Goro's thoughts, throughout the week, kept returning to Loki, then inevitably, Ren. Ren, who was weaker than him. Ren, who always came out on top. Ren, who defeated a god while he was sleeping in some corner of a parallel world. Ren, who'd played a part in Loki's death.

But that was stupid. Goro thought that Loki might have been doomed since the first time he'd set foot in the Metaverse. It was his fault. He knew that was a fact, and that he honestly shouldn't have survived it, but here he was. Goro hadn't lived through politician's death traps and the Metaverse's cunning Shadows by looking backwards the whole time. So he'd have to focus on the present. But what after that?

The question plagued him for the rest of the week, while he burned all bridges attaching him to Shibuya. What happens after this? It was easy enough to say that he'd be free, but what was he going to do with that freedom? He'd be hunted like some wild animal because of his murders. He'd have to change his name, constantly travel. What did he want his freedom to be?

Goro shook off the thought, glancing up at the full moon. His last "bridge" needed to be destroyed. He didn't have time for useless thoughts.

Seriously? The first defense was a concrete wall topped by barbed wire? Pathetic. Goro alone could bust through the wall (if he wanted to break every bone in his leg) or get over the wires, not to mention pick the lock on the steel door.. This was a pretty shitty jail, as far as he was concerned.

The cameras were easy to deal with. He was no Medjed (stupid Futaba, ruining his plans) and his hacking was mediocre at best, but it was easy to put a virus in the system. Goro wanted to gun his way into the jail and mow everyone down, but he eventually decided it would be better if he didn't get his face on camera.

Even though picking the lock was tame as shit.

The guards hovering around the cell were easily brought down- a quick blow to the back of the head, choking out the other. He was armed to the teeth under his clothes, but if the cameras were still working, he wasn't going to show that.

"So you've come."

Figured he'd be awake. Can't let me kill him while he's out, can he?

Goro didn't speak. He didn't nod. Nodding would mean lowering his head to this worm of a man, and he would never do that. Instead, he just kept the hood over his face and stared out at his father.

Masayoshi Shido pulled himself to a sitting position. He was thin, almost sticklike now. Just like the spineless insect he was, Goro thought. His clothes hung loose, and his eyes were as dull as his mirror's.

"I knew you would," he continued, pretending that Goro was speaking to him. The Thieves really had stolen his heart. Shido had changed completely. "I hurt you and your mother. Karma comes back around, after all."

Goro stood in front of him, glaring out from under his dark hood, and unsheathed one of his blades. He had several other weapons strapped under his clothes, but he wanted this one. Goro wanted the one Loki had given him, wanted him to be just a breath away when Shido choked on his own blood and died far away from the political stage he'd danced on for thirty years. Nothing would shake him, not until this was done.

So when Shido got on his knees and apologized, Goro barely felt his shock.

"You suffered at my hands since the day you were born. I took your life away from you without even being there. For that, I am sorry."

What the hell? The rational part of him, the Detective Prince, screamed.

Goro could barely hear him over the roar in his head. Shido's mouth opened and closed, but to him, no words came out. Unfortunately, the next words he could hear at full volume.

"So here you stand, my assassin, as only a shell. Akechi, do you have anything to live for after I am gone?"

He wanted to lash out, to cut his throat, to see his blood run black on the stone floor, but Goro was paralyzed. This had been a mistake. This had been a mistake. Shido could still scare him without even meaning to. He was afraid, and when he was afraid, he got pissed off fast.

"This is your last assignment. When I am dead, I want you to find the life you were deprived of. I hope that you will be freed soon enough."

Goro was so close. So close to snapping, breaking open the cell, screaming at him every word he could think of. But that would be a mistake.

He gestured with one finger for him to stand up.

Shido obeyed.

How the tables had turned, the Detective Prince part of him mused. Now the master found himself on the tight, tight leash with a blade to his throat.

Goro shoved Shido's head against the bars, lips an inch from his ear. "This is what you made me," he snarled.

You meant everything to me. Everything I wanted was revenge.

"Every man I killed before you, I saw your face on them. The Metaverse is gone. The Phantom Thieves granted you mercy."

And I won't.

He angled the blade and slashed it across Shido's eyes, shoving his hand over his mouth before he screamed. Goro set the tip of it against his throat, Shido's ruined eyes leaking pulpy tears over it. Broken, disgusting politician. He would've never stayed in office more than a few days.

I hope you burn.

Goro whipped Shido around so his back pressed against the bars, then grabbed the other end of the knife, tilted the flat side, and yanked it through Shido's skinny neck. A few seconds later, his rage pulling it effortlessly through muscle and bone, he heard the head thud against the ground. He couldn't see a thing through all the red. Goro was breathing too fast. He shook.

"Finally," he whispered. Goro slipped his eyes shut for a moment. Finally. What else was there to say?

-

Maybe it hadn't been the best idea to go to Jamestown on a bike, of all things, but whatever Lavenza needed wasn't his problem. He could do what he wanted, and it wasn't like she'd given him a deadline. Rookie mistake, Goro smirked, guiding the cycle with his knees instead of his hands. Rookie mistake.

All the same, soaring down the lonely road at sixty miles per hour felt pretty good. It'd been ages since he'd been biking again- well, ages since he'd done anything, stupid four month sleep.

He raised both hands in the air, wobbling for a moment before steadying. Goro smelled the ocean nearby and squinted to the left to see if he could find it. There- just a glimpse between trees, but the sheen was obvious. Nothing else reflected sunlight like that. If he wasn't planning on breaking Ren's nose when he got to Jamestown, Goro would've stopped and stolen a surfboard. Maybe he still remembered how to surf.

Goro checked his phone, holding onto the handlebars with his right hand. He'd been going the whole day, but it looked like he wasn't getting to Jamestown until tomorrow. And he wasn't going to be stupid and keep going in the dark, not unless he wanted to fall and break his skull. 

The road under him turned dark, neon graffiti covering it. Going as fast as he was, he couldn't read any of them, and when he tried, his head started spinning. He had to pull over for a minute, but when he could see clearly again, it was completely dark. The full moon shone over the sea.

Weird. Hadn't it been a full moon yesterday, too?

Goro was right about the full moon. His Persona's strength, unlike almost everyone else he'd seen, was linked to the moon's phases; strongest at full moon, weakest at new moon. He ended up with a pretty useless ability to know which nights would be the brightest. At least, he thought it was useless.

Something was off. Loki had taught him to trust his instincts, and his instincts were telling him something was very wrong with the picture.

Well, the Detective Prince part of him reasoned, it's possible that they look similar.

It was unlikely at best.

He frowned at the sky, which was a little too light to be real. Then Goro actually looked at where he'd parked his bike. The rice fields he should've been passing- he couldn't find any pictures of Jamestown other than the American one, so he'd used Google Earth- weren't there. Goro only saw black past his sandy spot and graffitied roads, but with some weird sheen. Then the wind kicked up, and he smelled salt and sand.

Ocean. Black, brackish water, from the stench.

He was pretty sure the ocean was farther back.

Was this the dark thing Lavenza was talking about? She had been pretty vague.

"Fine," Goro breathed, feeling for his phone. All signs pointed to this being the Metaverse, and he'd know exactly what the Palace was if he checked the app. He eagerly put in the password and flicked through his apps.

Nothing.

"Dammit," he hissed. The world was just determined to make this difficult, wasn't it? 

He leaned his bike against a tree and sat down, keeping an eye on the surrounding area. The last thing he needed was to be caught by surprise from a mere Shadow. How Ren would laugh if he knew.

He hated fools, and Joker was the greatest fool of them all. Not only had he apparently known that Goro was the Black Mask, he dared to smile at him. He'd actually flirted with the detective, who'd known that he was the Thieves' leader, and what was worse, Goro had flirted back. It felt harmless and it was a good source of information. If they weren't who they were, things would've turned out so much different. But Ren was still a Fool, and what was worse, he'd made Goro a Fool, too.

Goro slipped a shield over that small, dangerous section of his mind. He already knew how poisonous doubt could be. He'd spent nights screaming when the ghosts came for him in his dreams. Just before he slept, he thought about the people he'd killed and wondered about their family. Of course, he'd learned his lesson. It hadn't happened in months.

Now, he decided, checking the sky, was probably a good time to rest. It might be stupid, but he trusted his instincts to find the threat before he woke up. Goro walled off the rest of his mind and shut his eyes.

-

His eyes shot open and he was on his feet a moment before the ground pulsed. Like an actual heart. In a quick movement, he yanked out his gun and fired three times into the dirt. The sound ricocheted around the area, but the pulse had already settled. He blinked a few times. There was nothing there. He'd been woken up at... maybe three or four, from the moon... and now whatever Shadows were here knew where Goro was. This was going just great.

He and Lavenza were going to have a talk about sending people into things blind.

Goro closed his eyes and exhaled, knowing he wasn't getting anymore sleep.

"Have you lost your will?"

There you are.

Goro whipped around, unsheathing a short blade and searching the area. Nothing, not even footprints in the sand, which had to be wrong. The Shadows were never invisible, and they always made some kind of noise. Other than talking, which this one was pretty good at.

"Your Shadow feared for you."

His Shadow. Loki.

The chaos energy responded to his name. Pressure built in his chest, threatening to overwhelm him. Last time that happened, it knocked him out as much as the Shadows and left him defenseless for way too long, and that couldn't be allowed to happen.

He shoved his anger and pain in the black hole where they belonged. "You know nothing about me."

"I know all there is to know. You'd be wise to remember it."

"Then you know that I don't like talking to invisible beings." Beings was kinder than what he had in mind. From the way this Shadow was speaking, creature or wannabe god would be more accurate. Only powerful things could have such a big ego.

"I don't appreciate speaking to humans," the voice- definitely male- said. "Yet here we are."

"You're already talking to me," Goro told him. "Show yourself."

With a huff, the voice vanished.

He was just about to let the chaos energy blow up the surrounding area, but a whisper of wind made Goro turn around again. Standing in the middle of the road, floating an inch off the ground, was some sort of Shadow.

Weird one, too. Goro frowned at it. It was wrapped in a hooded cloak, so he couldn't really see much about it, and it carried a scythe in its left hand. Weird gold ticks marked his cloak. He would've assumed it was the grim reaper there to steal his soul and drag him to the hell he'd seen at Lavenza's Velvet Room, but it didn't seem to fit. The gold was strange, and on his cloak thingy, the marks were...

I know all there is to know, he'd said.

Time.

Those marks- they were roman numerals, arranged in a circle around the being's chest. A being that had a hold on time, paired with that ego... which mythological creature would that best fit?

He had it.

"Now since I have fulfilled your petty requirement, shall we begin?"

He was not going to be spoken to like a little kid. Not anymore. Not after he'd killed so many people. Goro wanted some answers. "What do you know about Loki, Kronos?"

If the Shadow knew he'd say that, he didn't show it. "Everything. I see everything there is to see. Every possible twist of fate, every action, every desire, every word left unspoken is open for me to read at my whim."

He was beginning to wonder if the Shadow just pretending to distract him. "Then you know he's dead. Whatever your problem is, it doesn't include me." Goro pushed aside the pain of that last statement and added, "No matter how much you talk pretty."

If he knows what'll happen, why does he wait for me to answer him?

"But," Goro continued. "I'm interested to know what you want from me." He tilted his head, gesturing for him to continue. He wasn't particularly good at it, only having to answer questions on television, but he needed to make sure this Shadow understood that it needed something from Goro, not the other way around.

"I believe you'll be wanting something from me, human." Before Goro could object, he held out the palm of his hand. "I do not weave the threads of time, but I do have power over which path time will travel."

In his hand, a glowing ball began to form. Good party trick, but not convincing. Not enough for him, at least.

"Something more powerful than I has been created, but I'm sure the Lady Lavenza has already told you such."

Lady Lavenza. He thought highly of her, and knew about the Velvet Room. Maybe it was common knowledge and he'd been kept in the dark?

"I wish to add a little... incentive... to your trip." The ball began to darken, black and red pooling into the transparent ball like blood. "You see, I hold the balance of lives, while others weave time. In-"

"Get to the point," he said flatly. He sensed Kronos's irritation, but Goro knew he wouldn't be killed. There'd be no point in coming here, and if he was telling the truth, dealing with a "petty human."

"I want to make a deal. Jamestown is near ruin, but such ruin would set off a devastating chain reaction, bringing the world down with it."

Sure. Sure it was. Goro knew lies when he heard them, and this was a flat-out lie. Kronos had probably just gotten bored and told him to save it because he felt like it.

"Your point?"

"It's in my best interest the world lives, as I'd have no more playthings to bet on-"

Ah. There it was. That sounded more truthful.

"-And now it's in your best interest."

"Are you going to threaten to kill me?" Goro choked. For being an almighty spirit, he was surprisingly stupid.

"You have little regard for your own life, and even less for the beings around you, with few exceptions."

Maybe he was a little less stupid than he'd thought. And what did Kronos mean, few exceptions? His heart was stone-cold. That wasn't going to change.

"If you do as I say, I'll bring your Persona back."

His voice stopped.

Bring Loki back?

Goro had been wrong. There was nothing he could want from Kronos... except for this. He would save Loki.

Would Loki want to be saved?

Loki, before he was his Persona, was a thief and a liar. Of course he'd want to be saved. What a foolish question from the Detective Prince.

"What about Ibuki Akechi?" Goro dared to ask.

Kronos shook his hooded head. "She was taken by the God of Control. She is beyond my power."

Goro expected the wave of anguish that hit him, but he closed his mind off to it. Be it Shadow or god in front of him, he couldn't afford to look weak. Even if he couldn't bring his mother back, there was still one other being he could save.

"I accept," he said. "What do I have to do?"

Yellow, fanged teeth glinted from under the hood. He swore he saw human flesh between said teeth. "We shall form our contract when you find your will."

His will. That was the first thing Kronos mentioned. "You mean the rebellion thing?"

A touch of irritation in his voice. The first hint at a weakness so far. Goro made note of it. "The 'rebellion thing,' as you call it, is essential to your Persona. Even if I were to bring Loki back to you, it would be near impossible for him to stay. With your goal accomplished, you have little idea of what to do."

"And you do?" he snarled. The thin sheet pinning down his emotions blew sky high, and chaos energy swirled around him. Goro's vision pulsed red.

No, no, no...

"I, at least, have full control of my power."

He had a point. An irritating point, but a point. Goro dug his nails into his palm, drawing blood, but the red mist receded. For now.

"So I'm normal now," he bit out. "A normal human. With... nothing."

"As normal as a borderline sane human can be. Now find the Wolf. The rest will play out... in most futures."

He raised his eyebrow.

"Exactly half the futures." Kronos glanced warily up at the sky, which a cloud passed over. "Your first test has arrived. Goodbye for now, human."

Goro lunged at him, but he vanished in a flash. "What the hell do you mean by test?" he raged to the empty air. Red light curled around his clenched fist, and he cursed himself for losing control. The chaos energy was dangerous, and he wasn't supposed to use it on his own. Mostly because he had enough trouble controlling his own emotions, and the stupid mist fed on his unchecked emotions and, well, chaos.

He gritted his teeth as a loud whistling noise echoed above him. Great. Now the Shadows would come. He unsheathed a shortsword, a custom order at a weapons dealer. They hadn't appeared yet.

Maybe they were invisible.

The whistling sound got even louder, and Goro, wishing he'd left Shibuya in the other direction, glared up at the sky.

The cloud, the one that passed over the full moon, was hurtling down at top speed. He stared dumbly up at it before realizing that it wasn't a cloud at all. It was a hurtling mass of something dark that looked suspiciously like a hairball.

He hoped it wasn't a hairball.

Goro jumped out of the way just before the hairball crashed into the graffitied pavement with enough force to squash him, his bike, and a brick wall.

He edged forward, replacing the sword with a gun. It'd be more effective, if it was an enemy. Hairballs weren't known to be anything other than nasty.

Goro squinted at the dark ball, which looked surprisingly feathery in its crater. How had it even made a crater? In the Metaverse, the ruler of the Palace had to see something happen for it to affect their world, but that graffitied pavement was definitely broken. Goro picked his way down and nudged the feathers with his toe.

It went straight through.

What the hell?

Shadows weren't intangible!

As if in response to the motion, the feathers trembled a bit, then the mass at the top began to uncurl. Goro saw the shine of metal between the black wings, which looked a bit like chains. They clanked as the wings settled on the ground, to reveal Arsene sprawled on the ground.

Arsene?

He looked like shit. Then again, he'd crash-landed from somewhere in the sky, so that wasn't exactly a surprise. Chains- yeah, those were definitely chains- wrapped around the wings, pinning them down. His ankles were chained together, but his hands were free. Not like he could do much other than cast Curse attacks with his arms unchained, but that was Arsene's problem. Blue stuff matted his wings. Blood, maybe?

Arsene lifted his head, and Goro jumped back, almost twisting his ankle on a large piece of concrete. The demon mask's eyes widened, and the Persona jumped to his feet, Eigeon burning in his right hand.

"How-" he gasped out. "Ake-"

Just as fast, the Curse energy flickered out. He stumbled a few steps, looking dazed, before crumpling and hitting his head on the concrete. His head bounced a little.

Saw that one coming.

Goro poked his wings again, finger going right through the feathers. Arsene didn't even twitch. The Persona could affect his surroundings, but not Goro? Sure. That just meant he couldn't kill him with a blade, and since he didn't have a Persona anymore- Goro winced, thinking of Loki- he was pretty sure all he could do was wait.

Or, he could use the chaos energy without Loki, running the risk of killing himself to make Arsene go insane. Which would probably do more to him than to Arsene or Ren.

He sat down next to Arsene's chains and leaned against the concrete.

This was going to be his whole night, wasn't it?

---

Things are finally getting a little more interesting! Okay, so I actually have some things planned for this, and obviously, since you guys probably already figured out we're adding another "palace" to the endgame, this chapter's actually important. I'm honestly doing my best to keep this more concise than usual, trying to make sure all the information you guys need is in here, so I'm writing like two, three chapters ahead. Don't worry, I have plans for ALL the characters I've introduced.

MORGANA, I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER IN MY PERSONAL HELL FOR MAKING ME SLEEP!

*ahem*

In any case, feel free to drop a comment about any way I can improve on my writing- especially switching between perspectives. I learned with practice and also roleplaying, so its not exactly ideal. Also, please comment anything you want. I think I'll put up a poll for ideas, I'll put it here:

Which Thief should I kill off?

Should I kill a- oh wait, I've answered this.

Should I kill Lavenza?

Again , nothing's concrete.

By the way, to my ghost readers- if you don't know what that is, it's the people who read through, no comments, but just for enjoyment- thank you so much for reading. Believe it or not, it really makes me feel better. I'm a beyblade writer, so going into a new fandom and gaining support's difficult. One read makes the difference.

And to the people who comment, thank you. I love hearing what parts to enjoy, and I start making conscious efforts to put more of that in- when appropriate, of course. 

Anyways, I'm doing my best for pace, sorry if it's not good. I'm no professional.

Thank you for reading! 

Word count: 3861

Robin out!