Sorry for the delay! And thank you all for the kind review!

I update this on a very short notice so I apologize for not replying to the review this time! I will on the next one!

Also A/N out back. Watch out for it!

NOTE: APOLOGIZE FOR ANY TYPO IN ADVANCE. SELF-PROOFREAD IS MUCH HARDER THAN YOU THINK, AND TRUST ME, I TRIED

To Take Back What Was Stolen

Mochizuki is quiet, his eyes searching, judging their every action, scrutinizing their every move.

"Anyway," Ren begins, trying to ease their shoulders for a bit. Narukami Yu is tall, and he has that aura of a leader, of a kingpin, with him (Raoul laughs at this, and he faintly wonders why) while the other one, Shirogane Naoto, looks much like how Goro is – calm, calculating, careful. He coughs again. "Thank you for coming here. It's a pleasure making your acquaintances, Shirogane-san, Narukami-san. How are the rest of your team? Risette, for instance?"

Narukami stiffens slightly at that, but he soon relaxes and gives out a small smile, the cup of coffee forgotten between his palms. "You did your research, I see. I'll be blunt, then – are you—"

"—your enemies? It depends on your answers," Goro says. Ren subtly kicks his shin, but the boy pulls his leg back in time. He sees Narukami frowns, and Shirogane's hand going deeper into her purse. He tenses, but Goro just pats his knee lightly, so he relaxes back and takes a careful sip. "We have proofs that your name is on their list, Shirogane-san. Here."

At this, Goro pushes the folder over to the two of them, of the information Futaba's dug up from god knows where with her unearthly skills. And the looks on both of their faces turn from confusion to genuine awe, mixed with concern, as they should. A moment, and Narukami speaks up. "…I see. Thank you for bringing this up to us."

"Our pleasure," Ren says with a small nod. "We might have to do something about that, or you may be in danger. But before that – we need to find him. Yuuki Makoto."

Narukami blinks. "…That's exactly the same name Margaret said."

"The Velvet Room attendant, I presume?" Ren says.

There is one long, near-infinite pause where Shirogane just gapes at him, Mochizuki alternating glances between him and Narukami, and Goro sighing and muttering here we go again under his breath. Then, the man nods slowly. "…I see. So you are a fellow Wild Card."

"One and only," Ren says with a small smile, and he's glad to see that he's played the right card – Narukami is more relaxed at the mention of the Velvet Room. "Although, I hope the Kirijou Group and Kirijou Mitsuru doesn't know about any of this? At least, not through a phone call?"

Shirogane scowls slightly before shaking her head. "They do not. I'm afraid these people might have their fangs and claws much deeper into the group's network than we thought. They know about the Shadow Operatives – even if it's only on the surface – Shadows and Personas. And if they have my name – then there is a chance they might know about every Investigation Team's member, too."

"We'll deal with that," Ren offers. "We have a hacker – a godly one – on our side. I'll see what I can do. But if they have physical copies, then that would be impossible. So… I asked you here for one reason. Help us find that person – he's this guy's friend, after all."

"That's what we planned to do from the beginning," Narukami says, crossing his arms and leaning back against the seat, his eyes shifting between the three of them. He then sighs. "…I suppose we should start by sharing information. But before that – your friend, huh? Does Yuuki Makoto have a connection with Kirijou Mitsuru?"

At this, Mochizuki smiles solemnly and nods. "Yes. It's a long story, so please do make yourself at home. But promise me you'll tell us everything – as I am about to do now."

"We promise," the two say simultaneously.

Mochizuki starts his tale, shortening and omitting and cutting out parts unnecessary – they are all short on time, and the faster they can work with this, the better – and Ren could see both recognition and sadness in Narukami's eyes. From what Lavenza told him, the man is at least an acquaintance with Kirijou Mitsuru, so this tale might've explained something he's seen. And when Mochizuki finishes, they let silence fill the air for a while before Narukami starts his own side of the story.

As it turns out, those people might be hunting for Persona Users. But since most of them look ordinary, feel ordinary, there is no sure way to determine who is one. His show with the Phantom Thieves might've drawn attentions to him, but Futaba has been doing a spectacular job at hiding his and everyone's, including Goro's, tracks, so the possibility of them being found is significantly lowered.

…And man, the tales about the whole red fog, Arena inside the TV world, and two other gods? The world really is a fucking circus. Not to mention two more Wild Cards? Shiomi Kotone and Aigis?

"Anyways, that's all we know," Ren murmurs, cleaning out his cup with a long gulp before patting Morgana's head lightly, the feline's eyes careful around the two still. "Thing is, Futaba finds lots of places the so-called Suppressors were sent to, all across Japan, but we're not sure which one would be where he's held at."

"I've managed to secure a few places," Shirogane says as she pulls out her phone. "While investigating about these people, I came across records of missing people in their documents."

Ren frowns. "Kidnapping?"

"Most likely," Narukami says. "We don't know for sure, but if they're really hunting Persona Users, I don't see this as something surprising. What strikes me odd is why are all the Shadow Operatives left untouched."

"One theory is that the Shadow Operative members can summon their Personas into the real world, most with little aid. They won't be completely defenseless, not to mention that if one of them disappears, there is no lengths Kirijou-san will not go to find them," The woman says, her eyes glancing towards Mochizuki. "I will have to be blunt, Mochizuki-kun. There are so many things in your stories I simply cannot trust, but I can't just ask Kirijou-san any of this, either."

"I understand," he hums quietly. "But I assure you, my one and only priority right now is to rescue him. I will not risk the chance by lying about something like this, something so inconsequential."

"Shirogane," Narukami nudges his companion lightly before holding up a hand. "Sorry about that. It's in her nature."

Mochizuki shakes his head. "I'd be disappointed if I'm trusted so thoroughly after but a few minutes. Which makes me curious — why are you trusting me?"

"Because Izanagi trusts you," Narukami smiles. And it occurs to Ren that Raoul (who was Arsene back then) had done the same thing, reassuring him through smokes and flames, too. "He is a part of me as much as I am a part of him. I do trust myself, so if he says that you are trustworthy, then I don't see why not."

Mochizuki blinks numbly a few times before sighing into his hand, with Shirogane and Goro looking at their respective Wild Cards with resignation. Ren is about to ask why they're looking like that when Death answers his unspoken inquiry in an exasperated sigh. "I think Wild Cards all have some screws loose in their heads, seriously."

"Hey, that stings!" Ren protests.

"I do agree with him, though," Goro says.

Shirogane giggles a little, "I do have to agree with you on this, Mochizuki-kun. No sane person would trust a stranger so easily like you would, Narukami-senpai."

"Shirogane, you wound me!" Narukami exclaims with all the hurt that screams sarcasm. Ren laughs lightly at that. The older man then clears his throat. "But, back to the topic at hand. I do trust you and your story. And now that we're all here – you said your hacker found locations the Suppressors were sent to, right?"

Shirogane pulls out a USB and slides it over to him. "Try cross-matching those locations with these. There might be more than one match, but it'll give us our targets."

"…Do you know when these people were, hm, shipped to those places?" Goro asks, a little pensive, his nose scrunched up slightly. Ren shivers – he has briefly forgotten that those missing people are probably faced with the same thing Yuuki currently is; human experimentation.

"Not the exact date, no, but I do have some estimates attached within the files," Shirogane answers.

"That's better than nothing," Ren hums. "Futaba, you want me to plug it into my phone or something?"

At this, the two older Persona Users look strangely at them, only to both raise their eyebrows upon Futaba's voice ringing through the bug he had hidden in his collar. "Yeah, since I can access your phone just fine. And oh! I am the hacker, by the way."

"It's… nice making your acquaintance?" Narukami says, his lips curling up into a small, amused smile. "I suppose I don't have to re-introduce myself, do I?"

"You don't. We've already known about you since before the meeting anyway," Futaba chirps as Ren pulls out the extension plugs and proceeds to connect the small USB drive with his device. Then, he lets Futaba do her magic trick. "I am Alibaba, by the way. Or Futaba. Whichever you prefer, you're probably not going to see much of me."

"She's a shy one," Ren murmurs amusedly, covering the hidden mic with his hand to stop her protest from getting out. "Anyways, thanks for the help—"

"You're not going to cut us out of this, are you?"

Narukami's voice is absolute, his eyes a little commanding. Ren feels cold to the bone, and he could hear Goro gulping beside him. Mochizuki, however, is making a oh-oh sound, leaning in with curiosity and half-glee in his eyes. He seems to take a liking to this person. Ren takes a deep breath before murmuring. "I… didn't mean to. He is Mochizuki's friend, and this is probably a little dangerous and personal—"

"It feels wrong to not help a person in need. You should know this, Amamiya," Narukami says, a hand under his chin. He then drops the intimidating act and smiles warmly. "I'd understand if you don't want help, but I want to. We want to. A kid being kidnapped and possibly experimented upon is a gut-turning thought, and my team has already agreed that we want to see this through until the end."

"A Wild Card is a Wild Card, indeed."

That is not any of their voices.

He blinks, and sees a woman with hair and eyes the same color as that of Lavenza's, dress deep blue like the evening sky. He vaguely remembers this person—

"Elizabeth-san!?" He, Narukami and Mochizuki say simultaneously. It's strange enough for her to butt into their conversation unannounced, but she's carrying that dusty old tome much larger than what Lavenza had, not to mention that she has already made herself at home by shooing Narukami further in before sitting beside the man. Ren hears Narukami adds. "What—Why are you—"

"Oh! The air smells nice," she practically ignores them all and takes a whiff. Ren looks to Mochizuki, who only shrugs and mouths I don't know either back at him. Before he could stop her, the woman bolts up and walks over to look around. "And this place! It must be where people come to relax and drink the so-called coffee! Is this perhaps a café?"

"Ye…s…?" Narukami says reluctantly, halfway standing up from the seat. "Elizabeth-san—"

"Ah! My apologies, I must've side-tracked myself," she laughs, bowing at Shirogane and Goro, who looks so lost that Ren couldn't help but feel sorry for them. He just shrugs at Goro as Elizabeth continues. "I am Elizabeth. A friend, of a kind."

"I'm… glad to see you well, Elizabeth-san," Mochizuki says quietly, frowning. "Why are you—"

"I'm here to inform you about the certain timing – or rather, the time you'd have the best chance to rescue Makoto-san from whoever they are that had taken him under their custody," Elizabeth says, all the light, air-headedness suddenly replaced by seriousness that makes Ren jump under his skin.

"Timing?" Narukami asks.

"There is something wrong happening in the world," Elizabeth says with a small nod. "I cannot inform you of these changes, Yu-san, Naoto-san. This is the Journey that these people will have to undertake by themselves."

Narukami makes a small ah at this, and he nods, giving Ren a subtle smile.

She must've meant Maruki's meddling. The date is in two days – that means their timing would be as tight as it could've gotten. Goro seems to think the same, his brows knotted together, his lips pressed into a thin line. A tense silence, and then Elizabeth continues. "I have to inform you that, once the fight is over, probably on February 3rd – that will be the time when the Metaverse and the real world split apart, but not before the merging gets significantly stronger. It will be your only chance of securing Makoto-san from them, whoever they are."

It doesn't take long for it to click, and Ren says what he manages to figure out under his breath, the air feeling suddenly so unbearably cold. "We can use Personas in the real world then."

"Yes," she confirms. "I will help. I cannot use my powers freely here, but during that short window of time, I will be able to aid you. I've heard that you have narrowed down his possible whereabouts, yes?"

"We have," Goro says. "Why?"

"I think I can use my power to help determine where he is, if I don't have to look at too many places at once," she says with a slight bow. "But after that, I'm afraid you are on your own, because even with the two worlds merging just so, using my powers to look for him with as big a radius as Japan itself will possibly hinder my movements."

"That should be enough, since it means we don't have to check every possible place by ourselves," Narukami says. "…I have a lot of questions, but I'll save that for later. How long do we have?"

"After the fight is over?" Elizabeth says, her smile faltering just minutely.

A pause, and the next words make their deadline that much tighter.

"Two hours, at most."

February 2rd, 2017 [Thursday]

So much new information to chew on, too little time to think.

Both Ren and Narukami decide to quickly contact their own teams to get ready. He'll have to fight against Maruki first, and after the Palace collapses, whoever can move best, and only the best of them, will have to do. Narukami's friends couldn't be here in time due to various life circumstances, but their help alone is already appreciated. There is hope, but that hope is so thin and frail that he's afraid it would snap with just a wrongly-placed breath upon its thin thread.

Mochizuki takes this better than he thought the boy would, and at the same time, his focus has been much sharper than it used to be – which is saying something, considering that he's one of the most task-focused people he's ever met – and now, the only thing stopping the boy from rescuing his light is the date that Maruki had set upon them.

The cross-matching search has proven quite useful, but the sheer distances between each location proves to be disheartening all on its own; they found four places that appear in both the documents Shirogane mentioned and the one that Futaba found. And when Ren told Elizabeth this (through Lavenza, all within the span of an hour), the attendant confirmed his fear – that he's going to be limited with the people he has in hands, since those places are each located in the different parts of Japan altogether.

After ten straight hours of brainstorming, they all agree that Mochizuki will be the one to use his Persona self – Thanatos – to carry them. If the displacement of the real world from the Mementos would give them momentary boosts, then it would be in their best bet to use the person who's connected most deeply to the Metaverse to traverse whatever distances there are between them and their destination. And with the four places in different regions entirely – Elizabeth really has her work cut out for her.

And the locations are located so far away from Tokyo that Ren fears mere two hours wouldn't be enough time for them to even locate Yuuki to begin with, but it's their only hope, and he doubts this will dissuade Mochizuki from running head-first down the maws of the abyss, either. He glances at his phone and recites the four locations in his head; Hokkaido, Miyagi, Kochi and Nagasaki, of all the places, with as much precision in the information as a baby's hand drawings. All at the four corners of Japan, hundreds of kilometers separating them, each with at least a few dozen kilometers of radius to cover. He shudders to think what would happen, should Elizabeth not able to pinpoint Yuuki's location in time.

But right now, he has to focus; after he's said goodbye to Narukami, who goes on ahead to ready himself and Shirogane for the battle to come, he's left sitting on the coffee table with Morgana in his lap and Goro by his side, Mochizuki occupying himself upstairs ("I might end up doing something I'll regret later, so I'll leave Maruki-san to you" "What the hell do you mean, something you'll regret later?"), avoiding any confrontations altogether. His skin is itching like never before, and he decides to instead repeatedly stomp his foot in order to push the feeling away from his head.

"Why are you nervous, Ren?" Goro says, patting his knee lightly. Ren blinks, glancing towards his own slightly trembling hands. "Do you think the chance of us succeeding in rescuing Yuuki-san is low?"

"…Yeah," he sighs, finally allowing himself to claw on his scars. He couldn't remain optimistic after all the obstacles thrown at them. They have their work cut out for them, and half of the rescue team – him, Goro, Mochizuki, Narukami and Shirogane with Futaba for support – would already have been involved in a major fistfight before then. "The odds are seriously stacked against us. And it's not like everything's going to be over after the rescue, either."

"Do you regret your decision, then?"

"Hell no," he hisses, Morgana purring in his lap in agreement. "It's just – I feel like the two of them deserve at least some semblance of happiness. Having been thrown back to life like this against their will, then separated and experimented upon feels wrong. It makes me sick."

"On that front, we can agree," Goro muses, tapping his fingers in time with the ticking clock. "Not to mention that what Shirogane-san has brought up is worrying. If they are truly hunting for Persona Users, then none of us will be safe until we uproot them all."

"Yeah," he sighs.

"Oh come on, you two, don't be so down," Morgana quips, pawing Ren's hand lightly, careful not to spring his claws (they're so fucking sharp goddamnit) on his skin this time. "We've taken down a god before. I'm sure we'll be fine. Not to mention that Death likes you."

Ren snorts a laughter at this. "That's true."

"But Life hates all of us," Goro says.

"…That is also true," Ren mutters before punching Goro's shoulder lightly, drawing out an undignified yelp from him. "Don't be so fucking blunt, man, I like it but I also hate it."

"Pick one or the other, not both," Goro rolls his eyes, but his tone lack any hostility in it.

The clock slowly ticks, ticks, ticks the time away, and soon Maruki will come here. He could feel tension in his bones and nervousness creeping up his fingertips, sharp tinge of uneasiness resting snuggly upon his shoulder blades and lodging itself deep into his spine. He is certain of his answer; that he will not give in to this world that Maruki had created. But at the same time, he also wants to save the man – maybe from the Fate so unkind and unfair, or maybe from himself and his self-imposed duty as a god that shouldn't have graced the earth.

Trust your heart, Trickster, Raoul hums, deep voice rumbling inside his skull in ways that sooth his raging mind and still his frantic heartbeats. Ren blinks, a little taken aback, before he smiles and nods thinly as the Thief-King continues, his usually flamboyant self replaced by father-like figure, top hat twirling on his clawed fingers gently. Much like how you save Akechi Goro before, you can save Maruki Takuto, as well. I am Thou, Thou art I… let my wings guide your rebellious heart to strip away the yoke of darkness within this man's soul.

Thank you, Ren hums to himself, feeling the fluttering of Raoul's steel wings surrounding his form, the smoke and the flame so gentle and warm like the first sun of spring. His other self is much like how Narukami described it – while the other Persona Users possess only one Persona, the Wild Cards have it differently; they can change their faces at will, as such, sometimes, it is easy to forget that they, too, have things that separate them from another. And now that he's reminded of that fact, that he is a man who wants nothing more than to save those in need from pain that he has before felt, his resolve is steeled from any doubts, and all that's left for him to do now is wait.

He will beat some sense into Maruki if needed be.

The door of Leblanc then slowly creaks open, and the man comes into view – his eyes full of determination that will not bow, and his smile kind and genuine. Ren returns one of his own while Goro simply crosses his arms and wait for Maruki to sit down. When he does, Ren offers him a cup of coffee, and the man graciously accepts it.

He eyes them for a moment before sighing. "…I see. So you don't intend to back down."

"There are things that shouldn't be forgotten, no matter how painful," Ren says quietly, his fingers tracing along the rim of the cup. Then, he murmurs. "…How have you been? Are you suffering like you have before?"

Maruki seems to blink a little at this before he smiles thinly. "So you saw."

Morgana murmurs under his whiskers as he shifts in Ren's lap, while Goro simply sighs. When Maruki's eyes are on him, Goro says, "We have seen everything that you have been through. While I cannot say with certainty that I understand you, I think I can rationalize your actions."

Maruki's smile falters. "And yet, you disagree with me."

"We disagree with you," Ren corrects him. He feels Goro looking at him, so he gives the man a subtle smile. "…You're not facing yourself, Maruki-san. You're just running away by creating a world that goes according to your every whim. We can't have that – because it would invalidate the progress that all of us have made. It would undo everything that everyone has ever fought for."

The man seems to think seriously about this, his brows furrowing, the content of the cup turning stale as the air grows heavy. Morgana mewls, so Ren absently pats his head, while Goro takes a sip from his own cup silently. "…I've come too far to stop now. This research of mine, the goal of making people happy, of making the world better – I will see it through."

"Then I'll beat some senses into you," Ren says, the mask of the trickster returning to his face. Goro snorts a laughter, and Morgana grins. When Maruki stands up, he pulls out the calling card and throws it towards the man. "Here. So that we can meet again."

He picks it up, flipping it between his fingers, a thin smile on his lips as he whispers the words out for all of them to hear, even if there is no need to. Then, "that's right. I've heard your calling. I'll wait in the Palace tomorrow, Amamiya-kun."

When Maruki leaves, Goro exhales shakily, his eyes closed. Ren has never seen that – a form of uncertainty in the way he breathes. It's certainly strange, and a tad unnerving. And then, he opens his eyes, looking up at something far, far away. "…I have to admit, this reality of his has a certain beauty to it."

"Much as I hate to admit, yeah," Ren sighs. "But I'm surprised you'd admit that."

"I would be a fool to not see something so obvious," Goro murmurs, his posture unusually relaxed. The boy then turns to look at Ren fully. "…I want to ask something of you, Ren."

"Shoot away."

"After we've rescued Yuuki-san," he says, pensive, brows knotting together. He seems to taste his own words on his tongue before he says quietly, his tone careful. "I want to know more."

"…Know more of what?"

"Everything. About you," he says. "I've been manipulated. I've cared about no other but myself and my revenge, and look where those get me. And seeing you leading them for myself, seeing you steadfast in your childish ideals for myself – I want to know more. Understand more. So… if it is alright with you, then I want to know you better than this. As a friend, and perhaps…"

Ren tilts his head, waiting for Goro to continue, only for the boy to stop himself. "…Perhaps what?"

"Nothing," Goro cuts him off curtly as he stands up. "Let us rest. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and Mochizuki-san will have our heads if we do not deliver on our promises."

Ren decides to not press Goro for the unspoken question and grins. "Yeah. We do."

February 3rd, 2017 [Friday]

The path up to the final battlefield is beautiful.

The Garden of Eden, and the tree sitting amidst the towering buildings and sky-high towers, adorning with golden leaves and translucent staircases that spiral upwards to the heaven itself, are the epitome of otherworld beauty. The only thing he has against these damn things are how high the fucking stairs are leading them to!

"You look winded, Joker," Crow sneers, expertly dodging Skull's hands, as he has more or less insulted Ren's best friend earlier. The same old blunt, sarcastic, murderous, socially-inept Akechi Goro at his finest, as always. "Are you sure you needn't exercise more?"

Hereward said the same thing, Raoul hums, annoyance clear in his intonation. Ren clicks his tongue and shoots Crow a glare before he speaks what Raoul is speaking. "Fuck off, man. You can say for yourself, since you have a bow to cover the distance!"

"You have an entire armory with you," Crow snorts, and Ren feels Raoul jump at that. Yep, his Persona seems to have forgotten that Ren is a Wild Card? Somehow? "I have only a bow, a few tricks up my sleeves, and bloodlust waiting to be released. How is it that a bow could top that?"

"Oh my god, I hate you people!" Skull moans. "Stop with this flexing competition, wouldja?"

Thanatos laughs, his human visage shifting as he readies to spring forth as Death at the drop of a hat. "It is just so them, though. It's quite fun to watch."

"Seconded," Panther adds.

"Third!" Oracle giggles.

"Okay, okay! You guys like cool people with strong Personas and wicked personalities, I get it!" Skull snaps back, scratching the back of his head as he half-pants, following closely after the group. "Goddamn it, I love you guys, but sometimes I hate you all."

"Love you too, Skull!" Ren shouts.

Crows of laughter decorate the air as they bicker and banter, light and carefree, even if what comes after this would require his absolute attention and devotion to the cause. But like this, he could for a moment forget that he's a Wild Card, a Phantom Thief, the Trickster – like this, he could believe for a brief second that he is a normal high schooler, who is loved, who has friends.

And he intends to keep his friends and his love this way, no matter what.

"Maruki-san is the same as all of us, in a way," he hears Thanatos says, addressing all of them as their paces slowed when they near the topside, gold-clad and light-filled. Ren looks up as he stops, steeling his heart and readying himself to fight until one of them fall. And when he turns to Thanatos, the man – Death – smiles. "We cope with changes differently, that is all. I wish to make him face his own darkness, so that he may grow. What about you?"

"I don't care either way," Crow snorts. A moment, then he sighs, motioning his hand in the direction Maruki awaits them. "But… For once, I think I'll try to do what you all have been doing so far. Change the heart of a man, twisted by grief and lost."

"That's the nicest things you've ever said, man," Skull chuckles, and he isn't fazed when Crow throws him a murderous glare. "But hey! I'm with you on this one. We're changing his heart, so that he can move on. He ain't like the rest of them adults we've beaten, though… so I feel kinda bad fighting him."

"Same," Queen sighs. "But I suppose this is what we must do. What he's doing is wrong, and it's our job to make him see that."

"I agree," Noir hums. "He means the best for us, but his best is not the same as ours."

"Yeah," Oracle murmurs. "Even if it hurts, our real reality is what I want to live in. Cuz I don't want to forget everything I've done with you guys."

"Indeed, discarding our trials and tribulations that we've faced and conquered in favor of allowing such a reality, no matter how twistedly beautiful, to exist is not something I wish for," Fox declares. "I shall see this through to the very end."

"Let's go back, then!" Morgana shouts. "To the world that is ours!"

"Yeah!" Ren says, lifting up his fist into the air. They follow, and he looks all of them in the eye – there are no more clouds of doubts. "We will see this through. And after that, I will keep my promise to Than and get back the person stolen from him. Tonight, we Thieves are going to get back all that were stolen from us!"

We are with you, Trickster, Raoul crows, and he could hear voices of his many masks under his skin, sending shiver of anticipation up his spine and drawing a smirk on his lips. Let it be known that we shall bow to no man nor god, and that we are here to take back what is ours at all cost!

He bares his teeth into a savage grin.

"It's Showtime!"

Azathoth, the Idiot God.

Ryoji has admittedly seen little of the Outer Gods, ones who slither at the edge of the Sea of Souls, at the seams between the void and the hearts of men. But he does know that they are dangerous, unstable, and reek of nothing but insanity. This one, too, preys on the heart of a man controlled by grief, using him to plunge the world into chaos, sowing strives underneath the pretense of peace that makes him sick. And this is but one of the many, the Idiot God who feasts upon all things within its reach, even light. But here, in the real world, its form is nothing more than a meek interpretation of what it truly is, to deceive the man called Maruki Takuto.

His darkness shifts and churns uneasily under his masks, the cold, stale air puncturing through his hollow eyes and invading inside the confines of his coffin-wings as the lids slide open to allow his power to break free. These Outer Gods… he feels like this will not be the last he will see one of their kind, and he doubts that this will be the last he will see the Nuclear Chaos, either.

But for now, he will fight, for Makoto's sake. Makoto, who's suffering under the fingertips of those who slithers in the dark, waiting to bring their vile ideals to fruition under the light of the moon. He will not allow that to come to pass. He will not allow his light to suffer much longer – and while he understands and even sympathizes with Maruki to some degree, he will spare nothing to save Makoto. He will not allow mercy to hamper his mission. He will not allow anyone to stand in his way.

He has had enough sitting around doing nothing, waiting for a miracle that will never come for a third time, waiting for the signal that has already been snuffed under the tendrils of darkness.

He could hear Azathoth laugh in his mindscape, its shapeless form shifting and churning like rancid sludge oozing from rotting corpses, plumes and smokes reeking of death that are no stranger to him surrounding his form, hugging him in their sickening arms.

He growls.

"Do not get in my way. No matter who you are, I will have your head."

Azathoth only laughs louder, the sound bouncing endlessly inside his ribcage and tearing away at his skull and into the nothingness of the void.

Ryoji has had enough. He will bring this Idiot God down with his own two hands, and then, he will get Makoto back, no matter the cost.

Much like how everyone of them were before – Maruki's will is not something to be looked down upon.

He could feel Thanatos' anger ripping through his chest and covering the entire area in hostility that makes even Raoul recoil from merely breathing in the same air. The Palace half-collapses, but then Maruki refuses to give up, tearing the torchlight away from Ren's grasp and back into his own hand, his Persona (he could hear Thanatos' curses under his skin – and so, the Idiot God calls for power beyond the Sea of Souls to evolve itself) has changed into the Primordial Man, Adam Kadmon.

Raoul is uneasy in his heart as they stare back up at the humongous creature born from the strength of Maruki's will – his will to become the guide for the world. He feels cold sweat running down his brows and settling deep at the tip of his tongue – such power, such tenacity… he wonders if he could ever reach that level of will, he wonders if he could ever make it to the same power that Maruki has.

And then, Raoul bellows inside him, followed by cries of the beasts of many origins he has called upon for aid countless times before. Do not doubt yourself, Trickster! His strength is great, but yours are even greater still! Do not doubt our words – with us standing here beside you, there is nothing for you to fear! Now come, discard the last of your doubts, and let us bring this show to a certain end!

Ren bares his teeth as his mask cracks and bursts into azure flame, and Raoul bellows, smoke and flame of rebellion swirling around him. He sees Thanatos coiling the coffin-wings tighter around his back as he bellows into the sky above, the vile plumes of dusks surging forward into Maruki, who guards it with the same tendrils that Adam Kadmon is made from.

Ren draws out his pistol and chances a few shot, glancing Maruki's mask with one, putting a dent in his white robe with the other. And then, Raoul spreads his wing wide, covering Maruki under the shadows casted by the artificial moonlight above. When Thanatos draws away, Ren orders at the top of his lungs – he cannot hesitate now. He'll not allow his reality to be stripped away, he'll not allow himself forced under another man's thumb ever again. "Raoul! Vorpal Blade!"

The sword-cane is unsheathed in an instant, arcs of light tearing the tendrils to shreds. He then turns to Crow, who nods and calls for Hereward in his night-clad glory. With a swift motion bearing grace deserving the mantle of the noble rebel, he lets loose an arrow that strikes Maruki in the chest, sending him skidding across the floor.

"Not yet—!" Maruki gasps, refusing to fall, as he calls upon beams of light. Thanatos shields the Thieves from it with the sarcophagi on his back, smoke rising from the gaps of the lids, deep cold of foreign winter invading Ren's senses. He shifts his eyes and nods at Crow, who draws his own gun and shoots at Maruki to tear his concentration away, stopping the light from crashing down.

And after the light suddenly dissipates when Maruki's distracted, Thanatos lets out a haughty roar before pulling at the chain on his shoulder and swinging one of his coffins as a weapon, striking Maruki's midsection without mercy, sending him flying into Adam Kadmon's fingers.

There is an infinite pause, when he could hear resignation in the way Maruki breathes. But then he's struck by a splitting headache that fills his heart with nothing but dread.

Trickster! Cacophony of his many masks' cries echo and bleed into each other, fusing into one horrifying accretion of gurgles that screech and silence everything around him, and he looks up to see the blue-glow of Adam Kadmon turning blood red. Raoul's voice rises above all others, Trickster, that Outer God is going to use Maruki as its source of power! Stop it!

"Than!" He calls out, his legs giving way under the invisible weight of the gestalt consciousnesses of his Personas. Ren vaguely feels Crow pulling him up by the arm, but the alarm blaring inside his skull is too loud to be ignored. Adam Kadmon must be stopped. "Stop it! Don't let that thing use Maruki-san!"

Thanatos wastes little time as he flies forward, bulldozing his way through the gust of wind that rises from the primordial man and to Maruki's form in its humongous palm. The reddish fingers curl around Maruki's body, shielding him from Thanatos' reach. And in a slow, wide arc, Adam Kadmon's other arm slams into Death's coffin-wings and sends him spiraling into the nearest building, crashing through it and collapsing the construction into the ground.

"He's fine!" Oracle calls, quelling Ren's worry only for a little as his eyes are glued to the beast as it takes Maruki inside its skull-like face, the doctor's voice muffled into an infinitesimal cry under the boom of madness that rises through the hollow eyes of the Outer God. Oracle's small voice then cut through the vile drums beating in his ears. "It can't be—is that thing really a Persona?"

Adam Kadmon then moves, roaring into the heavens, its voice twisted and sharp and not Maruki, "I am Thou, Thou art I – This power is the source, and the destination. I will be the light that guides mankind!"

That doesn't sound like Maruki's controlling that thing anymore. And its sounds vile, profaned, something that shouldn't happen upon this world, something that shouldn't be allowed to flourish.

An Outer God is a vile manifestation of madness from within the Sea of Souls, Raoul supplies before he tears through the fabric of reality and manifests beside Ren, his clawed fingers resting on his shoulder, calming his rapid breathing. "But that doesn't mean that it will be stronger than us. Trust in your bonds and your family, Trickster – there is no better time than now to show them who we are!"

"Maruki-san is in there!" Oracle says as the wind dies down, and leaves them with the still, unbreathable air that constricts around them like a serpent coiling around its prey. "This doesn't feel right – we have to get him out!"

"If that thing hasn't crushed us by then, that is," Crow growls, and Ren feels the air twists around Adam Kadmon's fist as he hooks its massive arm backward. He instinctively knows that if that hits any of them, they're going to be turned into red splatter on the concrete. "Incoming!"

"I've got it!" Thanatos bellows, and Ren whips around in time to see trail of darkness shooting away from the rubble like a meteor and crashes into Adam Kadmon's shoulder, sending sparks flying across the pitch-black sky and making whites spread across his vision. Raoul laughs, and Ren sees that the crash does indeed sway the fist from its intended path, making the red glow chips the edge of the building they are on and burning the concrete into nothingness.

"Thanks!" Ren manages out, nodding at Queen, silently ordering her to heal them up and boosts their defenses. He then quickly gauges his options – he knows there are more Personas he could use, but something like Satanael will instantly kills Maruki. But when he turns to Raoul, at his grinning mask and the billowing flame, his heart has already decided – both he and his other self will be the ones to finish this. "…You with me, Raoul?"

"All the way, Trickster!" He bellows, his sword-cane drawing lines of light across the sky that scatter into thousands needle-like shapes that pierce through the gaps in Adam Kadmon's golden armor, sending it staggering back just minutely. "I, and the rest of us! The Sea of Souls and its deepest corners are yours to command!"

And then, he feels it – what Mochizuki has described before; the thing Yuuki has achieved as the only person who has ever reached the deepest reach of the Sea of Souls. The vast field of endless possibility, right before his eyes, and he feels like he could, for a moment, achieve anything – nothing is an impossible feat, not at this very moment.

Then he hears a voice, soft yet authoritative, invading into his senses. We see none but that person as our equal, and he will be the only one we will gladly take orders from. But you are our only hope. This once, we shall be at your command, Trickster. Call mine name – and I shall carve you your path forward!

For the sake of that boy – we shall lend you our aid.

"They are those who reside in the deepest reach of the Sea, the ones who command power greater than my own," Raoul says at those foreign name forms on his lips, and he snarls, his mouth curls into a savage grin as he allows their powers – free of any chains – to course through him. "Yuuki Makoto is the only person they have ever agreed to kneel to, but for now, their powers are yours. Use it at will, Trickster!"

And when Raoul dissipates and reforms himself into the mask that Ren wears, he tears it off again and lets the name falls from his lips and into the sky. "Asterius!"

Thanatos turns at that as he falls back into their ranks. Adam Kadmon's hand falls onto them like a hammer of judgement, only to be stopped by large, beast-like figure of profaned flames and heavy chains of penance, its hollow horns spewing out lavas and smokes. Its eyes turn to Ren, and the Bull of Minos snorts out licks of fire that burns away the crisp, cool air. "Make haste, brats. Send that thing back to whence it came, so we can finally get that boy back on his feet."

"R-right!" Oracle seems stunned for but a moment before she allows herself to be engulfed by her Persona – Al Azif. Ten clicks of the hands of a clock, and then, "give me a moment! Keep fighting, guys! I'll inform you when I've got its weakness down pat!"

"Got it!" Thanatos affirms, his sword fully cloaked under the essence of the night itself, reeking out vile, dark blue-colored flame from the wisps of midnight sky. He then turns to Asterius. "I thought you would be the one to not want to fall under anyone's command."

"That Makoto kid is different," the bull says, voice low and rumbling right into his very being. There are choruses of agreements and symphonies of anticipations beyond what his mind could feel as the bull pulls himself off his place on the ground, rising well over Ren's head, his rough-edged hooves and spiked chains dragging trails of flame on the concrete beneath their feet. "What? Do you wish to question my allegiance, Death? I will be happy to beat that into your skull."

"No, no, that's unnecessary," Thanatos seems to laugh at this as the lids of the rightmost coffin slides open slightly, spewing out flakes of snow that chills Ren's fingers to the very bones upon a single touch. "I'm just curious, since you seem to dislike your previous vessel very much."

"That brat can go to hell for all I care," Asterius bares his lipless teeth at a distant memory. Then he turns to Ren, and points a bloodied, flame-cloaked finger at him. "But you – you look promising enough. If I find you entertaining, then I might lend you my aid just yet."

"Uh… thanks?" Ren says, and quickly yells when Adam's hand starts to fall down on them. "Watch out!"

Another explosion whites him out, and when his vision clears, he could see that Asterius has taken the hit for them, both hands pushing back against the large, armored hand of the primordial man – or rather, from Raoul's fervent whisper in his mind, a pretense Azathoth is using to hide itself – that has crashed down upon them seconds ago. With a grunt, Asterius pushes Adam Kadmon's fist back into the sky.

Asterius bellows, the very sound of his battle cry able to shatter the air itself, making Adam Kadmon pause it its assault briefly. Ren's lips stretch a little wider into a cruel, unforgiving grin as the bull of Minos slams his hoof down and summoning the flame of purgatory to his side.

This time, the bull follows Ren's command and throws off a single punch that shatter his own arm and send Adam Kadmon's fist flying high into the air. Ren quickly pulls the bull back into his mask and turns to Oracle. "Oracle!"

"I found it!" Oracle shouts, and he keeps Asterius' name on his tongue for a moment longer to ward off any attempts at interruption, and Adam Kadmon wails like a banshee at his defense. "When it attacks, every power it has goes into its strike! There is no weakness but one – the head! You'll have to strike immediately after it has fired off an attack to bring it down. And Maruki is in there, in its head!"

"I won't be able to defend if the window is that tight," Ren growls. But he knows and trusts his friends well enough, so he turns to them. "I'll leave the defense to you. Trust me – I'll bring this thing down, just like any other targets we've faced before, just like how I shot Yaldabaoth's face open!"

"Got it, Joker!" Skull cackles. "Bring it on, ya oversized skeleton!"

Ren couldn't help but laughs as he pulls Arthur back and lets Raoul occupies his mind once more. And when he does, Raoul says. Let us take down this Idiot God together, Trickster!

"Yeah!" He cries out as the fist falls down upon them.

His friends rush past him, and the knuckles of Adam Kadmon crash with their Personas, steels and claws and light and darkness mingling into one blinding pool of power that puts the unrelenting assault to a halt. He listens to Oracle as she gives him the signal, and Raoul comes forth in midair as Ren draws himself closer to the giant's head with his grappling hook upon a crane. With a twist of his body and a tug at the lines of the grappling hook and Raoul's flap of wings, he takes a sharp turn towards Adam Kadmon's now exposed head.

Raoul laughs and beats his wings again, flame and darkness converging into one single spear that strikes between its eyes, sending Adam Kadmon's head rearing backward. And with another pull of his device, he and Raoul land on its fleshless face, his eyes now staring beyond its red-tinted eyes and into the pools of swirling madness and storms brewing underneath the cold, unmoving surface. And even beyond that, he sees Maruki's body amidst shapeless tentacles that cling to him like parasites, sapping out his strength and puppeteering him under their ruthless command.

Ren draws out his gun, and Raoul mimics his motion with his left hand, bringing out an intricate, onyx flintlock pistol with lines of gold and rising smokes.

He grins, and feels Raoul does the same as his finger slowly presses down on the trigger.

"Checkmate."

Among the WIPs, this one is undergoing massive rewrite in my part. The first 12-15 chapters are fine, but I'm rewriting the rest and rechecking them to make the story less outlandish, since my first draft kinda... go ways out into the sea lmao.

Expect a lot of late updates, but I eventually will! The new plot are laid out, and all I have to do is rewrite like 100k + write new 100k+ more...

so yeah... it's going to take a while.

Thank you for reading! Hopefully see you soon!