The sound of footsteps broke the all-consuming silence and he saw a figure almost detach itself from the shadows. He supposed he had finally cracked since only god knew how long had passed since he'd broken up in the tiny, isolated cell. It could have been weeks, months, or even years for all he knew. However long it had been, he was surprised it'd taken this long for him to start hallucinating about Akira.

He just turned his head away and closed his eyes. "Goro, if you think I'm going to leave you here, you're sorely mistaken." The sound of the cell door shaking made him jump since he'd spent so long in silence and he shrank away from the harsh noise. He tucked against the walls, knees pulled to his chest. This…was quite the vivid hallucination…

The hallucination's expression softened and pulled off its glove, holding its hand in a way that made Goro's beart twist. It was one Akira and Sae had used when they wanted to pat his head. His mind truly was an awful thing…

"Goro… I know trusting is hard for you, but… Will you trust me long enough to come here?" The hallucination's voice dropped to a barely audible level and he looked away. He wished he could believe it was Akira, but he knew better.

Heavy silence clung for several moments as Goro refused to respond, wishing the ghost away. "...You disappeared before ending up here, right?"

His head snapped up, eyes wide and round. Hallucination or not, that seemed too oddly specific, then again, he couldn't she he understood the first thing about them so…

The figure removed its arm from the cell and stepped back, manifesting a Persona Goro had never seen with Akira before but…

He sensed the Arcana shift over to Lovers.

He doubted his mind was capable of replicating the bizarre resonance that came with sensing an Arcana shift…especially what had once been his secondary Arcana.

"Are… Are you really…?" Goro could barely manage a whisper with how hoarse his voice was from disuse.

The mask manifested itself again and Akira nodded, putting his arm through the bars again, hand extended outward. "If you still don't believe it, come over here." His voice remained gentle and and Goro hesitantly stood up, leaning against the wall for support.

Goro closed his eyes and leaned into the warm, gentle touch. No, there was no way this could be a product of his mind even in the Metaverse… He knew the gesture and Akira's gentleness too well by now to be fooled by some imitation caused by a cognitive double. He knew how they worked by now.

This wasn't how he saw Akira.

This was Akira.

Tears rolled down his cheeks, but he pulled back, returning to his spot on the bed.

"Goro…" Akira's voice cracked and Goro looked away.

"Just leave me here, Kurusu… We both know this is for the best." He pulled his knees to his chest, resting his forehead against them so he wouldn't have to see his physical reactions. Cutting off one's view from what was truly in front of them was easier than dealing with reality.

"...Goro, you know as well as I do the change you've undergone." The former detective just remained silence. He'd lost his Justice Arcana due to not having anything to do look at anymore. All he'd had since his disappearance was the silence and far too much time to think. Lovers had overtaken Justice and all he could wonder is if this was the change the Lovers spoke of.

"What's the ultimate lesson of the Lovers Arcana?" Despite Akira's even tone, even the unflappable Fool couldn't hide his emotions totally. His short, gasping breaths rang off the silent walls, betraying the fact he was crying. Goro just curled tighter, wishing Akira would just go away.

But he knew it wouldn't happen.

"...Thinking about your decisions and their consequences as well as formulating your own moral system. Unlike the decisions of the fool, there is a right decision and wrong one.

"I know what I ultimately chose was wrong. I knew from the very beginning." Why was he bringing this up? Well, he knew why and, far too late, he'd realised he'd played right into Akira's hands again.

"Don't forget that, upright, ti also signals something that appears negative will ultimately be a blessing…" Akira's voice wavered and Goro could sense the fragility behind it. He was beyond desperate to get him out of the cell, but he was beginning to doubt himself and his abilities. If Goro could hang on for just a little bit longer, maybe he could get Akira to leave him there for the rest of eternity.

The Lovers also spoke of feelings—platonic or romantic—not being entirely mutual.

"Goro… Please… I know you think you deserve this but… None of us hate you. Not Ann. Not Ryuji. Not Yusuke… Not even Haru or even Futaba…" Akira's voice wavered more and Goro peeked up a bit.

Akira's mask lay at his knees, hands balled around his pants. Tears dripped to the ground. He truly was at the breaking point.

"...I understand what you're trying to—"

"It's true, Goro-kun; I don't hate you for what you did. Honestly, I forgave you some time ago." Both boys' heads snapped over when a familiar voice cut through the darkness.

Haru.

Goro tucked back into a ball when he heard more footsteps from the darkness.

"Look, I can't say I forgive you for killing my mother quite yet—" Futaba's words made him press against the wall more. "—but I understand why you did it. None of us hate you."

"Yeah! Futaba's right. I know what it's like to have a shitty-ass dad that beats ya for doin' something he doesn't like." He had known Ryuji had been abused too but…

"You're likely the biggest victim of us all. How can we hate someone that's just a scared kid when it comes down to it?" Ann's surprisingly gentle tone made him grab his ankles as he started shaking.

Why were they acting like this? How could they accept him so easily? He had the blood of countless on his hands. He was nothing but a monster, a piece of trash that deserved to rot in this godforsaken prison cell until time ended.

"Akechi-kun." Makoto's voice made him look back up and the soft smile reminded him so much of Sae's. A knot formed in his throat as she removed her mask.

"I've known you for close to three years at this point. All of us have seen your true colors. Like Ann said, you're a scared kid. Sis and I know that better than anyone, so why hide it now of all times? You just wanted love and approval from the one blood relative you had remaining. Yes, you committed some horrible crimes, but you were scared and saying no would have meant your death. The world is honestly worse off without you than with you. …I know my sister would certainly agree to that."

The dam broke and Goro's chest heaved before the tears spilled down his face. He'd thought about Sae so many times while down here. He'd missed their occasional banter, her treating him to dinner when they both had to work late, the couple of movie nights she'd invited him to, the lunches she'd brought for him…

He blinked and looked up when he felt arms around him. Makoto held him close and he felt Akira's hand on his shoulder as the rest of the Phantom Thieves crowded his cell.

He really was the fool for believing he'd never leave it.

THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP PREVAILS! Also with Makoto talking him down instead of Akira.

If anybody's wondering why I didn't give Yusuke anything to say, it's because I don't know him very well and had no idea of what to have him say in this context.

You can take whatever shipping implications out of this you want aside from Goro/Sae because that is creepy. His reflections on his closeness with Sae are based on my fic, Judgment, where she fusses over him like a little brother.

Anyway, time for the full explanation behind this scenario.

I wrote this on a lark when I thought about what would happen if Goro ended up in the depths of the Velvet Room after his "death." I know the PTs disappearing was a result of the Metaverse and the real world collapsing together and them being erased from the public's collective consciousness.

If Goro really is dead, I honestly kind of theorise why nobody mentions him again is because of a similar reason. He was killed in the Metaverse, so people forgot about him aside from maybe a handful of people that were close to him (ie the PTs and Sae for my world).

This plays with a combination of that theory as well as Ryuji being ejected from the Metaverse when he "died."

Basically what happened was Goro was more or less killed by his cognitive double, but since it wasn't his Shadow that was killed, he didn't actually die. He was ejected from the Metaverse, but since the collective public forgot about him, he ended up in the deepest depths of the Velvet Room.

...This makes perfect sense in my head, but trying to actually convey it is a nightmare and a half.

I know it raises hella plotholes, but keep in mind this was just something I wrote for fun on a whim without too much thought to the consequences.

Also, the PTs took care of Shido's Palace as promptly as possible which is how long Goro's been in there. I don't know the exact dates for when that would happen so somebody better versed in the full in-game calendar can figure that out.

All relevant Arcana information was pulled from . And, yes, I do legitimately headcanon Lovers as his secondary Arcana for the reasons discussed. It's just hard to convey all of that without psychoanalysing how my Goro acts for like 2500+ words.