Disclaimer: I own nothing.
"So then were all caught up, right?" Iwai asked. "You turned yourself in and got out in February."
"No. Something happened after that. Something that only the Phantom Thieves and Doctor Maruki know about."
"What are you talking about?" Sojiro asked. "I thought I was in on all of your dirt."
Ren shook his head. "Sorry Boss, not this."
"After Sae asked me to turn myself in, an unexpected guest showed up. Said he would turn himself in instead. Akechi."
"What?!" Ohya cried. "But you said he was dead?"
"I did. And he was…"
"What's that supposed to mean?" The journalist demanded.
"Doctor Maruki?"
"Yes, of course." He said, standing up from his seat. "You see, on the same day that the Phantom Thieves fought the God of Control, I had awakened to my Persona. The God of Control's death led to me inheriting its power. The power of actualization. In the past, my fiance had been attacked, and her parents murdered. I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't save her…" Maruki felt a hand grasp his shoulder. He turned to Ren and gave a quick smile and nod. "One day, before all this happened, I visited her in the hospital. Somehow I ended up changing reality as she saw it. She never witnessed her parents' murder and as such, never suffered from post traumatic stress. She thought her parents had died when she was a child and that she lived with her grandparents since. None of it was true, but to her it was. Of course though, changing her memories so radically had some side effects. Namely, I was a stranger to her."
The Phantom Thieves withdrew their eyes from Maruki as he told his story, remembering the scene of Rumi breaking down at the mention of her family's death. They were surprised at how well he was holding up though, despite the pain they were sure he was going through. "This was all before I fully awakened to my persona, mind you. But when I did, and when Yaldabaoth's power was given to me, I was capable of so much more than changing a person's memories. I was capable of changing reality itself. And that's exactly what I did."
"You changed reality?" Kawakami asked, completely stunned by the actions of her former co-worker. "That's… Insane!"
Maruki let out a somber chuckle. "I'm afraid I have to agree." He replied. "I gave each of the Phantom Thieves the lives that they desired. The one's they deserved. I returned Futaba's mother to life. I made it so that Sakamato-kun's leg was never broken. I gave them everything they ever wanted. And yet, Amamiya-kun saw straight through it. Along with Goro Akechi, whom I also brought back to life."
"Why would you bring that murderer back to life?! He tried to kill my son!" Masato yelled, slamming his fist on the table as he stood up.
"I believe you should ask your son about that." He said, stepping aside so that Ren could speak.
"Dad, Akechi was brought back because I wanted him back. As evil as he was, he meant a lot to not just me, but all of us. He may have been a criminal, but he was a victim too. He suffered his fair shair of injustice."
"He tried to kill you!"
"I don't care." He said, his tone completely rock steady. "Akechi was a friend and rival. And I won't apologize for caring about him or how he died. Now sit back down. We're not done with this story."
Ren had never once spoken to either of his parents like that. Masato very nearly rushed over to slap the boy across the face, but was held back by his wife's hand who simply pulled him back into his seat. "Doctor Maruki, you can continue now."
"Thank you, Amamiya-kun." He said, taking back the floor. "As I was saying, I began to change reality itself in an endeavor to eliminate all forms of suffering. I made it so that people who would never achieve their dreams would abandon those dreams and do something else with their lives. I made it so that if someone saw their friend being attacked to run in the other direction so that they would avoid being hurt by someone else. I made a reality where people were not allowed to spread their wings and fly. I made a world that left no room for people desiring to take leaps of faith. At least, that was the end goal. Changing the world isn't something that can be done by the snap of your fingers. I had to change things over time. But Amamiya-kun, Yoshizawa-san, and Akechi-kun tried to stop me by infiltrating my palace. I stopped them after I made Yoshizawa-san relive the moment her sister died in front of her. A mistake that I wholeheartedly regret."
Sumire visibly shuttered as she recalled the memory of Kasumi's death and how horrible she fealt in the aftermath. "Doctor Maruki, I don't blame you for what you did. I should have been strong enough to know that assuming Kasumi's identity wouldn't help me in the slightest."
"Assuming her identity? What's that supposed to mean?" Shinya questioned.
"I was Yoshizawa-san's therapist after the incident. I ended up making her believe that she was her dead sister in order to deal with the guilt. What's worse, I hadn't used the power of actualization to do any of that. I convinced her of it through my own twisted reasoning." He turned to Sumire and bowed. "This is long overdue, but I hope you can forgive me, Yoshizawa-san."
Sumire shook her head feverishly. "No, Doctor Maruki, please. It's not necessary."
"I'm afraid that it is. I did something unforgivable. Several things in fact."
Ren chopped his hand down on Maruki's head. "Enough of this self-loathing."
"Ow!" He cried, holding his head as he stood upright. "Amamiya-kun?"
"You weren't in your right mind. More than that, you had good intentions. No one here hates you for anything you've done."
"He's right." Ryuji yelled out. "I'd be lying if I said that other reality wasn't sweet and all, but when it comes down to it, all the pain I went through led me to becoming a Phantom Thief and makin' all these friends."
"Yeah! Plus, you gave me a chance to see my mom again." Futaba added. "Sure, I lost her again, but being able to see her again gave me some more closure.
"Seeing Shiho happy again, not having what happened hanging over her… It was a dream come true. I'm glad I got to see what that looked like. Even if it was for just a little while."
"I must agree with my compatriots." Yusuke nodded. "You're reality, wrong as it was, gave us a feeling of bliss that, no matter how temporary, left us with a warmth inside our hearts."
Maruki was truly surprised at the support the Phantom Thieves were giving him, despite his crimes against them. "Do you feel the same, Amamiya-kun?" He asked, turning to their leader.
Ren stroked his chin in thought for a moment. "I mean, it wasn't bad…"
"W-wait, that's it? Your life was the first one I changed. I was meticulous about ensuring Akechi's survival and making it so that you and your friends stayed together. What did I do wrong?" He begged.
"Well… I wouldn't have minded having a girlfriend." He deadpanned.
Kimiko, on instinct, smacked her husband with a rolled up magazine. "Gah! Why me?!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, honey. Force of habit."
Maruki couldn't help but chuckle at Ren's suggestion. "You know, there's actually a funny reason for that."
"Really?" He asked.
Without warning, Maruki was filled with a sense of looming death hanging over him as every single woman in Leblanc, aside from Ren's mother, glared at him with an unyielding rage, though Haru was the most terrifying of the lot. "I-I simply observed that you, uh, weren't ready for a relationship. Yeah, that's it." He said as convincingly as he could muster.
"No kidding?" Ren replied, completely oblivious to Maruki's apparent cold sweat. "Who would have guessed. Anyway, we should continue."
"Yes, lets." He said, still feeling the daggers in his back. "Following Yoshizawa's post traumatic episode, I abducted her and allowed Akechi-kun and Amamiya-kun to escape. They returned some days later to rescue her along with the unexpected backup of the Phantom Thieves. After that, I gave them until February third to make a decision. Stay within my reality, happy and without suffering, or attempt to steal my heart and return everything to how it was. I'm sure you can all deduce that they stole my heart successfully."
Every single person who took part in the meeting hosted by the Phantom Thieves were shocked beyond belief by everything they had heard and were bustling with questions. Ohya more than anyone, though she often complained about her frustration with being unable to write about any of it despite it being the story of the millennium. For nearly half an hour, the Phantom Thieves continued to answer questions that Ren's confidants had tucked away during the explanation of their activities. Each and every single one of them left Leblanc with a headache and newly formed view of the world.
Ren's parent's never moved from their booth, simply discussing the night's events with one another and how unbelievable it all was. Once the last of his non-Phantom Thief affiliates had left, Ren took a seat across from his parents. "I'm sorry." He started out. "This is something I should have told both of you about sooner. I was scared how you'd react, but I should have had faith that you would trust me."
Masato's mouth hung open as he tried to form a response. "I… I don't even know what to say." He finally settled on. "Knowing how much danger you were in is… mortifying to say the least…"
"But?" Ren hopefully offered.
"But… I'm proud of everything you did for this country and the rest of the world."
"And you mom?"
Kimiko had much of the same reaction as her husband, her mouth hanging open as she gathered her thoughts. "I'm proud of you too. I'm never letting you out of my sight after this, but I am proud of you.
The three shared a laugh together for a short while before Ren recalled what he had planned with Futaba. His expression grew somewhat darker as his hair hung over his eyes. "Mom, Dad, I'm sorry, but I need both of you to go back to the hotel without me. There's one more thing I need to do tonight and it strictly involves the Phantom Thieves."
His mother was taken slightly aback. She looked at him with a concerned and irritated expression. "Did you not hear me?"
"I did." He replied. "But that doesn't change anything. I don't-" Ren choked on his words for a moment. "I don't want you to see me if this doesn't go the way I'm hoping."
"What is it you're planning on doing?" His father asked.
"You'll probably see it when you get back into Shibuya. It'll be pretty noticeable."
"You're not going back into this… metaverse or whatever it is, right?"
"No. This is strictly real world Phantom Thief business."
Both Kimiko and Masato looked at each other with unsure eyes but ultimately decided to trust their son. Giving him their love, they left him in Leblanc with the rest of his friends.
As soon as the door to the coffee shop closed, Futaba brought out her laptop and got to work. "Futaba Cannon 2.0, activate!" She cried.
"Woah, woah, woah, what's goin' on?"
Ren let out a heavy sigh, unsure of how he managed to keep this secret to himself for so long. "Long story short, I think Akechi might be alive."
Futaba turned her laptop around to show live feed of the advertisement and news screens in Shibuya showing a red mask with a pointed nose, the words 'We're waiting for you, Crow' trailing across the screen."