AN: I'm a little self-conscious about this chapter because it feels mostly like a rewrite of stuff that already happened in the game, just from a different perspective? Like the characters are learning what they need to learn but we as an audience already know bc we've played the damn game? I tried to keep that exposition short and focus more on character reactions/interactions! Things start poppin off after this chapter :)

April 16, 2014 (Wednesday)

Goro was sore when he awoke, and he sat up slowly to scan the room. Morgana was asleep a few inches from his side, but he was starting to stir awake. The unfinished homework from last night still sat on his desk; he'd have to finish it on the subway ride to school.

Morgana yawned and stretched himself into a standing position. "Are you gonna eat soon?" he asked. "I'm starving."

Goro placed a finger to his lips and nodded. His foster parents usually left for work before he woke up for the day, but he had to check to make sure. "Wait here," he mouthed. He listened at the door, and, after a few moments, stepped into the common room. No one was around, but he still held up a hand to indicate that Morgana should wait for a bit longer.

He shut his bedroom door behind him and ate breakfast in the dining room, then found some leftovers for Morgana. He brought them to his room and leaned against the wall as Morgana ate. "So we can finally talk about what happened yesterday. What do you know about those Shadows and Personas that you mentioned?"

"Not much." Morgana nudged the food with his nose before taking another bite. "I have something called a Persona that I can use to fight Shadows. It's a special power that I don't think many humans have; I awoke to it when I was in danger in Mementos, which is how I managed to get as far as I did."

"How did you awake to it?"

"I don't really remember."

Goro frowned. "Didn't it just happen yesterday?"

"I don't know." Morgana licked the plate a few times, then sat up. "It's almost impossible to get a sense of time down there. I don't know how long I was avoiding the Shadows, but some of them must have found me and forced the awakening."

"Where were you coming from? Is there something in... 'Mementos' that you were looking for?"

Morgana sighed through his nose. "I don't remember that, either. I basically told you everything I know, and it's not a lot. I think there might be other places like Mementos, though, or maybe different points of entry. We should look for them later."

Goro picked up the plate and went to wash it in the kitchen, Morgana padding behind him. "You still want me to work with you after seeing what my living situation is like? I don't exactly have a lot of freedom to move around this world, much less another one that neither of us knows anything about."

"Actually, I feel like I know a lot about it. I just need something to jog my memory." Morgana hopped onto the counter. "And I don't know how to get back to that world on my own. How did you end up there, anyway?"

"I think it had something to do with my phone. An app showed up and activated on its own, and it allowed me to navigate back and forth between worlds after that."

"Oh, so that's what you did!" Morgana's ears perked up. "I was wondering how you sent us back there after I ran into you yesterday."

"You avoided my question, by the way." Goro set the clean dishes into the drying rack and returned to his room to get ready for school. "Why do you want to work with me?"

Morgana continued to follow him around the house. "You're the only person I know of that has that app, and it'd be really hard to try and find someone else. Sure, you're in a bad situation, but I think you're special. We can work around it and help each other out."

"Special," Goro repeated. His fingers twitched on the handle of his bag. "You think there was some reason that the app was put on my phone specifically?"

"Well, duh. Whatever created that other world must've picked you to be able to go there, so there must be something that you need to do there. There might be other people like you in the city, too."

Goro finished packing his bag and held it open to allow Morgana in. "But I don't know if I can use a Persona yet. I won't be able to defend myself without one, correct?"

"Probably correct," Morgana conceded, "but we can sneak around the Shadows whenever we need to. It seems you've already developed a lot of stealth skills, so those'll come in handy. Plus, I can defend you if we end up in danger."

Considering the state that he had found Morgana in yesterday, Goro doubted that, but there wasn't much of a point in saying that out loud. They would just have to be careful. "Fine. Shall we go later today? I'll have a few hours at most before I'll need to come home."

"Let's do it!"

With that decided, Goro went about his day as normal. Below the surface, he was quite distracted with thoughts of Morgana, Yusuke, Kyo, and Madarame. Were all the events connected somehow? Was there a way he could help Yusuke and everyone else that Madarame had wronged using that other world? Goro didn't understand how it all worked yet, so he would have to rely on Morgana for help.

It had been so long since he had genuinely placed his trust in someone. After Yusuke left the group home, Goro learned that he couldn't trust adults or other children, and especially not any of the foster families he was placed with. They all had some ulterior motive: tax benefits, garnering sympathy, and even, in one case, using him in some attempt to save a failing marriage.

At least with Morgana, his ulterior motive was out in the open; he was using Goro for information. That was fine, since Goro needed the information, too. If he could find some way to become stronger and force a confession from Madarame, he could help Yusuke out of his abusive living situation.

Goro's train of thought froze there. If Madarame went to jail, where would Yusuke go? He would most likely be sent to live in foster care, which could land him in an even worse situation. Goro certainly couldn't offer him a place to stay, but Yusuke had mentioned applying to Kosei. The school offered dorms for students; perhaps there was some way he could live there.

He was getting ahead of himself. Right now, all he had to do was work with Morgana while avoiding suspicion. That was enough by itself; he didn't need to overwhelm himself with thoughts of the future.

Over the next few days, he and Morgana explored Mementos for an hour at a time, with Morgana steadily remembering more information. To advance their investigation, Goro told him more about the conflicts surrounding Madarame, and Morgana proposed that Madarame might have something called a Palace. He explained what basic information he had managed to remember—the question of what Morgana was and how he knew all this information would have to remain on the back burner for now—and suggested going to Madarame's home to scout around.

That Friday, Goro got home from school as quickly as possible and called Yusuke.

"Ichiryusai Madarame's residence. With whom am I speaking?"

Goro's shoulders relaxed as soon as he heard Yusuke's voice; Madarame wasn't home yet. "Hello, Yusuke. This is Goro."

"Oh, what a pleasant surprise!" Yusuke's tone lost its rigid formality, and Goro held back a smile. He could feel Morgana staring at him. "I have been thinking of you all week, but it has been quite busy with the exhibit. This is my first free afternoon in some time."

In most situations, there was usually some sort of social script Goro could follow, but he had never spoken to a friend over the phone before. His skills in this particular area were a bit rusty. "I'm... sorry to hear that you've been so busy. Has Madarame been overworking you?"

"No, nothing like that. I enjoy assisting him in whatever way I can, and he has told me before that he appreciates the support. He actually insisted that I take the night off, which was quite generous of him."

"I see." Goro doubted that Madarame was so selfless. "Are you free tomorrow, as well? If possible, I'd like to stop by your house and see more of your artwork."

"That would be wonderful. Please come by as soon as you are able." As Goro tried to process the warm tone in Yusuke's voice, he almost missed a question: "You still have the address that I wrote down for you at the exhibit, yes?"

"Yes," Goro stuttered. "I'll be there after school tomorrow."

"Wonderful," Yusuke repeated. "I look forward to it."

"Yes. I will see you then."

There was a pause in which neither person hung up. Goro swallowed and added, "Goodbye," then replaced the phone into the receiver.

"You don't talk on the phone a lot, huh," Morgana concluded.

"Considering my living situation, it's rather rude of you to point that out." Goro waved Morgana back into his room, where they would likely stay for the rest of the night. His foster parents sometimes went out on Friday or Saturday nights, but they had been keeping a closer watch on him after he came home later; he had to stay in line for a while longer. "I'm sure you've noticed that I have no one to talk to at school, either. It's generally considered hurtful to say such things aloud."

"Maybe having a bunch of friends is overrated, anyway." Goro wasn't looking at Morgana, but his tone sounded sympathetic. Goro wasn't sure how to feel about that. "At least we have an in now. We should try activating the app at Madarame's house to see what happens. Maybe it's a part of Mementos that we couldn't normally get to."

Goro sat at his desk to start his homework. "Are you suggesting that we bring Yusuke into this? It's difficult enough for the two of us to sneak around undetected—adding more people would complicate matters."

"Yeah, but we need all the help we can get." Morgana walked over the desktop and stood on top of Goro's papers, swishing his tail. "We still don't know if you can use a Persona yet or what the requirements are for getting one. Just from what I remember about my time in Mementos, it seems like you need to go through some dangerous or traumatic event to trigger the awakening, so maybe anyone can become a Persona user in the right circumstance."

"You want us to deliberately put ourselves in danger," Goro clarified. He tried to shoo Morgana off his history homework, but the cat stayed firmly put and batted Goro's hand in retaliation.

"It seems like the only way we'll know for sure. Don't you wanna find out for yourself?"

Goro nodded. "I would also like to finish my work, if you don't mind terribly."

"You're always working," Morgana complained. "It's so boring here!"

"Such is the life of a student."

"Even students need to relax once in a while." Morgana sat on top of Goro's papers and looked around the room. "It's been a hard week—we should do something fun tonight. Do you have any games?"

"Of course not," Goro scoffed. "Does it look like I have the time to waste?"

"Well, get a game on your phone or something. Or read a book to me! I'm very interested in what's popular to humans right now."

"If you don't have memories, how do you have any concept of how a normal student would spend their time?" Goro took a textbook from his bag and started reading that instead. "Regardless, I am far from a normal student. I have to keep working to prove myself."

Morgana huffed and stood. "Fine. Then lemme out so I can explore."

"Gladly." Goro leaned to the right to open his window. "Just be back later tonight, and be careful not to be seen."

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Chest puffed out, Morgana strode to the windowsill. "You won't even notice me coming back in."

True to his word, Goro didn't hear another sound as Morgana took his leave. Though Goro was relieved to have time to work, the room felt a familiar type of lonely, heightened by the fact that someone had been there and left because his company wasn't interesting enough.

He pushed the feeling aside and focused for the rest of the evening.

April 19, 2014 (Saturday)

Goro double-checked Yusuke's address and the house number. "This seems to be the right place," he said.

Morgana poked his head out of Goro's school bag. "Geez, what a dump. Try activating the app and see if anything happens."

Goro took his phone from his pocket and tapped the icon, but nothing happened. Morgana huffed. "Maybe we're too far from the subway?" His tail flicked against the sides of the bag. "Why does such a famous artist live in some shack like this, anyway? You'd think he'd have some glamorous apartment in the center of the city."

The world turned red at the edges, and Goro held a hand to his head. However, when he looked back up, everything had returned to normal.

"What was that?" Morgana asked. "Did it do something?"

Goro looked closer at his screen for clues, but the app interface looked the same. "It seemed to respond to something you said."

"Should we just keep talking at it and see what else happens?"

"I'd like to speak with Yusuke." Goro stared at his phone for a moment longer before putting it back in his pocket. "He can tell us more, and I can warn him of the danger that he's in." He waited, staring at Morgana. "That means you have to go back into the bag."

"It's so hard to breathe in here," Morgana complained, but he burrowed back in. Goro knocked, since there was no doorbell, and Yusuke opened the door about a minute later.

"Oh, Goro, it's you! Please, come in."

The way that Yusuke said his name was, again, very distracting, and Morgana had to bump Goro in the side through the bag for him to go through the door.

"I'm afraid that I don't actually have that many pieces to show you—I've mostly been sketching lately and generating ideas for my portfolio, and the quality of my older art is too shameful to show." Yusuke led him through a small common room and up a creaky set of stairs. Goro noted the conspicuously locked door on the way and started forming a mental map of the house. "Actually, I was just thinking this week that I would appreciate having a model to reference. I have been working alone in the studio for quite some time, so having a live subject could breathe new life into my work. Does that sound agreeable to you?"

"He's really weird," Morgana whispered, voice muffled through the canvas fabric. Goro adjusted the bag on his shoulder a bit more abruptly than he needed to.

"Yes, it does," Goro said to Yusuke, "but I'm afraid that my schedule is rather tight. My foster parents want me to be home most of the time, so I'll have to leave by 4:00 today and any other time in the future."

Yusuke turned from his pile of notebooks, clutching one to his chest. "I completely forgot to ask you about your living situation," he gasped. "I apologize for my selfishness. We have much to catch up on." He sat in a metal folding chair and gestured at an identical seat across from him. "Please get comfortable. I must hear of everything that has happened to you since we parted ways."

Morgana groaned, and Goro set his bag down with a thud. "I don't know if I have the time to tell you everything," he laughed, "but I can give you the highlights. It's not exactly a happy story, though."

Goro briefly recounted his time at the group home and living with several foster families. He tried not to go into explicit details about the various types of mistreatment he had suffered, as he knew that Morgana was listening closely and could exploit any knowledge later if he turned out not to be trustworthy.

He didn't mention that he had tracked down his biological father. It wasn't worth burdening anyone else with.

Yusuke's gaze remained on him, never wavering as he spoke. "And who gave you that bruise?"

"Oh." Goro touched the gray-brown mark on his arm. No one at school had noticed, so he just assumed that it didn't stick out. Perhaps no one payed him enough attention to notice. "This is from when I came home late earlier this week."

"Was that because you came to the exhibit? Did I keep you for too long?" Yusuke reached out and placed a hand over Goro's. "I cannot bear to think that I was the cause of this. Please accept my sincerest apologies. I will do all I can to—"

"I... no, it wasn't your fault at all." Goro lowered his hand back to his thigh, and Yusuke broke contact. It helped his heart rate settle, but it also reminded him how starved for touch he was. "I actually ran into a former pupil of Madarame's on my way back from the exhibit, and I spent quite some time talking with him."

Goro's vision pulsed red again, and he clenched his fists. In the meantime, Yusuke straightened up, eyes wide. "How serendipitous. Is he doing well? Are you familiar with any of his work?"

"He said he knew you. Do you remember Kyo Maki?"

"Yes, of course." Yusuke's expression relaxed into a smile. "We were never very close, but he was kind enough, and very talented. He left a few years ago to pursue a degree in fine arts."

"Is that what Madarame told you?"

Yusuke nodded. "Many of the other pupils who studied in this house went down a similar path. I imagine that they have all gone on to live successful lives by now."

"I don't mean to alarm you, but Kyo has been homeless ever since he left here." Goro looked away from Yusuke's mouth, which had fallen open in shock. "He's been spending most of his time in the Shibuya station square, and he had quite a few disparaging things to say about Madarame." He summarized what he had learned to Yusuke and concluded by saying, "I am afraid that a similar fate will befall you in a few years. I haven't been able to find any information on Madarame's pupils. Even their names are not easily accessible. As you said earlier, one would think that the students of such a well-known artist would be guaranteed successful careers, but this is not the case. There's almost no digital trail for any one of them, and if I were able to visit any museums in the area, I doubt I would find any pieces by them on display—it's as though they are ejected entirely from the art world after they leave here."

Goro's gaze returned to Yusuke to study his reaction. However, before either could say anything more, the world faded to a hazy mix of red and black, and Goro forced his eyes to remain open as the shift occurred. The small room turned to a lavish lounge with near-blinding amounts of gold shining from the floor and walls.

Yusuke looked around with wide eyes while Goro squinted to adjust to the change. On the floor, Morgana's back legs wiggled out of the small opening in Goro's bag, the rest of his torso and head still stuck inside.

"Lemme out!" he said, voice still muffled. Yusuke startled and looked to the source of the noise, still staring as Goro knelt to zip the bag open. Morgana wormed his way out of the bag and held his head in his paws. "Okay, that's it, Akechi. I demand better treatment than being stuffed in that bag! You need to buy me a carrying case or something. But, like, a really comfy one."

"Everyone will know I'm carrying a cat around if I do that. It'd be rather conspicuous." Goro tilted his head toward Yusuke. "In any case, you're being rude. Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"

"Right!" Morgana turned and waved. "I'm Morgana. I've been with Akechi for a few days"—and here Goro realized, stupidly late, that Morgana now knew his first name from eavesdropping on his conversations with Yusuke—"to show him around this place. It's kinda dangerous, but if we sneak around, we should be fine." Morgana briefly explained everything else they knew about Personas, Shadows, and Mementos.

"Do you think this is part of Mementos?" Goro asked at the end. "It already feels quite different."

"I don't really know," Morgana said, raising a paw to his chin. "We'll just have to look around the Palace and investigate."

"Palace?" Yusuke echoed.

"I don't know much about Palaces yet," Morgana admitted, "but I'm sure we'll find out lots here. It's sure to jog my memory!" He hopped up and down in place. "Let's get moving! Yusuke, try to keep up."

While Morgana ran for the door, Goro turned to Yusuke with a small smile. "Are you alright? I can take you back if this is too much."

"No, I..." Yusuke touched the back of a nearby chair and seemed surprised that it was solid. "This is bizarre, but I would like to look into it." He looked up at Goro, now gripping the chair with both hands. "And you can get us out at any time?"

"Yes, with the app that Morgana was talking about earlier." Goro showed Yusuke the icon on his phone. "It appeared on my phone this week, and it appears that I can use it to navigate between this world and the one we're more familiar with."

Yusuke examined the icon for a few moments before looking up with a bewildered smile. "I trust you to lead us out safely, then. Let us go."

They peeked out the door with Morgana and saw an iridescent pool of water just outside. Proceeding carefully, they made their way around the pond and darted ahead to the entrance of an open area.

"It doesn't look like there are any enemies around," Morgana whispered. "There's some kind of security system that keeps them from needing to guard."

"Is there a way through it?" Goro asked.

"I'll check. You guys wait here." Morgana darted into the open space and returned a few minutes later. "No good. I can see what's on the other side of all the blockades, but it doesn't look like there's any way to actually get there right now."

Yusuke pointed down a hallway to their right. "Shall we check that way instead?"

"Good thinking! We might find something to help us proceed over there." Morgana ducked from corner to corner, motioning for the other two to follow him.

They made their way through quite a few rooms, sneaking past Shadows that took the form of security guards, until they reached a lobby with a tall, thin statue in the middle. Yusuke ran ahead to the bottom of the stairs, and, after, a shocked moment, Goro and Morgana followed.

"Don't just go off on your own like that!" Morgana hissed, crouching down at Yusuke's side. "You could get seriously hurt."

Yusuke was reading the inscription on the statue out loud. The desperate confusion in his voice twisted Goro's stomach.

"This says that anyone who isn't useful to him should perish," Yusuke summarized. He swallowed, eyes flickering over the inscription again. "Surely this can't be right. Sensei is a deeply compassionate person—he's helped so many students."

Morgana tapped a paw to his chin, looking from the plaque to Yusuke with a pensive squint of his eyes. "I can't read. One of you should teach me."

Goro shook his head and hovered a hand on Yusuke's shoulder, only to snatch it back as he heard footsteps. He looked to Morgana, whose eyes had gone wide, and then tugged Yusuke over to an alcove.

"Like I said, you have to be more careful, okay?" Morgana skidded to a halt by a stand, looking back to ensure they were hidden from sight. "Hey, one of you look inside those pamphlets. There might be something useful. I'll keep a lookout."

Yusuke picked one up, and his lips moved silently as he read the words inside. Goro unfolded another one into a map. "It looks like this covers most of the area we just went through," he said, "but it could be useful if we return here."

"There's no 'if' about it," Morgana said, bouncing from foot to foot. "I'm remembering all sorts of stuff! We gotta come back another day and figure out how to get past that barrier. For now, let's try to find a way out. I'll tell you everything I remembered once we get to somewhere safe."

Goro knelt to show Morgana the map. "This only shows a front entrance, and I assume that that would be flanked by guards. Perhaps there's another way that isn't listed here."

Morgana looked at the pamphlet and nodded. "Okay, let's try this way, then. Hold onto that map for now." He peeked around the corner and retreated reflexively. "There are two guards ahead. We need to be careful."

"Listen to this," Yusuke said, not bothering to lower his voice when Morgana shushed him. "'Welcome to the museum celebrating Ichiryusai Madarame's expansive career. For years, this now-famous artist cultivated his passion for painting but was unable to make a living. He finally achieved success with the release of the Sayuri painting in 2003, and he has gone on to use the many tools at his disposal to advance his career. His is truly a rags to riches story.'"

"So this Palace is definitely related to Madarame and how he thinks of himself," Morgana summarized. "That just confirms what I thought."

"The last line concerns me," Yusuke said. "In all the years that I have lived with him, we have maintained a very humble lifestyle. Madarame told me that he has used all his extra funds to care for and raise his pupils, so we have never had an excess of money or food."

Goro gestured to the opulence surrounding them. "It seems as though he hasn't been truthful about quite a few things, then. Perhaps he's storing all his wealth for a later date."

Morgana glanced around the corner again. "We'll talk about it later, okay? We have to get out of here first." He watched the guard's movements, but at least one of them was always facing in their direction. "We might have to create a distraction. I'll go around to the other end of the hallway, make some noise, and then run back this way. You guys run for it as soon as their backs are turned. I'll cover you if anything goes wrong."

Goro and Yusuke both nodded, and Morgana rushed off around the U-shaped hallway. They crouched close together to watch around the corner, listening for any noise. After a few moments, the guards turned to the sound of scratching, and the boys ran up the nearby stairs to duck around another corner. Morgana followed soon after.

"Perfect," he whispered. "Good work avoiding detection! You guys might almost get as good as me one day."

"Thank you for putting yourself at risk for us, Morgana," Goro said. "I wish that I could be of more use in these situations."

"It's not all about brawn, y'know. You've got a tactical mind and a knack for sneaking around, so I'm sure you'll be helpful to me in the future."

Despite the fact that he was still obviously being used, Goro couldn't help smiling at the praise. After a moment to check that they hadn't been followed, they moved on.

The next door they opened revealed a floor-to-ceiling portrait of Yusuke.

Looking around the rest of the large room, countless other portraits lined the walls. Most of the faces depicted seemed young, and they all looked unblinking at the three intruders. Yusuke shivered and walked closer to the plaque on his own portrait.

"What is the meaning of this?" Yusuke looked around, folding his arms defensively around himself. "I recognize many former pupils in these portraits, as well."

"I see you've found my collection."

The three tensed and turned back the way they came. Madarame stood blocking the exit, flanked on both sides by guards. "Impressive, isn't it?" he continued. "It's the product of years of hard work."

"Sensei?" Yusuke clenched his fists as he took in the scene. "Why are you dressed like that? What's going on?"

Madarame laughed. "You haven't figured it out with all the snooping around you've done today? I thought I raised you to be smarter than that." He spread his arms to remind them of the guards at his side. "Don't disappoint me."

"Yusuke, that's just a Shadow," Morgana said. "You don't have to listen to what it says!"

"Shadows can take such humanoid forms?" Goro asked. "This one is completely different from all the others we've encountered."

"This is a Shadow that Madarame must have created. His cognition and his emotions must be so warped that he made this whole Palace along with a Shadow of himself."

If Morgana's words were true, that implied that all Shadows were created by human activities. The two worlds were even more closely connected than they assumed—what did that imply about Mementos?

Goro filed the thought away for later. There were more pressing matters. Although Yusuke was the one most directly impacted by Madarame's actions, Goro could hear echoes of past and present caretakers in everything Madarame was saying. The threats and emotional manipulation were all too clear and too personal.

"Of course I knew you were plagiarizing from these people," Yusuke said, "because I experienced it firsthand. But I never even began to think that this was how you felt about them—about us—that we're just tools. Have you no compassion?"

"Compassion won't get you anywhere in this cutthroat world." Madarame waved a hand. "You have to step over others to lift yourself up. It's something any schoolyard bully could figure out."

"But you raised me. You have acted as my father, yet you are telling me that meant nothing to you?"

Madarame's grin widened, and Goro clenched his teeth to bite back his rage. "I wouldn't say it meant nothing. The fact that you came into my custody at such a young age was a blessing." Yusuke's eyes widened, but Madarame continued. "It meant that I could mold your life in whatever way I saw fit. For that reason, you have been my most useful tool."

It might not have been his place, but Goro couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer. "You're disgusting," he spat. "How could you see a helpless orphaned child and think only of yourself?"

Madarame looked at him with empty golden eyes. "Oh, it's you. The stubborn 'friend' who won't go away after all these years." He raised a clenched fist. "Stay away from Yusuke. I have enough on my plate without another orphan intruding on my life."

"You remember him?" Yusuke asked. "I thought you two never even met. We wrote the letter but never received one."

"That's because I never sent it."

Yusuke's mouth fell open. "What?"

"Of course, it was charming that you wanted to stay in touch with a little lonely orphan you met, but you had better things in store. I couldn't have you associating with some unwanted child." Madarame looked to Yusuke with a cold smile. "Besides, you must keep focusing on your art, Yusuke. You don't have the time to waste with your unenlightened peers. Don't you want a place to live? Where would an orphan like you go if you didn't have me to look after you?"

Yusuke shivered and folded in on himself. "Don't listen to him," Goro said. "You're more than a tool, Yusuke. You can make your own decisions."

"But he's right," Yusuke said. "I have nowhere else to go and nothing else to do. What am I without art? What is a pupil without his teacher?"

"What has he taught you?" Goro demanded. "As an artist, all he's ever done is take the work of others. He has nothing to offer you."

Yusuke straightened up a bit as he thought it over. "What about the Sayuri?"

"I would imagine that is not his work, either." Goro glared at Madarame in his peripheral. "Why don't we ask him?"

Madarame grinned, tilting his chin back as though looking down on them. "Clever boy."

"Unbelievable." Yusuke looked down and clutched at his chest. "Then, if this is all true, allow me to summarize. You have no interest in art, yet you have masqueraded as a humble artist for years to cultivate your own public image. You view your pupils as tools that you can use to increase your profits and better your image, and you have no compassion for them—not even me, who you raised as a son and student. And your most famous painting, which has inspired me and countless others, is not even yours."

"Yes, you finally figured it all out. What a smart boy." Madarame's heels clicked on the floor as he and the guards moved in to corner the group. "Now, allow me to rid you of these disturbances, and we can return to our lives."

"This looks bad," Morgana hissed. "I can't fight them all off by myself!"

Goro braced his back against the wall. For the past decade, he had tried to accept the fact that every aspect of his life was out of his control. Where he went, who he spoke to, what he said and did—everything was determined by the adults that ruled over his life with threats of punishment and abandonment. He thought that he could be okay with that as long as they would accept him, but, by now, he knew that they never would. He would always feel like a prisoner in his own home.

But not here. Here, in this world, he could choose what he wanted to do, and what he wanted right now was to utterly destroy the man in front of him.

Madarame had denied both him and Yusuke the comfort of friendship, and, years later, they both were much worse off for it. They had suffered alone through years of manipulation and trauma, neither feeling like they had anyone to reach out to. They had internalized their self-flagellation, their resentment, their crushing loneliness, until they didn't know how to even begin connecting with others.

Glancing to his side, Goro saw Yusuke kneeling on all fours, dragging his nails across the pristine tile floor. "You are unforgivable," he was saying, but the rest was drowned out as a sharp pain ripped through Goro's skull.

Goro gripped his head in both hands and slid down the wall, curling into a ball on the ground. You have found your resolve, a voice said. Hold on to your ideals, and I will be there to fight alongside you.

He shifted one hand to his forehead and felt smooth metal. Whatever was on his face—encasing his whole head, actually—obstructed his vision and movement. His fingers hooked around the edges of the mask and pulled, but the pain in his head doubled at the effort. He stood up, grit his teeth, and ripped it off in one motion.

A powerful, steadying presence made itself known behind him. Goro turned to Yusuke, who was also scrabbling with a mask on his face. He arched his back as he tore it off, taking skin and blood with it. A Persona burst into being, and Morgana gasped. "Two at once! That's so cool!"

Goro wiped the blood from his forehead to watch Madarame's expression morph with terror. "Please, finish your thought from earlier," he said. "I would love to hear more about poor, defenseless Yusuke and that disgusting, unwanted child." Goro stepped forward with each adjective, relishing in the feeling of control.

Madarame's mouth hung slack until he managed to bark an order. "Guards, take care of them! Show no mercy!"

As the Shadows moved to follow his command, he turned on his wooden heel and ran for the door. Goro clenched his fists.

"You're not getting away, you piece of shit." He darted between two guards to give chase, but one of them grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground. The force knocked the breath out of him, and he curled on the floor to clutch his side.

Yusuke and Morgana both called his name, and their feet appeared in his line of vision. Morgana summoned his Persona to cast a spell, diminishing Goro's pain. Yusuke helped him to his feet, and the trio turned to the immediate threat. The Shadows had changed to their true forms, and backup had arrived in the mere seconds that Goro had been knocked down.

"This looks bad," Morgana said. "I'll help you guys all I can, but you'll have to figure most of it out for yourselves as we fight."

"Gladly," Goro breathed. Judging by the barely-controlled rage in his expression, Yusuke felt similarly.

Yusuke and Goro threw themselves into battle while Morgana maintained some distance to advise them. "All Shadows have weaknesses, so try casting your elemental magic to see what works." As he spoke, a gust of wind tore through the room, but all the enemies remained standing. "If we knock them all down, we can take them out! Give it all you've got!"

Ice crystals formed on one of the Shadow's wings and burst, knocking it to the ground. "Woah, was that Yusuke?" Morgana gasped. "Great job! Looks like they're all weak to ice except the one in the middle. Yusuke, take out the rest of those guys while Akechi and I get the big one."

Another blast of wind hit the tallest Shadow, but it hardly flinched in response. Goro took stock of his abilities before choosing a light spell. This time, the Shadow lurched forward onto all fours.

"We got 'em all!" Morgana cheered. "Quick, kick 'em while they're down!"

The three of them launched into an all-out attack. Ripping through a Shadow with his saber and watching it dissolve was scarily gratifying, and Goro was disappointed to see that Yusuke and Morgana had already taken out the other three small Shadows. They returned to their regular battle stances as the large enemy staggered back to its feet, but Yusuke hardly gave it a moment to stand before hitting it with a heavy physical attack. It died with a screech, and the resulting silence sent shivers through Goro.

He pushed his emotions back down and grabbed Yusuke's arm. "We have to go after Madarame. He can't have gotten far." Yusuke nodded and took a step in the direction that Madarame fled, but his knees buckled and failed. Goro knelt to help but collapsed to all fours instead.

"You guys are both gonna end up in serious trouble if you keep rushing into danger like that," Morgana said. He summoned Zorro to heal both of them, but Goro's exhaustion remained. "You both pushed yourselves really hard today, and you need a break. We can come back another day to finish what we started."

Goro and Yusuke leaned on each other to stand up. "As long as we're here, we should take note of some of the names on these portraits," Goro said. "We can track them down later and get testimony from them."

Morgana huffed. "Fine, but make it quick." He retrieved Goro's notebook and pen from the bag and handed them over as best as he could without thumbs. "Other guards might come after us, so we still need to find a way out."

They proceeded through the hall, with Goro writing down as many names as possible. The next hall that they entered was more labyrinthine than open, which made sneaking past enemies mercifully easy. They made their way to a small room with several windows. On the other side of the glass, lights flashed periodically to tint the night sky in shades of yellow.

"We made it!" Morgana jumped on the ledge and examined the windows. "One of these is open, so we have to be careful when we exit the building. There could still be guards around."

Goro and Yusuke climbed the ledge with shaky arms and crawled through the window. Outside, they jumped down several more levels until they reached a row of hedges. "Akechi, can you use the app to get us out of here now?" Morgana whispered. "I don't exactly know where the exit point is, so we should try every so often."

Goro tapped the icon, but there was no response. "It seems as though we need to move farther away from the building."

As they sneaked past gaurds and made their way to the edge of the hedges, the app eventually pinged on its own, allowing them to leave.

When the world came back into focus, the three of them were outside Madarame's house in their usual clothes. Yusuke turned to the door with a frown. "After everything that happened, Madarame will not want anything to do with us. We should go."

"Wait a minute," Morgana said. "That version of him that we met in the Metaverse was different from how he appears in this world. If the Palace is a cognitive creation, maybe it forms from conscious thoughts, but it could also be a product of someone's subconscious."

"So you think Madarame may not be consciously aware of what we just did?" Goro asked.

"I feel like that's the case, yeah."

Goro turned to Yusuke, showing his skepticism with a raised brow. "What would you like to do? Unfortunately, none of our options are good."

"What Madarame said earlier was true," Yusuke replied. "I don't have anywhere else to go. I will have to stay here for the time being and hope for the best."

It was frustrating beyond words that both Yusuke and Goro had to suffer in their daily lives even after being chosen to enter the other world, but perhaps they could change that soon. "Let me know if you feel you are in danger," Goro said. "I cannot offer you a place to stay, but I will help you in any way I can."

From there, they formed a plan. Morgana noted that the locked door in Madarame's house and the gate in his Palace had similar designs, so they were linked somehow. If they opened the door and Madarame saw that it was no longer locked, Morgana guessed that the security gates would open long enough for them to pass through and continue exploring. They would be in Yusuke's room nearby to listen for Madarame's reaction, then quickly enter the Metaverse before Madarame investigated further. Ideally, he would think that a common thief had broken in. They agreed to meet Yusuke at his house after school on Monday to carry out the plan.

Once their discussion was finished, Goro checked the time. Some of the tension left his shoulders as he noted that it was still before four o'clock. "We should get going now. You're sure that you'll be okay?"

Yusuke reached for the doorknob. "I have to be. Besides, I have lived here almost all my life. A few more months is nothing."

Goro's fingers froze over the screen of his phone. He often told himself the same thing.

"It's different now," he eventually said. "I'm here for you."

Yusuke smiled and turned the knob. "And I for you. Now get going—I'll not have you getting in trouble again."

Goro smiled back and started on his way to the train station. After such a long day, his bag weighed heavy on his shoulder, but he didn't mind; he was grateful to Morgana for now.

"You guys are really something," the cat said. "You got the hang of battle so quickly! We're gonna make a great team."

A team. Such a foreign concept, yet perhaps that was what they'd become.

After going to bed that night, Goro awoke in a bunk bed. He furrowed his brow and reached up, tensing as he felt cold metal under his fingers.

"Welcome to my Velvet Room."

Goro's head whipped to the side, searching for the source of the deep voice. A man with a long nose sat in a table at the center of the room, flanked by two girls in clean, pressed uniforms.

The girl with her hair styled in two buns rapped a baton against her hand. "Sit up when you are addressed, Denizen."

"The head resident has important information to tell you," the other added.

Goro swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood, careful not to hit his head on the top bunk. All three of the residents gestured to a chair near the center of the room, where a fluorescent bulb buzzed and lit the area in harsh tones. The folding chair squeaked as he sat.

This didn't seem quite real, but it was also different from his other dreams. In those, he was never aware or able to see his own body. He was only vaguely aware of his own consciousness as he processed events around him, as a cameraman records but is unseen. In this dream, he could look down and see that he wore a tattered pair of slacks, along with a heavily stained shirt. He supposed this made sense, considering he was in some sort of doomsday bunker. It was actually more consistent than most dreams.

Goro looked back up and straightened his posture. "What do you have to tell me? Who are you?"

They introduced themselves as Igor, Caroline, and Justine. "It seems you have recently awakened to a new power," Igor said. "I wonder how you'll make use of it. There are many paths open to you now."

Justine adjusted her clipboard. "We are here to assist you as you learn more about your abilities. We will be available to you at all times through various portals in both worlds."

"May I ask exactly where we are?"

"Pay attention!" Caroline snapped. "Our head resident already told you that you're in the Velvet Room."

"But this appears more like a large bunker than a single room."

Igor folded his hands beneath his chin. "We are preparing for the end." As Goro's eyes widened, he continued. "But do not worry. If you follow our instructions, you will survive and be born again. There is nothing for you to fear."

From there, the residents told him about the Velvet Room features that he could use. At the moment, he only had one Persona, but he could fuse countless more to become stronger. If Morgana was correct and a Persona represented the true self, the implications of this fit with Goro's reality; he had formed himself entirely around the expectations of others, so of course he would have many different masks.

As if reading his thoughts, Igor said, "Do not forget the spirit of rebellion within you. Though others have influenced you greatly, you now have the power to shape the world as you see fit." His grin widened. "Use it well."

"The time has come for you to return to your world, Denizen," Justine said. "Seek us out if you require our services."

Goro opened his mouth to ask more questions, but his vision faded to a deep blue and his limbs went slack. He lost consciousness again with unsolved conflicts swirling in his mind.

AN: what up i'm morgana, i'm five days old, and i never fucking learned how to read