4 days remaining; nighttime

I trust you.

Goro felt himself go warm and cold at the same time. His world narrowed to a pinpoint, just Ren's shy smile. He barely managed to lower his eyes to the ornately decorated book, which glowed dully in his own hands. It looked heavy with ink and paper, and different pages stuck out awkwardly. It was nothing like a published book, but the Detective Prince noted a certain charm to the homemade cover. It held the same allure as Ren's beautiful red-gold-grey eyes.

He bit his lip, drawing blood. Who was he kidding? If he wanted to save himself the trouble, he had to take the book and run! Arsene had said as much, and if he took the book, he could get Loki back. Ren was barely worth a thought! Goro stared at the book in his lap, whose title was delicately scrawled in a language he couldn't quite read. The Treasure was right there. All he had to do was take the opportunity and leave.

So why aren't I standing up?

Goro's hands trembled. There were two things he'd ever wanted. To be useful... and to be wanted.

I need you to steal Ren's treasure.

Arsene was absolutely right. Goro was the only one Ren would ever give the real book to. If he didn't now and came back later for the book, it would cause a hell of a lot of trouble. Besides, he was already drained and shuddered to think of even more time in the Metaverse.

"Are you alright?" Ren asked. He took a step forward, and Goro recoiled. For an instant, he found himself with his back against a cold floor and a damp underground smell coiled in his nostrils.

He shook it off.

"Whatever it is, it's alright," he said. "I trust your decisions."

I trust you.

Ren was an absolute fool, Trickster title or no. How could he not realize that those words would bounce their way around his mind until they found a way in? Trust was one thing Goro never had, always envied-

No, I didn't, the Detective Prince part of him muttered-

-always hated. Trust always got him stabbed in the back. He trusted his mother. She died because of him. Trusted his father to come back. He did, then tortured him until he ran, and then Goro came back years later and offered to murder people. Then there was the obvious: TV shows and politics were based on lies and deceit. So it was fairly clear why Goro didn't trust anyone.

But Ren, with his innocent red eyes and hopeful look...

Why should he trust Goro? He could run and never be seen again, and Ren would ruin... whatever he was working towards. The fool thought he was a rogue Shadow with a death wish. Which, to be fair, was accurate.

At the same time, a small, pathetically gullible part of him adored the warm feeling I trust you gave him. He wanted to give the book back and sit down and feel that again. And maybe if Ren could make him feel even a little happy, he wasn't a worthless piece of shit after all.

After all, there was probably a reason he chose to save Ren back in the engine room, even if he couldn't remember most of it.

Goro looked at the book in his lap. Then back up at the Thief- no, he thought. Ren wasn't a Thief anymore. He was just a stupid kid. Like him. He smiled, then held out the book.

Ren's smile practically lit up the world. "Really?"

Goro couldn't resist giving him an annoyed look. "Redundant questions like that are why I hate you," he muttered, but the words didn't feel as sharp as they used to. It was only proven by Ren's even brighter laugh, and he opened the book and settled on his bed. "What does it say on the front?" he asked.

His cheeks flushed, but Ren answered anyway. " The Days that Pass Us By," he mumbled to the table.

"You think of the most cliche things," he said, turning so he could comfortably recline on the windowsill. "And you do realize I'm a well-trained hitman with otherworldly powers?"

Ren glanced up with a ghost of a smirk. "Everything about you's otherworldly."

Python, shut up.

But I didn't say anything! The snake protested.

W-well, you were definitely about to!

Mercifully, he left Goro with his last shreds of pride and Python's presence vanished. Goro turned his attention to Ren, who's cheeks were as flushed as his felt. "So...ah..." The great Detective Prince, stuttering like a child giving a presentation. He wasn't some idiot to be made fun of!

Fury somehow strengthened his voice. "Why the hell do you even have a Treasure? Kronos said this wasn't a real Palace!"

"Kronos...?" Ren said the word carefully. "A god?"

"A wannabe god," he muttered to himself. "He said we had to either convince or kill the Ruler, or take their Treasure. But the others didn't have Treasures, so I thought he was bullshitting us to piss us off."

"Kronos..." Ren raised his voice. "Yusuke, I need help with something!"

In a flash, a tall Shadow appeared, his right arm dripping paint. "Good evening, Ren. Akechi...?" The blue-haired artist shook his head and glanced at the dusty wood floor, which was now covered in rainbow splotches. "Oh! My apologies, Ren. I fell over my paint cans a moment ago, and I can't quite afford towels."

"Yusuke," Ren said in the most exasperated tone he'd ever heard, "This is a Shadow world! You can make them appear in front of you!"

"Ah. Right..." He blinked. "Oh! You asked about something?"

Ren nodded and gestured for Goro to listen, which was rather unnecessary. Goro was always listening. Force of habit. "Do you happen to know any stories about a god called Kronos? A god of... kronos...chrono... chronology... time, maybe?" he added, tilting his head back at the assassin. His red-gold eyes blinked innocently.

"Of course. One of my fellow students enjoyed painting myths in a modern style. Kronos was, as you said, an immortal being with power over time. If I remember correctly, he predated the gods and was more powerful than any of them. The only way the gods usurped him was by taking him by surprise." Yusuke gestured and paced as he spoke. "Although he came before the gods, he has all the flaws of a human. Paranoid-" the Shadow shot a not-very-subtle look at both Wildcards, who scowled. "But became overly confident. When he believed he'd won... that was when he was obliterated: cut to thousands of pieces and cast into..." He frowned. "Hell, or something of the like. A dark pit crawling with monsters. I don't particularly remember the details."

Lie, Goro knew. Yusuke just didn't want to talk about things that weren't pure or beautiful.

"Thank you," Ren nodded. He snapped his fingers, and a fluffy dark towel wrapped itself around Yusuke's arm. "But really," he added. "You really only have to ask, and the Palace will create it."

"But that disobeys the fundamental laws of-"

"It isn't rocket science, dammit!"

"But-"

"You should definitely finish that painting, right? Yeah, you probably should. Bye!" Ren snapped his fingers, and the Shadow vanished.

Goro snickered from the window. "That's how you see him?" Yusuke was weird, but not that weird.

"I didn't spend much time creating the fakes," Ren said in an offhand way. The careless tone struck him as strange. But, he reasoned, of course he was off. The red-eyed boy was a ruler of a fucking Palace. "They're nothing but tools at the moment."

He bared his teeth. He didn't exactly like that answer. "That's a bit harsh."

"It is, but they're self-aware." Ren shrugged in a cold sort of way. "They know their lives are tied to my Palace, and they only exist on a sub-human level."

Now that was cold. Cold to the point of politics, and Goro didn't appreciate that. "Ren," he said sharply.

"Oh." The cold violence receded into his skin and Ren smiled shyly. "Sorry, Rogue Shadow. Um... what would you like to talk about?"

"I only came to bring you a message."

Lie. He'd wanted to see Ren and figure out just why the bastard found him so captivating.

Focus, Goro, focus! Ren was the enemy! If he was going to be a fool and not even take the book, he could at least do what he was supposed to! He could remain neutral and still scrape this absolute disaster of a mess off the ground if he tried. All he had to do was not give in to the warm feeling in his stomach, and-

"Only?" Ren was suddenly next to him, casually leaning against the window. He tilted Goro's chin up with a finger, and he froze, suddenly too nervous to bite his finger off. "Aww," he pouted. "I thought you missed me." He sighed. "I guess the real Akechi didn't like me much, huh?"

Heat rose to his cheeks, and Goro bit his lip to stop himself from looking away. It was a test, clearly. Shido would glare at him over his desk and Goro would glare back from the wall until one of them looked away. "I bet he liked you enough," he said to himself.

"You're staring."

"I am?" Goro flinched back.

"Are my eyes really that pretty?" Ren teased.

The assassin turned his head away from his gorgeous eyes and hissed a curse. Focus, damn him! "I have a damn message, and it's not for flirting with your stupid ass!"

"Why my ass?"

"Will you shut up and pay attention for two fucking seconds?" Without waiting for him to close his gaping mouth, Goro pushed himself off the windowsill and stood angrily. "I came to tell you that Reug is dead."

Ren didn't even look affected. "Huh."

"Huh?" Goro mocked. His tone sharpened. "Why aren't you angry?"

"I expected him to die," he shrugged. "That's why I put Trae in Hope and him in Despair." Ren tilted his head to the side. "To win, I have to play. I learned that-" here he grinned-"from my favorite detective."

That stung, but he wasn't entirely wrong.

"He lasted longer than I expected," Ren added.

"Then maybe this will make you angry." Goro fished two keys from his pocket. One was rusted brown and was heavy enough most people would use two hands, and a delicate silver key that could fit around his pinky. "I killed him. I took his key, and I got Trae's too."

"What did you do to her?" he demanded. Ice surged into his voice, and the thief balled his fists. He looked ready to pummel Goro, and the assassin immediately had his guard up. He might only be seventeen, but he wasn't foolish enough to fight the Ruler in the middle of his own Palace. Especially on his own.

"She's on our side now," he said smugly. Ren's startled look immediately made all the bullshit he'd had to do that neight bearable. "Oh, and one more thing."

A Curse spell- Maeigaeon by the looks of it- began to wind itself around Ren. Then he took a second look at Goro, and the power dissipated.

So he wouldn't try to hurt him outside of battle. The Detective Prince filed that away for later use.

"Go on," Ren said through gritted teeth.

"Lavenza says to say hello."

Goro leaned back through the window, grabbed the window's pulley and yanked it shut. The several-inch-thick glass slammed shut over the rope, and he left it there. He had bigger things to worry about, like how he was going to get off the roof, When he crept to the edge of the roof and glanced down, a massive, hissing, smelly ocean of fur assaulted his senses.

Down seemed to be a bad way to go.

A solid thump from the house behind him. Ren didn't sound happy.

Back wasn't an option either, and since he didn't have wings like Arsene, he wasn't going up. The way he'd gotten to the roof- using Leblanc's lower roofs- wouldn't work. He'd destroyed it to keep the Shadows from reaching him the first time.

That left forward. Which meant a jump.

So Goro jumped.

The wind howled in his ears, and the temporary weightless feeling was as terrifying as always, but Goro had done this a hundred times before. The brown-tiled roof in front of him was within reach-just a bit closer...

And the entire building dissolved into mist.

What the-

He pivoted in the air, now descending at a frightening speed. He could just barely make out Ren's grinning face.

That piece of shit!

The wave of cats hissed at him, and Goro could see claws flash among them. He curled into a ball and braced for impact, hoping only a few bones were broken. He shut his eyes.

And with a whumf, he felt a sharp feeling at the back of his neck. Goro blinked, surprised to feel air beneath him and not what would've been a shit ton of feral cats. But, then...

"Will you hold still? I'm not used to carrying someone."

Right. Arsene had been dropped off in the Wish Palace just like him.

"How'd you find me?" Goro asked.

"I followed the bodies," the Thief stated dryly. He gave a sudden cry, and they dropped alarmingly far before he recovered. Goro's arm scraped against the building. "Stop judging me, if you would. I could just drop you."

"I'm just thinking that your customer service could use some work," he said innocently. "Your claws are stabbing me."

"Carrying you and flying is a bit more difficult than it looks," he hissed. "The chains are bad enough."

"Put me down on a roof, then."

The claws tightened, stinging his back. "You're my master's boyfriend. Besides, a human who can actually communicate with me provides me a slight amount of sanity."

"So..."Goro smiled, but tilted his head down so Arsene couldn't see,"You're saying you're attached."

"When," the Persona snapped, "did I say any of that?" When Goro failed to answer, mostly because he was trying to pinch himself awake and nodding off at the same time, Arsene shook him by the shoulders. "Hey, you alright?"

He blinked a few times. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

Arsene's doubtful silence was interrupted by the assassin's catlike yawn. He yelped and clapped a hand over his mouth, cursing himself, but the Persona was already laughing. "Shut up."

"The great Assassin," he mused. "Falling asleep a hundred feet from the ground."

"Stop talking."

"Sleep's rather important, you know. Don't wanna ruin that pretty face!" Arsene started laughing again.

"How much longer does this flight last?" he sighed to himself.

"Speaking of which-" there was an alarming drop and the ground was rushing up at Goro. He focused his breath and refused to close his eyes. It wasn't in him to trust, but he was sure Arsene wouldn't let him fall.

Sure enough, a hair's breadth from the grass, he stilled in midair.

"-We're landing," Arsene finished, setting him upright. He stretched lazily, chains gouging up earth where they'd hit.

"A bit late, don't you think?"

Arsene shrugged and threw himself onto a nearby bench. "What do you say to someone who saved you?" he goaded, his voice sounding sleepy.

"No."

"Keep trying," he singsonged. "I'm sure you can get it!"

"You wasted your energy saving trash," he said. "What thanks does that deserve?"

"Trash or not," Arsene replied, "Assassin or not, traitor or not, I still cared enough to save you." He offered a half-chuckle. "If I, a thief, can find it to forgive you, I'm sure you can learn to think differently."

Goro was struck stupid. For once, the Detective Prince was speechless as well, leaving him with his mouth gaping open like an idiot. Arsene just... what did he do with just two sentences? Told him he wasn't trash (a complete lie, as he was running on borrowed time ever since the Velvet Room) and said that he would know he wasn't trash (another lie. Goro didn't believe it.) And then Arsene said he forgave him! The nerve of that Thief! To forgive someone like him for the worst kind of crime was beyond impossible. It was unheard of, stranger than Goro leaving the Treasure with Ren. The stupid fool-

Arsene's wings went limp. Goro hesitantly poked him. His finger went through his mask, and he exhaled in relief (relief? When was he ever worried about Arsene, dammit? First Trae, now this genius.) He was only asleep, which meant Goro could just burn him and this whole worthless Palace to dust.

But, to his surprise, he didn't want to.

The assassin checked the sleeping Persona again, then whispered, "Thank you."

---

"Finally," Goro gasped out, bracing his hands against his knees. He glared up at Lavenza, who just tilted her head, shifting so she could sit on the desk. "I thought you couldn't leave this place!"

"I never said that," she said, petting Morgana. The cat bounced excitedly.

"I missed you so much!" he purred. "The moment I got to Jamestown, I couldn't talk to you!!!" The feline's blue eyes bored into his red ones. "And don't disrespect Lady Lavenza!"

A handsome boy with shoulder-length black hair and crystal eyes bowed dramatically to the attendant. "It's an honor to see you again, my lady." Lavenza swatted at him with her enormous book. He shifted slightly, the book only glancing off him. "Not even a hello?" he pouted. The crystal-eyed boy put his hand over his heart and closed his eyes. "I'm hurt."

"You will be if you don't stop bothering her!" Morgana hissed. "Just because you're Ren's Persona, doesn't mean you have special permission!"

Of course. Goro recognized the red jacket and ripped jeans from the Hope Palace, but everything there had been hazy. Except... wasn't Arsene supposed to be a bit older? By about fifteen years?

"I happen to know that, Mona," Arsene said quietly, dropping the flirtatious air, "And I assume Ren is the reason we're here?" He arched an eyebrow at Lavenza and leaned back in his seat, throwing one arm lazily over the side. Goro noted, as he always did, the lines in the fabric of his jacket and that something had shifted when he'd leaned back. Some sort of hunting knife in his sleeve, most likely, and a gun in the other.

Of course, he couldn't point that out, or even argue that he shouldn't, because Goro himself had enough weapons to supply the Thieves, and enough for an army back in Shibuya.

"Correct." Lavenza hopped off the desk and set Morgana on the ground. She began to pace, gesturing as she spoke. Goro thought she seemed a lot more agitated than before. "Firstly, when I arrived at the Despair Palace, I sensed a power not unlike my own. I believe this is another... what's the word for you humans..." She looked helplessly at them.

"Slaves to the changing beliefs of humans, their very being forever doomed to be warped and forgotten over time?" Arsene tried.

"Supernatural?" Goro suggested, shooting a glare Arsene's way.

"No, none of those..." She sighed. "I'm sure it's unimportant. I'll find out later. Now, Shapeshifter."

"What?"

"Do you have any information about the nature of the Palaces you've been in, or possibly the town itself? There could be a reason they targeted Jamestown of all places."

"Well, I don't have much experience," Goro started, to Morgana's loud snicker, "but the information I do have..." He leveled an annoyed look at the little girl, who stared calmly back. It only irritated him further. "Is because it's an out-of-the way town and Ren made Satan shoot god in the face for Christmas."

Arsene choked. "I... I was Satanael..." he mumbled to himself, except with Goro sitting next to him, it wasn't much of a secret.

"Interesting..." Lavenza said carefully. "Any other... ah... useful information you could share?"

He glared, but at the cat's furious look, decided to at least try to think of something. "Ren said Jamestown has always been distorted. I believe he said... four, five generations back? Everyone notices, no one comments. From my short experience in Jamestown, the Hope Palace's light and the Despair Palace's smoke were both ignored or dismissed by everyone."

"They themselves could be distorted," Morgana offered.

Arsene bit his lip, but remained silent.

Lavenza set her book down. "Perhaps," she suggested, "Perhaps destroying Mementos didn't destroy the Metaverse? And you were still in the Metaverse?"

"My head was smaller." Morgana shook his enormous chibi head. "I looked like a normal cat, even though I'm not a cat."

"You're a cat."

The feline shot an annoyed look at the assassin, who grinned wickedly back. "Am not!"

"Shapeshifter, Morgana. Enough," Lavenza said. She crossed her arms. "We do not have enough time! There are four days before the Palace crumbles, correct? And Shapeshifter, I assume you already exploited Ren into trusting you, at least a little."

He wasn't supposed to do that anymore. Loki gave him a second chance at life. He didn't want to spend it doing the same thing that got him killed, but against that gold-eyed stare, he refused to feel ashamed. Goro would not care what someone else thought. Never a-fucking-gain. "So?"

It came off more challenging than he wanted, but that was the price of pushing aside the Detective Prince.

"When I was split in two, my former master used to speak about you and the Trickster often." She offered a half smile. "He watched you two get closer-"

"I was pretending!" he insisted, casting a hasty look at Arsene. Mercifully, he looked like he hadn't heard any of it.

"He did not think so, and neither did I. You began to care, and my former master became worried. He pushed you to act sooner because he didn't like the direction the game was taking. In the False God's eyes, it was a near miss. You see, he chose you because of your inability to care. I believe my master chose the Trickster for the opposite reason in an attempt to counter it. So if you two had been together..."

"It would've been a disaster," Goro finished. "But it was unlikely to ever happen. As you said, I'm incapable of caring." But even as he said it, a wave of uncertainty broke over him. Was it actually that impossible for him to care? Before this disaster, before Goro shot Ren in the head, he distinctly remembered looking forward to their meetings. He was, without a doubt, a friend. As real as a friend of the Detective Prince's could be. He remembered their bets, their games, and those rare moments when he felt at peace enough to let the mask fall.

Maybe she had a point.

But then, if Lavenza was right, he was indebted to the False God, and Goro didn't like that much.

"It certainly would have occurred within the month," the Velvet Room attendant said.

"I don't think you're incapable of caring," Morgana offered. "In the engine room-" most of which he could barely remember, probably thanks to the psychotic haze- "You saved us. You could've walked out alive, but you let yourself die instead."

"Because I'm not worth sixteen other beings," he retorted.

"Most people would value their life over everyone else." Lavenza smiled at him."You didn't... and whether that was due to self-loathing or genuine kindness, I believe Yaldabaoth was wrong about you."

Goro shook his head. They were all idiots, plain as day.

"Back to the subject," she said somewhat hastily, and he felt a measure of relief that Arsene still hadn't moved a muscle. Slightly curious, the assassin poked his shoulder. To his surprise, he felt solid muscle under his fingertip. How strange. Apparently, human form wasn't subject to the rules their Persona counterparts were. That explained how Goro had carried him before. "You've made the Trickster trust you. Again, what does he think of you, now that you're on opposite sides?"

"He thinks I'm a Shadow," he muttered. "He's convinced I'm supposed to be dead, likely because he's a foolish piece of work."

"He does?" Lavenza frowned. "How interesting. I was certain... Morgana, did the Trickster say anything about the Shapeshifter in his letters?"

He went through his letters? Goro frowned. That was a bit over the top.

"Ren consistently mentioned that he was sure Goro was still 'somewhere out there'," the cat reported. The assassin silently vowed to never have a pet. "He stopped about a day before he went into the Palaces."

Arsene's eyes fluttered shut, and his brow wrinkled a little. Actual concentration, Goro thought with a little surprise. Whatever he was trying to figure out (Arsene had to be leagues ahead of him in terms of detective-ness) was probably irritating him to no end. It was actually a little amusing.

"Really?" Lavenza blinked. "Something must have happened to him between the Palace and his arrival to Jamestown. Shapeshifter, you must convince the Trickster you're not a Shadow."

"Why?" he asked boredly, examining one of his swords. It was caked with Reug's blood. He frowned and scrubbed at it with a sleeve, knowing just how difficult blood was to clean up. "It'd be easier to steal his Treasure if he thinks I'm a stupid, worthless Shadow."

"You must!" she cried.

Arsene jolted out of his seat with a dramatically startled expression. He glanced around, and Goro noted the hand that flicked up his sleeve and back out with a knife. He'd been right! "What is it?"

"Were you out?" Goro asked. He'd thought he was just focusing on something, but if he was sleeping while the assassin was being interrogated, he was going to kick the crystal-eyed bastard right where it hurt.

"Of course not!" He sounded offended, and the assassin would have let him off the hook if he hadn't paused and frowned. "Was I out?"

"You weren't," the cat confirmed. "Hey, what were you thinking about?"

"Most likely nothing," Arsene said cheerfully. "You'll never know!" He patted that cat's head, who yowled in protest. "Oh, a question, my lady?"

She held up her giant book warningly. "Go ahead."

"You are a Wildcard, correct?" Lavenza's confirming nod somehow drained the color from his face. "What was your first Persona?"

"Why does it matter?" she asked.

"Why would you protest?" When there was no response, Arsene sighed. "I have a few guesses. I'm sure you'd love to-"

"Moirai," the attendant mumbled to the floor. "I have the Moirai."

The dark-haired Persona stumbled back, grabbing hold of a seat unsteadily. "Shit," he swore. It was the first time he'd heard anything like that from Arsene. "Then it's... Oh, we're in trouble... We're in so much trouble..."

Goro stood up quickly, making more noise than usual. "Have your panic attack later." He crossed the aisle and brought his knife up to Arsene's throat. "Talk now."

The Persona was still shaking. Whatever was scaring him this badly, Goro decided he really didn't want to find out. Because whatever he'd found out could come after him for learning the truth. The truth, after all, was a double edged sword. "This is bad," he whispered to himself. He slowly looked up at Goro and the knife he was pinning to his throat. "Akechi, you must convince Ren and steal his Treasure."

"Sit your ass down before you pass out, then you can tell me what to do." Goro pushed him into the seat and pinned him with a glare. "What did you find out?"

Arsene's brows furrowed and he bit his lip.

"Tell me!" he demanded.

In a flash, Arsene's mask was back in place, bringing the wings and chains along with it. "I can't," he said. 

"We're in another dimension. Who's going to know?"

"They will." Arsene pushed him away and stood up."There's something I need to check. Lavenza, you said Jamestown itself could be distorted, correct?"

"Yes," she said nervously, "But what are you-"

Arsene threw the train car's door open, revealing a bright light instead of the hellscape he'd expected. "Akechi, I'll meet you at Leblanc in Wish. Morgana, find the others!"

"Where the hell are you going?" Goro demanded.

He didn't even bother answering before soaring out.

----

Thank you for reading! Feel free to leave a comment if you enjoyed, or if there are any mistakes, etc etc etc.

I edited this after it was posted bc i realized akechi would never in a million years 1) be a coward, or 2) value his life over important information.

words: 4577

Thank you, yall are teh best, im at 99 in Persona5 tag!

Robin out!