6/1 – Wednesday
Evening
Mementos

"Remember what I said about Mementos feeling kinda claustrophobic?" Skull said from somewhere in the dark behind Ren. "This is so much worse." Then he yelped. "Fox, stop pushing!"

"I'm sorry," Fox said, and he sounded it. "I cannot see anything."

"Should we like, all hold hands or something?" Panther offered. "So we don't keep bumping into each other."

"Like a bunch of toddlers on a field trip?" Ren chuckled. "Yeah, sounds good to me."

"Oh, hell no!" Mona protested. "I am not doing that."

"I'll just give you another piggyback ride." Ren leaned over to try and pet the feline, but couldn't feel Mona anywhere.

"Ugh." Mona grumbled more under his breath. "Fine." Then a fuzzy head smacked into Ren's shin. "Ow!"

Ren similarly let out a sharp breath, then clamped his mouth shut as an ache shot up his entire leg. "Mmmrph." Deep breath, deep breath. "Shit, Mona, your head is really hard."

"We already knew that!" Skull called from a few feet back.

"Shut it Skull!" the not-a-cat fired back. "Okay, Joker, pick me up."

"Aye-aye Mister Mona." Ren bent down, wincing at having to move his still aching shin, and plucked the little Thief up, depositing him back on his shoulders.

Mona held tight to Ren's head, warm and fluffy and thankfully secure. "Onward, Joker."

"One sec. Skull, hand please?" Ren reached back, feeling around in the dark for Skull's hand, finding it and grabbing it tight. It was a very nice hand; as stupid of a statement as that was sounding in his head. Sort of...strong? Might have just been a projection, but Skull had a very firm grip, comforting and tight. Despite the cold air, Ren felt a little warmer now. Maybe just safer, more secure.

"We all ready?" Panther asked. A chorus of affirmations.

"Let's walk," Ren said.

And they walked. Footsteps echoed on the tile floor, across the tile walls, in the dark.

"When is this gonna–" Skull's voice cut off, he must have also seen what Ren at that moment noticed: a pinprick of light in the distance.

And with the light, came sound. A shout, some sort of clatter. Perhaps a screech.

"Is that...?" Mona mumbled. "Is there someone there? Or some sort of Shadow?"

And a single word by an unfamiliar voice, clear as crystal, echoed across the tiles: "Persona!"

Ren's blood froze. The Thieves' footsteps stopped in unison. No one dared to move, he certainly didn't dare to breathe.

"What do we do?" Skull whispered. His hand squeezed Ren's so tightly.

And that was enough to knock him out of stasis. "Someone might need our help," he said, loud enough for the other Thieves to hear, "so we're going to help them." And he let go of Skull's hand. "Any objections?"

A momentary pause. Mona slipped off his shoulders, sliding down Ren's arm like a firepole, dropping to the tiles with a little clunk. "None," Panther replied. "Lead the way, Joker."

No telling what was on the other end of the tunnel. No indication of threat or safety or capability. But with his friends at his back, Ren broke into a jog. Towards that little speck, towards whoever might need him.

He'd barely taken a dozen steps when the pinprick abruptly yawned into a full-fledged sunrise, faux light hitting his eyes with enough force to send him stumbling. It had been small, not far away, he realized. And then his feet crunched into soft dirt, into unfamiliar shades of red and violet that danced across his vision in an overwhelming tempest.

And that voice again. "What the hell?"

Behind him, the clink of feet on tiles vanishing as his teammates joined him in the dirt. Ren blinked, trying as hard as he could to regain sight, to–

Click. Cold metal against his forehead. He froze.

"Don't move, kid," came the voice. Careful, not quite cruel or angry. "Hands up, please." He complied, as calmly as he could manage given the circumstances. "All of you, stay put. I don't want to hurt anyone, but–"

"Big words from someone pointing a gun at our friend!" Mona growled.

"A cat?" they mumbled. "No, wait. Are you a Shadow or something?"

"He's not..." Ren started, then cut himself off. "It's complicated." He willed his vision to clear, willed his sight to return. Nothing but the vague and hazy image of someone, standing between him and one of the fake lamps in Mementos' wall.

"What the hell do you want, lady?!" Skull chimed in. Ren could feel the protective anger radiating off him, and something about that calmed his own heart, just a little.

The voice, apparently a woman, sighed. "I need you all to take a deep breath. I'm going to call some people here, they're going to confirm you're not a threat. For the time being, please give me your names."

More people. This woman wasn't alone. Either way, it wasn't like he could afford to identify himself, no matter who they were. "I refuse," Ren said, and his voice cracked. "I'm not about to give that up, we're wearing these masks for a reason."

The barrel pressed harder against his skull. "Refusal isn't an option here. I'm sorry, I don't have the ability to take that kind of chance on you."

"Joker," Fox whispered, "what do we do?"

"Joker?" The woman gasped. "You're..." And the metal left Ren's skin. "You're the Phantom Thieves, aren't you?"

Well, it was safe to tell her that much at least. Ren nodded.

A pause. "I'm sorry," she said, "for threatening you. I was wrong. Ren, right?"

Ren's heart skipped. He blinked a few times, and he could see her, a little better. A woman with short brown hair, matching eyes, and a miserably sympathetic expression on her face. She was wearing a black suit, almost a business suit, but it reflected the light sort of oddly...was it metal? In her right hand, by her side, was that shining steel pistol she'd been threatening him with. In her left, a large white compound bow. "How do you know my name?" he asked.

"Mitsuru mentioned you," she said. And with that, everything clicked into place.

"You're one of those Shadow Operative people?" Panther asked, the question they'd all probably been thinking.

The woman nodded. "My name's Yukari Takeba. I went to the same high school as Mitsuru, we–"

And Panther cut her off with a loud, barking giggle. Ren glanced over his shoulder at his teammate, who was currently holding both hands in front of her mouth, an inexplicable excited gleam in her eyes. "Sorry," she said, in an odd, strained voice.

Ren turned back to Yukari, who was giving the Thieves an awkward smile.

"So," Skull said, barely-disguised fury still in his voice, "why exactly were you pointing a gun at our leader, huh? 'Specially if you already know about us."

"Oh." Yukari raised the pistol, barrel pointing straight up, and pulled the trigger a few times. It clicked, but did not fire. "It was just a bluff, sorry. It isn't really a gun, it just looks like that. And I've only heard about you kids secondhand, so uh." She gestured to the shotgun clipped onto Skull's belt. "I wasn't aware you were all armed. So I got sorta startled. That's on me though, not you."

Skull grumbled under his breath, arms crossed. Ren took a half-step back, placing one hand on the blond's shoulder. "I'm okay," he whispered. "Deep breaths." And he felt Skull relax a little from his touch.

"Anyway," Yukari continued, holstering the faux-pistol, "I dunno how you kids got all the way down here, but I should probably make sure you can get back out safe. I'll call some other Operatives over here. And, uh." She bit her lip. "I am really, truly sorry. I've had some bad experiences with other Persona-users in the past, and there's still that guy with the bla–" And she cut herself off abruptly. Ren got the odd feeling she had almost let something slip, something he wasn't supposed to know. "Just...not every Persona-user is an ally. You should keep that in mind." She slung the bow over her shoulder. "Stay safe." And with that, she raised one hand to her ear, turning away and walking a little ways farther down the tunnel.

And before Ren could even think to say anything, Panther spun him around and grabbed him in a rib-crushing hug. "Holy shit I'm so glad you're alright that was terrifying," she said, all in one breath.

"I'm okay," he wheezed. "I'm alright. Still alive."

"Not for long if she keeps crushing your lungs," Skull mumbled, and grabbed both of them by the shoulders, peeling the two apart.

Ren massaged his abdomen with a grin. "Yeah, think I you were closer to killing me just there than she was."

And Panther rolled her eyes, letting out a little huff of air. "Excuse me for being concerned."

A hand on Ren's other shoulder, and he turned to see Fox, standing there sort of awkwardly. "I'm not the best with words," the boy said, "but I'm also glad you're not dead."

Ren just reached up and patted Fox's hand. "Thanks, Fox. That's plenty." Now that his heart wasn't threatening to beat out of his chest, Ren glanced around the environment the Thieves found themselves in. It was still Mementos, very obviously such, that odd distorted underground mimicking subway tracks. But at the same time, it felt completely alien. The ground under the feet was softer, closer to dirt, but nearly entirely crimson. Like soil sown with blood; and that thought turned his stomach. The walls were a deep, eerie purple, and those enormous tubes like veins seemed even more vibrant than normal. A little more alive.

"So," Skull continued, his voice a little louder now, a little calmer, "what was up with that weird laugh earlier, Panther?"

"Oh," Panther said, and then she laughed again. "Uh. So. I think you just got a gun pointed at you by Pink Argus."

The name took a few seconds to sink in, but when it did, Ren found a little bubble of laughter himself. "Are you telling me that a Phoenix Ranger just threatened to shoot me in the head?"

"Yeah!" Panther giggled, then took a deep breath. "I don't know why I'm laughing, it's not that funny."

Ren shrugged. "Nerves?"

"Shit," Skull mumbled, quiet again. "Why the hell's an actress like that fighting Shadows down here?"

"Well, she said she went to school with that lady you told me about," Fox offered. "She's probably been a part of this organization for a while, if she's friends with its founder."

"Oh," Panther continued, "and Ren said that Yu guy told him this isn't the first time they've had to fight Shadows, right? Miss Takeba–"

"Miss?" Skull snorted.

She glared at him. "Miss Takeba's only been Pink Argus for the last two seasons. So, I guess she could have been one of the people who had to fight Shadows before."

Ren nodded, mind spinning at the possibilities, but finding his gaze wandering towards the woman, who was standing about two dozen feet down the tunnel, her back to the Thieves. And, to Mona, who was staring right at Yukari, his little arms crossed. As his allies continued talking, Ren walked over and knelt down to pet Mona's fuzzy head. "I'm okay, you know," he said. "I get you're probably–"

"Something doesn't add up," Mona said, abruptly.

Ren blinked. "Yeah? What doesn't?"

"Model guns like ours still work in Mementos because of the cognitive effect," the feline said, "but hers doesn't, for whatever reason. And it looks even more realistic than yours. There's something weird about that."

"Maybe she just doesn't know that's how it works?" Ren offered.

"Then why does she have it in the first place?" Mona shook his head. "It doesn't add up. There's something about it that just bugs me."

Ren nodded, and stood back up. "I could ask her, if you want."

Mona glared at him. "You expect her to tell you the truth?"

He opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again. Ren would rather not answer that question. Instead, he reached into his pocket for the broken glasses. Through them, Yukari was surrounded with an odd blue glow, some sort of hazy aurora that made it hard to make out any details. So, Ren walked closer.

"–no, I realize that." He could hear her voice now, she had one hand on her ear, talking as if into a phone, though Ren couldn't see her holding one. "Yeah, Mitsuru will probably kill me when she finds out, but I'm still going to tell–" And she suddenly recoiled. "Teddie, I swear to god, stop wailing, she's not literally going to kill me. I'll probably just be on dish washing duty again for the next few months, don't worry so much." Yukari laughed. "Okay, enough kidding around. Could you and Labyrs come help me escort the kids back, or not? Pretty please? I'd be..." She sighed. "I'd be 'beary' grateful if you did."

And finally, Ren could see something more than simply blue through the broken lens. And the sight of the pistol in its holster nearly made him drop the spectacles; there was something moving inside it, pulsing and squirming like some kind of luminescent insect. Like a trapped cerulean butterfly, confined, flapping one single wing against its cage.

Yukari started to turn around, and Ren shoved the glasses back into his pocket, making sure she didn't see he had been using them. "Oh," she said, surprised. "I was just about to...well, some friends are making their way towards us right now. The last platform isn't far, I was going to suggest we all walk back and meet them there."

Ren nodded. "Sure. I'll check with the others, but that shouldn't be an issue."

She smiled. "Thanks for your understanding." A pause. "You look like you want to ask me something."

Well, he definitely did. Ren had more questions than he could probably currently articulate. But he settled on the most obvious one. "You said we were 'all the way down here,' but aren't the doors supposed to keep people out? How'd you make it this far?"

Yukari rubbed her chin, looking like she was trying to figure out how best to answer. "Well, I can explain how but not really how if that makes sense. We figured out a few ways to get past some of the doors, but they don't seem to work on every door." She gestured to the near wall. "This place is pretty new to us, and the route we found to get here isn't the most reliable. So, we've been really careful about who we send down here. I'm just here to take a look around, really."

Well, Ren sort of wished Mitsuru had told him as much, but he supposed she didn't owe really owe him that. He was the one who refused to work with her, after all. "Gotcha."

She smiled. "If you don't mind me asking, I'm kinda curious, what's up with–" And then she flinched, one hand at her ear again, gaze towards the wall. "Rise, Rise, slow down! I can't understand..." Yukari's eyes widened.

"Is everything–" Ren began, but Yukari put a hand up to quiet him.

"How long do we have?" she said, once again addressing the person on the other line. Then, she swore under her breath. "I'll get the kids to safety. Tell Teddie and Labyrs to hold back, they are not allowed to go farther than the platform under any circumstances, no matter what happens to me."

Ren felt adrenaline start to kick up again, what was going on? What did Yukari expect to happen to her?

A sound, like the distant clinking of chains. Yukari must have heard it too, her already stiff posture stiffened even farther. "Joker!" she said, and grabbed Ren's shoulder. "Get your friends and go!" And she shoved him back towards the rest of the Thieves, pulling the bow off her shoulder and turning away, facing the tunnel as it stretched off to a junction in the distance.

"What's going on?" Skull yelled; the Thieves were running to join their leader.

"Whatever it is," Ren said, "we can stay and help. You don't need to fight this alone."

Yukari glanced over her shoulder at him, smiling despite the glint of what might have been tears in her eyes. "Trust me," she said, in a softer voice than he'd heard from her so far, "I can handle this."

From behind her, a massive thing crept into view. Some monstrous humanoid form, like a Shadow the size of a school bus, floating across the tracks. A black cloth, like a cloak, with chains crossed across its chest. And in its limp arms were two long revolvers, barrels extended to comical proportions, tips dragging through the dirt. It stopped, rather abruptly, and turned towards them. One single, bloodshot eye staring from beneath a crimson-stained hood, staring at the Thieves.

Lacking any other way to describe it, Ren's panic-addled brain settled on the only phrase that came to mind, the single word that shot through every synapse: Death.

A movement from Yukari drew Ren's gaze. Slowly, carefully, she reached one hand down to her belt and drew the silver revolver. She raised it, pointing it towards the Shadow-thing, but kept raising it. Up and over, placing the muzzle against her own forehead. "Isis," she said, and she pulled the trigger.

The sound of glass shattering. And then came the force, like a wall of air colliding with Ren's face, sending him stumbling back. He braced himself against the storm, trying to keep his eyes open, trying to see. A Persona, Yukari's Persona, an ethereal form of porcelain wings and two enormous horns supporting a pearlescent mirror.

A hand on his shoulder, pulling him back, someone shouting – drowned out by the squall. But it was enough, Ren turned away and sprinted back towards the wall where they'd entered the area.

Skull almost collided with the wall, half-looking over his shoulder and skidding to a halt, palms against the concrete. "Where's the tunnel?!"

"It was here," Fox said. "It must have closed behind us."

"Memento Mori!" Ren shouted at the wall, his voice sounding far more afraid in his own ears than he'd expected. And, on cue, the concrete peeled away into an opening, leading back into that tunnel of lightless tiles. "No looking back, come on!" He went inside first, quick but forcing himself not to run in case of tripping. Back into the dark. From the footsteps behind him, the others followed suit quick, and before long they were all stumbling through the pitch.

"Mona!" Panther said, breathing hard. "You with us?"

"Yeah!" came the little feline's voice. "I'm here!"

Skull laughed, a giddy sound that echoed through the tunnel. "That was fu–" Silence. No sound of footsteps behind him.

Ren stumbled to a stop. "Skull?" There was no answer. "Skull, talk to me buddy." Nothing. He whirled around. "Ryuji!?"

"Shhhh," came a quiet voice from farther down the tunnel. "Be not afraid."

Ren spun back to face it. "Who's there?"

"A friend of a friend," the voice replied. A woman's voice, light and almost lyrical. "You should know of me well, by now."

And Ren recognized it. It wasn't the first time he'd heard it, he remembered now. Not a specific memory, but he knew it complete. "You're her," he said. "Oxymoron." He found himself laughing, a bitter sound echoing across the void. "But you took that title, didn't you? You're an imposter. Just some witch hiding behind a stolen name."

"Stole?" A sigh in the dark. "No, one cannot steal what was willingly given."

"What about coerced, then?" he retorted. His hand went to his belt, to the hilt of his knife. "Or threatened?"

"I would be careful, Trickster," Oxymoron said. No change in her tone, but the implication of a threat nevertheless made the hair on Ren's neck stand up. He didn't know exactly what the witch was capable of, but she at the very least had some control over time. That was beyond frightening. "How can you hope to know her wishes when you don't even know her yet?"

"I know I can't trust a single word you say." He drew the knife, slowly, trying not to make any noise.

A pause. "I think she would be disappointed to hear that from you."

Despite himself, Ren had to ask. He had to know. "What did you do to her? Whoever she was."

"I did nothing to her," the witch replied. "She bequeathed me her name – her memory, her heart, all she ever was and will be – in exchange for a promise." There was something in her tone that struck Ren as momentarily sorrowful. And then it was gone, replaced with that same uncaring lightness. "Whether you believe it or not is irrelevant. You cannot change that fact."

"Try me." A petty rebellion maybe. But one nonetheless.

A giggle. "Are you asking me to fight you, Trickster?" And two yellow eyes opened in the dim. "Are you asking me to kill you?"

Ren couldn't describe what washed over him. Not quite fear. Closer to dread. The understanding, utterly and completely, that he was standing in front of someone both capable and willing to end his life in an instant. He knew implicitly, at that moment, that he was nothing to her.

"Either way," Oxymoron continued, "I will have to decline. There is far too much riding on your success, too many promises I have yet to keep by you. And I intend to keep every one of them."

The pressure was gone, but Ren still had to choke down a knot in his throat. "You...can't just expect..."

"I expect that you're far too stubborn to listen to me," she said, simply. "And I expect that it doesn't truly matter. Whatever I tell you, whatever I give you, you will do what your heart commands." She sounded...not bitter. Grateful? "It is what I am counting on."

He didn't know how to respond to that. "Why are you here?" he asked, finally.

"To recognize your ingenuity," Oxymoron replied, "and chastise your presumption." Those yellow eyes turned to one side, towards the tunnel wall. "This place is not meant for you. It was never meant for you. I'm still a little confused how you knew the phrase needed to open it, but it stands that I never intended you to step foot in this passage."

Wait, what? "I don't believe you."

Her eyes turned towards him again, narrowing. "Not every door is meant to be opened, Trickster," she said, voice low. "And certainly not all of them by you."

"And the reminder on the door?" he fired back. "Who else could that have been meant for?"

A pause. "It was meant for me." Oxymoron let out a long breath. "There has been much I need to keep track of, after all. Considering the scope of what I aim to accomplish, I cannot afford to let anything slip. So, sometimes, I'll leave myself a note or two."

Memento Mori. Remember that you must die. She was reminding herself of her own mortality? "To what end?" he asked.

"Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely." Spoken like an echoed quote, some recited verse. "Sometimes it can help to remember that even gods will one day turn to dust."

Ren laughed. There was something about her that struck him as hilarious then, as beyond pathetic. "Figure you think of yourself like a god."

Oxymoron was silent for a moment. "What I think of myself," she said, finally, "is of no concern to a thief." The sound of two fingers snapping.

"-cking insane!" Footsteps in the dark. Their footsteps, Ren's own feet pounding against the tiles, breath shallow in his ears.

When had Ren started running again? Had he ever truly stopped? Was that some trick the witch had pulled on him, some curtain across his eyes?

Or was she simply able to manipulate him that utterly?


6/2 – Thursday
After School
Cafe Leblanc

No one knew what to say, most likely. Sojiro had closed up shop early again, probably because of Ren – which made him feel awful, guilty, but he was a little too distracted to focus on that guilt – so the Thieves held their normal meeting downstairs instead.

Ren half-slumped over in the nearest booth to the stairs, head on his arm and arm on the seat back. Ryuji sitting on one of the stools, a nearly full glass of soda on the counter, not even looking at the manga he was holding in both hands. Yusuke washing dishes in the sink, slowly and methodically. Ann across from Ren, just sort of sitting, chin in one hand. Morgana on the table between them, grooming himself. The TV on but turned down nearby, the chattering of some gaudy talk show that Sojiro's regulars enjoyed.

"Oxymoron kinda threatened me," Ren began. The words flowed out of his mouth like so much bile. Yusuke stopped washing dishes. Four pairs of eyes on him. "When we were in the tunnel. I dunno how, but she like, took me away from you guys for a minute."

"Holy shit," Ann muttered. "Did she...what did she say?"

Ren shrugged. "A whole lot of nonsense. Like, that I couldn't change what she was planning, or whatever. And, that she'd made the tunnel for herself, we weren't supposed to have found it."

"Uh," Morgana began, then hesitated. "I...I want to ask about that. About how you knew...but I don't know if it's something we should talk about privately though." He trailed off, shifting on the table.

Ren wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to ask, but he picked up the drift. Memento Mori, that phrase he'd pulled out of nowhere. He hadn't told Morgana about those flashes of someone else's life, those images that could neither be called memories nor premonitions. He hadn't told any of them. Was there some excuse he could give, some explanation that would convince–

Ren closed his eyes. "Stop it," he muttered to himself. "Stop...stop lying."

"Dude," came Ryuji's voice, "what's going on?"

"I think I might be going insane," Ren said. "Like, I've been hearing things, or remembering things maybe? From how things used to be, before Oxymoron turned back time. That's where I heard Memento Mori, it just popped into my head. Maybe it's Anachronism's memories, or maybe someone else's, but I can't stop...it's been...I've been keeping that from you all. I'm sorry. I just wanted to keep pretending like I was fine, I guess."

Morgana's warm and fluffy weight landing on the booth next to him. Then, the feline pressed his head against Ren's back.

"I'm sorry," Ann said, her voice so much softer, so much kinder than Ren expected it to be. He opened his eyes and glanced at her, at those tears that shouldn't have been running down her cheeks. "That sounds...fuck, that sounds terrifying. I'm sorry you felt like you had to keep that from us."

"Dude," Ryuji mumbled, sounding like he was having difficulties finding words, "if that happened to me, I wouldn't wanna tell anyone either."

"You have every right to keep things to yourself," Yusuke added, shaking some water off his hands. "But it sounds to me like you wanted to tell us. Am I wrong?"

"I wanted to," Ren agreed. "But...yeah. Not exactly easy to tell your friends that you might be completely losing your shit." And he laughed, and maybe there was a sob in the sound. "So I lied. Lying by omission, that's the phrase right?"

"Ren." There was that sharp voice he knew from Ann. Except, it wasn't quite the same. "Stop it. You're not...pretending like you're not in pain isn't lying."

"What's the difference?" Ren mumbled. "I didn't have the guts–"

"I used to starve myself." And Ren's brain emptied completely. He turned to stare at Ann, at that furious look in her blue eyes – angry not at him, but maybe, for him. "I hated how I looked, and I wanted to be a model so bad, so I just wouldn't eat." She crossed her arms, shuddering slightly, but kept looking right at Ren. "I got really sick. Like, a lot. I almost had to drop out of middle school cause of that. And if Shiho hadn't..." Her voice caught, and she took a deep breath, one hand against her mouth. When she spoke again, it was with that utter passionate anger. "So, Amamiya, you and I have known each other for a fucking month now. Do you think I'm a coward or a liar for not telling you sooner?"

It was odd, staring at that intensity in her eyes. Like gazing into a fire. Not exactly comfortable, but Ren couldn't look away. "I think you're brave," he said, finally. "I think you're so, so brave for telling me at all."

She smiled, sniffled, and reached over the table to punch him in the shoulder. "Ditto, idiot."

The screeching of a stool against the floor, and Ren turned his head to see Ryuji standing in front of him. The blond reached down, grabbed Ren by the shoulders, and yanked him up. Before Ren could brace himself, Ryuji pulled him into a tight hug. One arm across his back, the other on the back of Ren's head, so indescribably close. "If that Oxy bitch ever fucks with you again," he said, more intense than Ren had ever heard from him, "I'll break her goddamn face."

Ren couldn't help but laugh. It was so absurd. It was...and then his throat closed and his eyes slammed shut and he grabbed onto Ryuji's sweater as tight as he possibly could.

"Ren," Yusuke said. "You saved my life. I can't assume I will one day return that favor, but I hope to take every opportunity to lift you towards any happiness you cannot reach on your own."

"It's okay to be scared," Morgana added from behind him. "But we're here. We're the Phantom Thieves, and we'll fight for you too if we need to."

There were tears in him that would not leave. A weakness he could not speak. But he let himself be safe then, let himself be surrounded by the people who cared about him. And the audience on the television cheered a birthday greetings for their guest, while Ren clung to his friend as if he'd fall off the edge of the world otherwise. Safe. He was safe.