Ren panted. His stamina had decreased considerably from lack of food, and it felt like he was approaching a solid limit. The Ruler could either kill everyone... or he could escape. "It's impossible."

"You said that nothing is!"

"This is," he promised. "I'm saying that you aren't able to. You belong to the town."

The only response he got was a vicious kick between the legs, and he staggered back.

"Leader!" Shadow Oracle gasped. "We can't beat this level! Use hacks already!"

Goro froze halfway through his attack. "Hacks?" he whispered. Then his lovely eyes flashed wide. "Everyone!" he howled. "Retreat! Now!"

"Crow," Fox panted, leaning heavily on his sword. "What is it?"

"You fool!" he screamed. "He controls everything! Move your sorry carcasses or die!"

His blue eyes widened. "Oh... Retre-!"

They were too late.

Ren controlled the Palace. It responded only to him, and he could manipulate the fabric of the world at his whim. He'd opted for a fair fight at first, but with ice gnawing at him and his body at its limits, there wasn't much else to do.

So he turned Leblanc tower to glass.

Ren snatched his backpack, which he'd brought up a few hours ago, and punched through the window. Pain scored his hand, but he barely paid attention to it. His focus was on the cracks spiderwebbing beneath the Thieves' feet. He hopped onto the roof, weakening the bottom of Leblanc with a silent apology to Sojiro Sakura.

"What the hell!" Goro demanded.

Not Goro, Ren reminded himself. The fake. The traitor.

The one he'd decapitate and give the head as a gift to the real Assassin.

"You'll live," he dismissed, ignoring the other's protests and Trae's knife embedding itself in his shoulder. Ren shrugged, meeting Fox's horrified eyes. "Probably."

Ren leaped out the window, turning the ground soft enough that he only bruised himself when he landed. "Oww..." he whined, shivering. "Cold."

A second later, the glass tower shattered outwards.

He watched the Thieves' tumble through air, staying behind a building, and heard Mona scream "Zorro, Magaru!"

"Understood!"

Green air swirled around them, barely holding the Thieves above a minefield of glass spikes. Ren heard their screams stop and turn to confusion. "Hurry," the cat's Persona hissed. "The Ruler must be nearby."

The Rogue Shadow stood, testing his balance,and jumped. With the Magaru boost, he landed in a roll, easily clearing the spikes. "Hurry it up, you pathetic wastes of space!"

"Are you kidding me?" Mona yelled, leaping over the glass. "Zorro saved us!"

"The cat excepted."

"I'm not a cat!"

Ren tailed the group, who had finally gotten over the glass and started searching the area. Queen gestured at everyone, and they split into two groups. He laughed softly to himself; surely they realized that he would come to them, not the other way around?

Agonizing cold spiked through him, and he choked out a cry. Now that Leblanc- where he'd centered most of his power- had been destroyed, everything was only going to be more difficult. Already, he could feel his adrenaline draining away- but damn adrenaline and blood loss, it wouldn't matter once Goro returned. Ren could heal. The dead couldn't.

He slipped after the left group; Ryuji, Haru, Morgana, and Makoto. He would do something quite simple, something any magician could do; a sleight of hand.

They turned a corner.

Ren noted Noir lagging behind slightly, the last in line, and struck. She sensed the Maeiga coming and whipped around, blocking with her axe. Noir opened her mouth, either to scream for help or call for her Persona- either way, it was a waste of her only time. Ren reappeared behind her, the distracting spell having done its job, and slammed his fist into the back of her head. She crumpled like a sack of bricks.

Step one, complete. Now to replace her.

Ren closed his eyes and shifted.

He'd been braced for the pain, a sort of stretched feeling like he was being pulled apart, but for fucks sake, his head hurt like shit! Ren swore, praying it'd worked, and glanced down at himself.

Thank Yaldabaoth.

His delicate hands picked up Noir's axe and examined himself in the reflection. It was as he hoped: Fluffy brown hair, pink eyes, and wearing a feathered hat. He grinned viciously, the smirk looking unnatural on the girl's face. "Haru Okumura," he breathed under his breath, watching the illusion spread over him.

Thanatos had been telling the truth. Ren could create powerful illusions.

Ow.

Right, he had to hurry. Ren doubted he could maintain it for very long, being as tired as he was.

"Noir, lets go!"

"Sorry!" he called back in Haru's gentle, delicate voice. He strapped the axe to his back and hurried around the corner.

"Oracle called us. We're regrouping," Queen said simply. Not knowing what Haru would say, he simply nodded. Once the other Thieves arrived, Ren could knock them out, kill the Rogue Shadow, and put the rest in a cell for the time being. He'd let them out after the week was up... probably.

Ren yelped, spinning around. He was sure something had just hit him, and it hurt.

"Noir," Morgana checked. "You alright?"

"Y-yes," he stammered out. His head spun and his vision darkened for a brief, terrifying second. Ren forced himself out of his daze and pretended not to see the Thieves' concerned looks.

Thankfully, he was saved by the arrival of the other team. "Did you find anything?" Fox asked.

"Nothin'," Skull huffed. "Dammit, I thought he'd be somewhere around here. Kinda like with... Reug..."

Trae seemed sullen. She kept her head down, fidgeting with her fur-lined gloves. The rest of her ninja-like costume made her shoulders look like they were drooping even more. "Where is he?" she mumbled softly.

"Goemon." The Persona appeared in a flash. "Do you know where he might be?"

Goemon scanned the Thieves' faces, and his dark eyes landed on his pink ones. He felt a stab of fear through his chest, seeing the understanding in his masked face. He knew.

"I can sense the Ruler very close," he said carefully. "Zorro, can Morgana smell anything different?"

Zorro relayed it to the cat, who nodded. "He smells like... blood and roses...hmm."

"Goemon was right," Ren said in Haru's voice. "He must be close."

He realized his mistake the moment Panther's eyes widened. "Crow," she whispered.

"I heard it too," he said quietly. "You're not as stupid as you look."

She smiled. "That means a lot coming from you- wait... you're being sarcastic."

"Will you just focus, dammit?"

A wave of nausea rolled over him, and his knees buckled. So cold... He squeezed his eyes shut, fighting to hold the illusion in place for a few more seconds- fuck, everything hurt so badly, his chest, his arm, his hip, his head- he couldn't do it.

Ren sensed the illusion slide out of his grasp just as a menacing presence appeared behind him. He could barely find the energy to look up.

Noir glared at him, cracking her knuckles.

Shit.

"Maeigaon!" Ren screamed. The last of his power rippled out, throwing everyone back. He gasped for breath, shoving himself onto his knees, then in a somewhat upright position. "Palace- quicksand." He stumbled over to the Rogue Shadow, who glared up at him. "You- you're a fake. Like the one I killed."

"For the last time," he snarled, "I'm not!" Goro ripped his arm out of the quicksand and sliced his palm open with a claw. Drip... drip... drip. "I swear on my fucking blood I'm not a Shadow! Would a Shadow save you from Trae?"

Ren paused. "He's dead," he said, but that sounded weak. Almost as bad as he felt.

"Loki saved me." Goro's voice trembled. "Lavenza told me. He couldn't change his form back, so he... he's gone..."

Ren frowned at that. False. He was sure of it. "No."

"Is your brain melting?" he hissed. "Or did you not hear me?"

He felt a wave of dizziness. Either kill him, Ren told himself sharply, or leave. Still... there was something off about that. "Personas are only tangible if they touch you first. The bullet would've gone right through him, but he... he probably pushed you aside. Loki should be fine." Ren shivered.

Goro looked faint. "I... shit. That rat bastard-"

The rest of his sentence was drowned out by Trae's roar of "FENRIR! CHRYSOPELIA!"

The explosions of ice and Nuclear told him it was time to run.

---

But, Ren realized half an hour later as he collapsed in the Crossroads, Goro had been absolutely convinced Loki was dead. Lavenza had said it, but... no, she wasn't a fool. She was powerful enough to fend off any other gods who tried to take the Velvet Room. Someone else had said something about Loki.

"Ren, what happened?"

"I... made a mistake..."

A thud as Ohya's chair crashed to the floor. "Hang on! I'll get Takemi! Just... ugh, Lala-chan, help him!"

"Ren, wake up."

"Mm... I'm cold..."

"What's- oh, guinea pig, what did you do this time?"

He tried thinking about it a different way. Thanatos had told Ren that Goro was truly dead. The word of a god, he thought, was absolute... until Goro had proven he was real. No Akechi made blood promises they couldn't keep.

Who had told Goro?

Ren felt the rest of his energy drain with shock.

Kronos.

---

Did you guys guess??? I feel like you guessed. I mean, think about it: we know that a god CALLING himself Thanatos went to Ren, offered him a Palace and told him Goro was truly dead. Before that, a god CALLING himself Kronos went to Akechi, offered him a deal, and told him Loki was dead. 

Seems sus.

Sooooo if you think about it a little more, we find clues around the area. The biggest clue was when he appeared to tell them about the Palaces, and his information was pretty much useless. He gave them a time limit in which, at the end the Palaces that "Thanatos" had created would be destroyed. 

Seems like Goro and Ren were being pitted against each other, and it almost worked. 

Something sounds just a LITTLE weird, dontcha think?

And yes, I've done everyone a favor because now you dont have to wait till next week to understand.

You may thank me here -->

Okay, as always, thank you for reading! Any questions, comments, or incoherant screaming, please comment, I love comments because trolling's a thing.

You're the best readers ever!!!

also: words: 6681 IMAGINE WRITING THAT MANY WORDS FOR SOME RANDOS ON A SKETCHY WEBSITE LOLLLLLL

Robin out!