Ace In The Hole

by eiranerys

Shido has barred the Shadow Operatives from action for two years. But when the Phantom Thieves appear, Mitsuru decides that they have to take action. Luckily, there's a certain former member Shido doesn't seem to be aware of: Ken Amada. But when Ken meets the Phantom Thieves in person, he can't help but agree with their goals. He can't help but befriend them. Phantom Thief!Ken AU.

49. 48: Ying Yang

Chapter 48

Ying Yang

---

"Seriously, what's keeping Oracle and Ace?" Ryuji asked, looking back towards the engine room.

For some reason, the two of them had dawdled in the trek back to the first part of the Palace. Maybe it was best to check up on them.

Makoto suddenly looked troubled, touching her chin. "Something was bothering Ace… but he didn't want to talk about it for whatever reason."

Ren had noticed that too. But maybe Ken was prioritizing their mission. Though he wished that Ken had shared his thoughts with them. It looked like something had been really bothering him, but Ren felt that pushing it wouldn't have helped. It might've made Ken clam up even further, actually. So Ren let it go. Besides that, it wasn't the best idea to linger.

"What about Oracle, though?" Haru chimed in.

"We should head back," Anne said, looking back to the engine room. Her eyes were filled with concern for their two absent friends. "We should ask them what's wr—"

A loud crash in the opposite direction suddenly grabbed their attention, making them whip around.

"What on earth was that?" Yusuke questioned, taking a step backwards.

Ren felt his stomach tie itself in knots. He had a bad feeling about this, right in the gut. Their scanner and one of their best healers were missing too.

They didn't have to wait to find out, though.

Two Shadows came tearing down the path, battered in combat as they grappled. They looked like Cerberus and Cu Chulainn.

But they were pitch black. It wasn't like someone had dunked them in tar though. Ren couldn't explain it but... something about them was very different. And he wasn't talking about the color change.

There was something more feral about these Shadows. Like the only thing on their minds was violence.

He had only fused Cu Chulainn in the Velvet Room, so he didn't know how Cu Chulainn behaved as a Shadow. But they had fought Cerberus in the earlier parts of Shido Palace. Even then, Cerberus as a Shadow didn't behave like this.

Not to mention, he had never seen Shadows turn on each other like this. It didn't look they were hit with brainwash either.

"THE HELL?!" Ryuji suddenly blurted out.

But that got the Shadows' attention.

"Dammit Ryuji," Ren grumbled to himself.

The Shadows charged towards them.

"Scatter!" Ren quickly ordered, whipping out his gun.

His bullets hit the mark, distracting the Shadows momentarily.

His friends broke away from him before launching their attacks. But for some reason, Yusuke's ice spell didn't down the Cerberus like usual.

"What the—?"

"Fox, look out!" Haru cried out, grabbing the back of his jacket with both hands.

She yanked him out of the way before the Cerberus could knock him down. Ren let out a little sigh of relief; they couldn't afford to have anyone down for the count.

Ryuji struck Cu Chulainn with an electric spell, but it just blocked the attack. What the… the Cu Chulainn he had fused was weak to electricity. What the hell was going on? This was gonna be really annoying.

But Ren pushed that out of his head.

"Fox, fall back! Skull, stick to physical attacks for now!" Ren barked out, all while cursing that Ken and Futaba were absent during this fight.

Anne directed her attacks towards the Cu Chulainn since they knew already that Cerberus blocked fire attacks. Morgana stayed back too—which was smart of him. He was the only one right now who could heal everyone. Granted, Ren always carried a Persona that could heal everyone just in case, but it usually fell to Morgana or Ken to heal the team when needed. They at least had Anne and Makoto to help, but it would be really nice to have Ken right about now.

But for now, Morgana was attacking the Shadows. Zorro whipped up small gales, knocking the two Shadows backwards.

But every time, they got up with ease. And they hit hard. Ren gritted his teeth.

He was getting a little worried too. Ken and Futaba would've come running by now. They were held up… by something.

But then the Shadows suddenly growled, black energy swirling around them. Ren stared at them. What were they doing?

These Shadows were just so… different. What had triggered the change?

"Joker, heads up!"

Ryuji tackled him to the ground, and they rolled for a moment. Ryuji quickly staggering to his feet, but Ren took a moment to summon Arsène.

Bursts of dark energy slammed into the Shadows; Makoto quickly followed up with a Freidyne attack.

Cu Chulainn suddenly backhanded Anne, sending her flying backwards. She hit the wall with a loud crack, and she slumped to the ground.

"Panther!" Yusuke exclaimed in alarm.

"Forseti!"

His Persona let loose a blast of light, blinding the Shadows briefly. Ren then spun on his heel, rushing over to his girlfriend. He pulled her limp form into his arms to check her over. Ren cringed as he noticed red staining her blonde hair, at the back of her head.

"Panther… hey!" he said urgently.

"Hurts…" Anne mumbled out.

Ren nodded before reaching for the medicine tucked away in his coat's pocket. He pulled out one of Takemi's strongest medicines.

"I know, Panther. But here, take this."

Anne took the pill wordlessly before swallowing it down. To his relief, the effect was almost instant. Anne blinked several times before quickly standing up.

"That's some strong stuff." But then she reached for the whip coiled at her hip. "But let's go kick some ass, Joker!"

Ren just grinned. "Right behind you, Panther!"

It took a little longer to finally down the Shadows, but Ren was relieved when they both burst into ash. Ren panted heavily, even leaning forward to rest his hands on his knees. That had been a rough fight…

"Ace, Oracle—!" Makoto turned back to the engine room.

"Queen, wait!" Ren wheezed out, hastily straightening up. He couldn't help but wince at the sudden moment. "We need to catch our breath first."

"But they could be in danger!" Makoto argued.

"That's exactly why we need to be in tip-top shape," Ren argued before glancing towards Morgana. "Mona, save your energy. I've got plenty of medicine."

He barely registered Morgana nodding before he pulled out the medicine. He passed it around to everyone and they managed to catch their breath, while tending to their injuries.

"Damn… what's going on? And we had thought we were done with this Palace!" Ren griped to himself.

They hadn't encountered that kind of Shadow before. Something must've been done to them. But the question was… who?

Was it Shido? He had Futaba's mom's research after all. Had he caught on? Dammit… maybe he shouldn't have been so slow about tackling the Palace.

"Joker?" Anne gently touched his shoulder, the concern clear in her blue eyes.

Ren looked to his girlfriend. "Sorry, I've been just trying to figure out what the hell's going on. But we've got time for that later. Let's head back."

His friends nodded. Makoto took the lead, but Ren didn't begrudge her for that. She was worried for both Ken and Futaba.

As they got closer, Ren could hear voices. One voice in particular… filled Ren with dread.

"Oh, shit!" Ren exclaimed as he started to run faster.

Dammit… Akechi caught on. What were they gonna do now?!

"I didn't know the full extent of the plan! I didn't know that they were going to shoot her!" Akechi was protesting.

Wait… what were they talking about?

"That doesn't matter!" Ken suddenly spoke, his voice filled with agitation. "You still agreed to the plan! You don't care about me! You just wanted my help, to hell with what I want!"

Ren held a finger to his lips.

"Not a word until we get inside there," he said sternly, keeping his voice hushed.

His friends nodded in unison before they hurried to the engine room once again. They could see the three of them in full view now.

"AKECHI?!" Morgana demanded.

Ken, Futaba, and Akechi's heads whipped towards them. But then Ryuji's hand clenched around his club, a dark scowl on his face.

"The hell is he doing here?!" he spat out.

Dammit, this was not good! Ren gritted his teeth for a moment. Akechi was going to screw up all of their plans! What were the chances he'd go running to Shido, expose that Ren never died and Ken was still with them?

Akechi was staring at Ren, though, his eyes growing wide with horror. His complexion was pale, all blood draining from the visual parts of his face; his red mask did hide a good part of his face.

Then he threw his head back, laughter suddenly bubbling out. It was kinda… unhinged, too. But Ren forced himself to not show his unease with that.

"This is too funny," Akechi choked out, shaking his head. "You're dead! You're supposed to be dead!"

Ren said blandly, "I got better."

"Shut up, you piece of shit!" Akechi snarled out, swiping at the air.

Ren didn't blink. He wasn't scared of Akechi himself. He was more worried about Akechi screwing up their plans.

"I had prevailed over you… my plan was perfect!" Akechi growled.

Someone was overconfident. His friends may tease him for his confidence, but Akechi was in a completely different league.

"Yeah, yeah…" Ren said carelessly, flapping a hand in Akechi's direction. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Akechi. But next time... maybe you should check the pulse."

He then flashed a smirk. He still wished he could've seen Akechi's smug expression when he enacted the plan. It would have been gold to witness.

But now it was serious business. He understood now why Ken and Futaba were held up. So, Ren pulled out his knife, pointing it at Akechi. Akechi didn't blink at the silent threat, just glaring harder at Ren.

"How?" he demanded, his voice cracking slightly.

Ren just smirked. Okay, maybe Akechi was entitled to an explanation.

"We never actually took her treasure. You only thought we did and lost it in the chase," he said simply.

Akechi said numbly, "You… let yourself get caught. That was a cognition? Sae-san's cognition, no doubt. All that for a gamble?"

"It worked on you and the cops, didn't it?" Morgana's voice turned smug as he stepped to stand next to Ren.

Akechi gritted his teeth as he clenched both of his fists. Ren wouldn't be surprised if Akechi's eye was twitching underneath his mask.

"You're outnumbered, Akechi. You won't win," Ren said coolly.

Akechi started laughing again. He was… really losing it, wasn't he? He must've been really clinging to enacting revenge against Shido. It was… pretty sad.

"Care to prove that?!" Akechi suddenly snarled out.

He lunged toward Ren, a mad look in his eyes. Ren raised his knife, prepared to defend himself.

"NO!" Ken suddenly yelled, tackling Akechi to the ground.

They rolled for a moment, but Ken managed to come up on top. Ren didn't drop his guard down, though. He had a feeling Akechi wouldn't stay down for long.

He was right when Akechi suddenly surged forward, knocking Ken to the ground. He then twisted Ken's arms behind him before pinning him down to the floor, face down.

Akechi even knocked away Ken's spear and it rolled away from the two of them.

Ken tried to fight him off, but Akechi just twisted his arm—hard.

Ren had to fight down the panic swelling inside of him. Dammit, what could he do? Akechi was hurting Ken now! He had to act fast before Ken got hurt even further but he couldn't pull anything reckless.

Ren tried to comb through his various Personas. Maybe a wind Persona would be best. Hopefully with a well-aimed spell, he would be able to knock Akechi off of Ken. He was confident in his shooting skills, after the months of practice, but he didn't want to miss and hit Ken. That would make the situation worse.

He was vaguely aware of Futaba crying out to Ken and Anne raging at Akechi for hurting Ken.

Makoto's reaction was faster than Ren, though—she lunged forward, probably intent on beating the crap out of Akechi for hurting Ken like this. She had become more protective of him after his kidnapping after all.

But then Akechi pulled out a gun—a pistol like Ren's—aiming it right at Ken's temple. Makoto quickly stopped short, her eyes filling with fear. Ren felt anger bubble inside him but stayed put.

What the hell?! Wasn't he obsessed with the idea of having a 'real' family? He must be really losing it now.

Ken looked pretty freaked out too, his eyes wide and his breath coming in rapid short bursts.

"Move a muscle and maybe my hand might slip," Akechi threatened with a dark glare.

"Akechi… you bastard…" Ryuji hissed out, his free hand clenching into a fist.

Akechi just cracked a sardonic smile. But before Ren could blink, he moved his gun, pointing it in their direction.

Yusuke began to demand, "What are you—"

Akechi pulled the trigger. The bullet hit something made out of glass.

But then alarms began to blare.

A mechanical feminine voice announced, "The watertight bulkhead door has closed. All personnel within the partition wall must evacuate at once."

Watertight bulkhead door? Ren's eyes widened.

"Crap, he's trying to separate us!" he thought in panic.

"NO! Anat—" Makoto started to call her Persona.

Then Akechi produced a smoke bomb, throwing it. It hit the floor, right in front of them before smoke began to pour out.

"What the—"

Ren coughed as the smoke filled his nose. He lifted his arm as a quick shield to his nose and mouth, reaching with his other hand to tear off his mask. He had to do something!

"Norn!" he shouted, dropping his arm.

"Zorro!" Morgana cried out, summoning his Persona.

The two Personas quickly produced a powerful burst of wind that blew away the smoke, but they were too late. The door had slammed down.

"Ace! ACE!" Makoto cried out, her voice panicked, before she raced over before she banged on the door.

Then she backed up, her face suddenly determined. Her eyes burned with anger before she grasped at her mask with both hands.

She tore it off, summoning Anat. Anat's Freidyne spell was strong enough to shake the ground, making Futaba stumble for a moment.

But the door stubbornly remained in place.

"DAMMIT!" Ryuji banged on the door as well. "We can't just leave Ace behind!"

"We won't!" Ren snapped; he had to stay calm, as tempting it was to freak out.

He was worried about Ken too—Akechi was obviously pretty unhinged and willing to hurt Ken. He could handle himself. Futaba looked up at him with concern, but he just nodded at her. He didn't want her to worry. Ren was just thankful that she made it over to them while Akechi was distracted. But they had to have faith in Ken. He wasn't weak.

---

This was not good. His friends were separated from him, not to mention that Ken didn't even have his spear.

"I shouldn't have given him that smoke bomb," Ken thought grimly to himself.

Akechi finally got off of him, staring down at Ken. Ken scowled, before pushing himself up. He heard faint banging and then a muffled voice from the other side of the metal wall. It was so muffled though, that he couldn't tell who it was.

But Ken forced himself to look at Akechi. Had he finally lost it?

"What the hell, Akechi?" he snarled out.

Akechi watched his every moment through narrowed eyes.

"I suppose I must commend you for your acting skills," he hissed out. "You certainly had me convinced that you were so broken up over Joker's death."

Then he sneered before jabbing a finger in Ken's direction.

"Only to find out that it was a lie! A complete lie! How you all must have laughed at me behind my back! You've been planning to invade Shido's Palace all along, haven't you?! To avenge your precious Joker."

He spat out Ren's codename like it was a curse.

"That's not the only reason," Ken snapped, feeling anger surge through him.

He couldn't help but feel disgusted. Did Akechi really think that they were acting on a personal vendetta? He wouldn't deny that Ren did have a vendetta with Shido but that was not why they were seeking to take down Shido.

"How about how Shido is planning to ruin the entire country? Do you not care about that?! Not to mention all of the innocent people he dragged down during his climb of power!" Ken demanded.

Akechi suddenly burst into laughter, even hunching over for a moment, and clutching at his stomach.

Then he straightened up, giving Ken a scornful look. "Innocent?! Please! All of the targets Shido sent me to take out were dirty crooks, rotten to the core!"

Ken scowled. If he was going to play that card.

"Can you really claim that?" he asked coldly. "What about innocents that died in the accidents you caused?"

"I…" Akechi faltered.

"So, he has a conscience, huh?" Ken mused to himself.

"They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Akechi quickly deflected.

Ken fought the urge to let out a derisive snort. So, it was never his fault, huh? How typical.

Akechi suddenly pointed to Ken. "And besides that, you're biased! Okumura was no saint! The man was ready to sell off his daughter like livestock!"

"Oh yeah, how kind of you," Ken said dryly, making sure that sarcasm dripped from every syllable. "To think of Noir when you shot Okumura, not at all about setting us up to take the fall. It's not like you gave him any more thought than any of your other targets. Shido points and you ready your gun, right? You robbed him of his chance to atone and Noir a chance to make amends!"

Of course he knew that Okumura wasn't a saint. He had been ready to arrange a marriage for Haru, never mind that the suitor in question was abusive and saw Haru as nothing but his future belonging.

And he had some nerve. He never killed Okumura for anyone's sake other than for Shido to tie up a loose end and set them up.

Akechi looked like he was struggling to find a retort, but Ken wasn't done. Far from it.

Ken narrowed his eyes at Akechi. "And what about Isshiki-san?"

Akechi actually flinched. "She was… she was…"

"She was innocent," Ken spat out.

He wouldn't let Akechi wiggle his way out of this, to delude himself into thinking that he was doing nothing but taking out crooks.

"You can't worm out of that! You killed an innocent woman in cold blood!" Then Ken let out a mirthless laugh. "On top of that… you go on and on about you want to avenge your mother because she was the only one to love you. But what about Oracle? She lost her mother! She was at her abusive relatives' mercy until Sakura-san rescued her!"

He pointed at Akechi with a fierce glare.

Ken accused, "You pulled the trigger! She did nothing wrong! She didn't deserve to die!"

Akechi shook his head vigorously. "Shut up! She was in the way! If she had just given Shido what he wanted, then she would be alive now!"

"Don't you dare…" Ken growled out.

Disgust welled up inside of him as he glared at Akechi. He was still trying to run away from the truth, was he?

"You made an innocent girl suicidal. Did you know that Oracle had auditory and visual hallucinations for two years? Oracle heard her mother blame her for her death. Do you not understand how messed up that is?! Or are you still deluding yourself into thinking that your actions can be justified?! How do you not see that you put Oracle in a similar situation as yours?!"

For a moment, Akechi looked stricken.

"I… I…"

But then Akechi's lips twisted into a snarl. It was almost jarring to see Akechi almost… feral, especially with the princely young man façade that he had so carefully cultivated.

"Why?" he seethed. "Why? You were supposed to be on my side!"

"What?"

Ken stared at him, baffled.

Akechi clenched both of his hands into fists before levelling a dark glare at Ken. "I wouldn't have extended that to anyone! But no! You threw my offer right in my face! And what—to throw your lot with people on the bottom of the barrel! It's pathetic! Why do you care so much about them?!"

"You don't get to make the decision for me," Ken snapped. "Only I can!"

He refused to be shamed for his choices.

Ken continued, "They're my friends. You expect me to just throw that in their faces? Besides that, you're so blind. You just view them as pathetic idiots but that's the furthest from the truth! You would've realized that a long time ago if you weren't so obsessed with the idea of revenge and actually tried to get to know them!"

In a way, it was almost sad to see how Akechi was so blind. Ken had joined the Phantom Thieves all while hiding his true intentions. But hiding the truth had eaten at him, the more he got to know everyone.

Ken glared at Akechi. "On top of that, why on earthshould I side with you? You're willing to let people die in your quest... whatever it is. Innocents! And for what? Your 'revenge'! If you even knew about this place, then why didn't you—"

"You know nothing about my plan," Akechi sneered. "My plan… is to watch Masayoshi Shido climb to the top. Let him have just a tantalizing taste of power… before I yank it all away from him. Destroy him like he's destroyed countless lives!"

"That you helped him with!" Ken retorted.

"SHUT UP!" Akechi screamed at him. "SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP! What the hell do you know?! People have treated me like I'm lower than dirt, all because my mother gave birth to me. They should've pitied her, after that despicable bastard crushed her soul! They drove her to despair!"

He then swiped through the air.

"This… This is all for her! I will destroy him, in the name of my mother!" he yelled.

Ken felt his blood freeze to ice.

"Today… Mom is watching over me. I'll make you remember what you did to her! I'm going to kill you!"

His words that he had flung at Shinjiro-san that awful night suddenly floated into his mind. Seeing Akechi behave like this… just reminded him of the deep despair that had once haunted him every day.

Akechi… really was consumed with the idea of revenge.

"Even if all you have is hatred, one day… you'll regret it."

Shinjiro-san's words—his warning—from seven years ago rattled in his brain as he stared at Akechi.

Shinjiro-san had known. There was blood… so much blood on Akechi's hands. Akechi had hurt so many people because he was so fixated on enacting revenge on Shido.

Only now he realized just how wise Shinjiro-san was.

But unlike with Shinjiro-san, Akechi was just done caring. Shinjiro-san had accidentally killed Mom, but he was wracked with guilt for two years.

Ken didn't know if he was disgusted or that he pitied Akechi for being driven to that point. Perhaps it was a bit of both.

"Do you think your mom would've wanted this for you?" Ken said quietly, trying to speak gently.

Maybe if he appealed to Akechi's love for his mother, Akechi might realize that this would not be what his mother would want. She would've wanted him to live. What Akechi was living was really a half-life. That wouldn't take away the blood staining Akechi's hands but...

"The way you talked about her… it sounded like she really loved you. Is it worth it? All the blood on your hands… I understand how it feels, losing your mom so suddenly but—" But Ken was suddenly cut off.

"Shut your goddamn mouth!"

Akechi jabbed a finger in Ken's direction, his eyes wild.

"You may think your life was pitiable, but what about now, huh? You're living a cushy life. You don't have any worries."

Ken scowled.

"So much for trying to talk him out of it," he thought ruefully.

"You don't know anything about me, Akechi," he spat out. "You think you can read a piece of paper and you can understand what exactly I've been through? You've deluded yourself that we can be a 'family' but it's on your terms!"

Family…

He couldn't help but think of Minako-san constantly dragging him out for dinner during their days of SEES, how she was the first one to get him to open up to someone. No matter how much trouble life threw at her, she still found a reason to smile. She was many things to him—his team leader, his first crush, but Minako-san became the big sister he never realized he had wanted.

Akihiko-san would carry him on his back when he had been too tired from a long grueling training session at Tartarus, but Ken had been too proud to admit his exhaustion. Even though he was sometimes tongue-tied with Ken in the beginning, he never hesitated to show that he cared. And of course, there was how he had been the one to help Ken realize that he should try to live for both his mother and Shinjiro-san.

Yukari-san always loved surprising him with gifts from her co-stars. He still recalled how concerned she had been when he had first joined SEES. And he couldn't help but admire her for her inner strength—losing Minato-san, bearing the twins despite the ridicule… He could only hope to be as strong as her one day.

Mitsuru-san always took pride in his grades and his work on the student council. No… she never saw him as a tool. She was always concerned with his well-being. People often saw her as an ice queen, but they failed to see how caring she truly was.

Junpei-san took the time to teach him sports. He always was the one to remind Ken that it was okay to be a kid, to reclaim his lost childhood. And even though it had been horribly embarrassing, Junpei-san always went nuts whenever Ken scored a winning goal for his team.

He remembered when everyone came back from Yakushima, with Aigis-san in tow. To say that he was taken aback was putting it... lightly. Witnessing Aigis-san developing her humanity had been incredible to watch. Over time, she slowly unveiled her... quirky sense of humor. Aigis-san was stilted at times, but she had such a big heart.

Fuuka-san would always fuss over him in her usual gentle way. She actually reminded him a little of Mom with her gentle and kind demeanor. Her mere presence was so comforting. Ken never regretted trying to take the fall for her when Takaya sought to eliminate her.

And… Shinjiro-san. He had done so much for Ken. Looking out for him during the one month he had rejoined SEES, protecting him, and even taking custody of Ken because he wanted a better life for Ken. They fought and bickered, but Shinjiro-san never failed to show him how much he cared.

He loved them all. They were his family.

Akechi's hand clenched into a fist. "I should've known that you wouldn't understand… you'd never understand what kind of life I've led. Everyone always thought the worst of my mother… and everyone thought that I'd never amount to anything."

Ken wanted to offer a retort, but he couldn't help but think about what Yukari-san went through, being ridiculed for choosing to bear Minato-san's bastard children. He had no retort to that. In the eyes of society, bastards belonged amongst the lowest of the low.

But Akechi wasn't done. "On top of that, you don't even know what a bastard goes through. Especially with Takeba's spoiled twin brats! You think they know what it's like?"

Ken's vision went red for a moment.

"Shut up!" he hissed out, anger surging through him.

It made his blood boil to hear Akechi talk about Miyuki and Kaito like that.

"How dare you take your anger out on them! They're children! Innocent kids who never wished you ill! And you're jealous of them just because Yukari-san was better off than your mom?! Because Yukari-san was lucky to have support but not your mother?! You're nothing but a spiteful, jealous little child! You're the brat, not them!"

Ken then glared fiercely at Akechi, both hands balling into fists.

"This isn't a contest over whose life is the most miserable!"

Ken closed his eyes. He remembered Minako-san gently bringing up the idea of abortion to Yukari-san. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop but…

"Yukari-chan… I know that you loved Minato a lot but raising a child as a teen mom—it won't be easy."

"I know what you're suggesting, Minako and… no. I know it won't be easy. But this is Minato's last gift to me. It's a blessing, not a burden."

"Yukari-chan, I… I didn't mean to—"

"I know, Minako. You were just worried about me."

He remembered the grief Yukari-san had gone through.

One day, he had come back to the dorm to see Yukari-san icing Junpei-san's bruised-up face. When he had asked what happened, Junpei-san had become agitated, getting worked up about this disgusting classmate calling Yukari-san a whore behind her back. Ken had been confused but Yukari-san then started scolding Junpei-san for letting the 'idiot' get to him and that she didn't care what people thought. Shinjiro-san then pulled Ken away, quietly explaining to him that people didn't think highly of bastard children and their mothers.

He hadn't understood it, questioning why. But Shinjiro-san had just shrugged before saying that's how society operated. He may not agree but there was a long-lasting stigma against bastard children and their mothers.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't right.

But even with all of the obstacles in her way, Yukari-san had pushed through everything. Though… he could sympathize with his dead aunt. She had… no one. His grandparents disowned her, and his mom was torn between his grandparents and his aunt.

However, that didn't excuse Akechi's hateful words about two innocent children.

"Why do you have sympathy for everyone but me?!" Akechi hissed out. "You have no idea what I've been through! I was bounced from foster family to foster family. I was treated like I was a nuisance, nothing more than a burden!"

It was on the tip of Ken's tongue to point out that yes, he knew exactly how he felt. His uncle often emphasized that there were several children who weren't as fortunate as Ken. And yet the man wondered why Shinjiro-san wanted to take custody of Ken.

"I told you before that I can understand but it's not what your mom would want for you!" Ken growled out. "She wanted you to live, not be consumed with this obsession for revenge! Yes, I know about wanting revenge! And it nearly ruined my life! I walked away from it because I realized that my mom would've wanted me to live my life to the fullest."

His heart started to ache as he spoke the last part. He still missed Mom so much…

Ken closed his eyes for a moment. "That's why… she protected me. She gave her life so I could live."

Then Ken's eyes snapped open, placing a hand over his heart.

"And I would be spitting on her memory if I kept trying to avenge her! That's not what she wanted!" he declared.

"You... you don't know my mother!" Akechi spat out. "That man ruined her life! Of course she would want me to destroy Shido!"

Irritation suddenly flared inside of Ken. So, he didn't know what his aunt wanted, and yet Akechi could claim that he knew what Ken's mom wanted? But he wasn't finished yet, how could he not see how hypocritical this was?

"And what of Oracle?"

Akechi paused in confusion. "Oracle?"

Ken narrowed his eyes but explained, "You go on and on about how no one understands what you went through. But did you forget? Oracle is a bastard too. Her mother still loved her, just like yours. And her family resented her, just like you. And you're the one that ripped her mother away. Can you honestly look me in the eye and say her situation is different from yours? I don't see her gunning for yours or Shido's deaths. She never made the choices you did, because there is no excuse… and deep down, you know there is no excuse. You're just afraid to admit it."

"Shut the hell up! You prattle on and on trying to claim I don't know anything about your situation and here you are trying to insinuate you know mine. Just keep that self-righteous hypocrisy to yourself!" Akechi hissed.

Ken could practically feel his eyebrow twitching at that comment. Of all the nerve of this guy! How can he spout everything he does and call Ken a hypocrite!

"On top of that, why do you care so much about Aragaki?!" Akechi suddenly spat out. "He killed your mom! And you know what the last straw was for my mom?! Hearing about your mom's death! She committed suicide just three months after finding out about the news! He indirectly killed her!"

Ken couldn't help but flinch at that. He had never told Shinjiro-san about that when he told his guardian what happened between him and Akechi. If Shinjiro-san knew about that… Ken was afraid that Shinjiro-san would slip back into his extreme guilt. He felt terrible enough what happened to Mom and how it ruined Ken's life.

Akechi glared at Ken suddenly. "Why? Why do you continue to defend him? You even love him for reasons I can't even begin to understand!"

"It was an accident," Ken got out.

Akechi at least deserved the truth. He didn't know everything just based on the info that the IT president managed to dig out.

"Shinjiro-san lost control of his Persona, Castor. It went on a berserk in the neighborhood I lived with Mom. Castor broke into the house. Mom was trying to get me out of the house with Castor rampaging. That's what killed her. I didn't understand that it was an awful accident. Shinjiro-san spent years wrestling with the guilt!"

He wouldn't go into the drugs, though. It was a touchy subject for everyone. Which was why everyone had been infuriated at the reveal that Shido had drugged him with the Persona suppressant drugs.

Akechi's expression suddenly became conflicted. Ken swallowed hard, the sudden silence unnerving him. But that's when Akechi started to chuckle.

"Are you really so naïve? Do you really think that I'd care if it was an accident or not?! Whether it was or wasn't—it won't bring back the dead!"

Ugh… it was so tempting to give Akechi a well-deserved smack. Ken was starting to get really frustrated.

But violence wouldn't help in this situation.

Akechi let out a mirthless laugh. "On top of that, did you really think making up a sob story for Aragaki would make me feel bad for him?!"

Ken glared at him, both hands clenching into fists. "You think I made this up just now?!"

"It can't be true! Aragaki is a menace, a crook! You're just blinded to the truth! He deserves to rot in j—"

Ken's temper snapped. Ken punched him in the gut and Akechi doubled over.

"Shut up! You keep jumping to assumptions! You don't know Shinjiro-san! I do! For years! How arrogant do you have to be to claim that you know more about Shinjiro-san than me?!" he demanded.

"He has you brainwashed! He and Kirijo's dogs!" Akechi yelled out. "How is that any different than how I work for Shido?!"

"You're so blind…" Ken then glared at Akechi.

He really thought their situations were comparable? They weren't remotely the same! Shido saw Akechi as nothing as a tool whereas everyone gave him love and affection. It simply infuriated Ken to hear that Akechi had the gall to compare his senpai to Shido.

Ken growled out, "You don't even see how monstrous you've become. You may despise and hate Shido for what he did to your mother… but you're more like Shido than you realize. You've destroyed countless lives all for the sake of your goal, just like Shido!"

At first Akechi froze at that. Then his expression contorted with rage, his lips twisting into a snarl.

"Shut up… SHUT UP!" Akechi shouted. "You know nothing! I'm nothing like that bastard!"

He then reached for his weapon, a sword with a serrated blade.

Then Akechi lunged forward.

---

"DAMMIT!"

Ryuji slammed his bat against the wall one last time. The wall hardly budged from the blow, drawing a frustrated growl from Ryuji.

"Is there really nothing we can do?" Haru wrung her hands, suddenly looking hopeless.

Makoto was feeling fairly hopeless herself. What did Akechi want with Ken specifically?

"If we break through, I'm wringing his neck," Makoto hissed to herself, her hands clenching into fists. "Not only for this, but for the way he tricked Sis!"

But then Ren shook his head, his dark eyes burning with determination. "No. We can't give up!"

Futaba suddenly wrung her hands, looking nervous.

"What's the matter, Oracle?" Haru asked, placing a hand on their youngest member's shoulder.

Futaba bit her lip. "Akechi knew about the plan to kidnap Ace."

"He knew what?!" Makoto demanded.

"There was something bugging me, back when I was confronting the IT guy," Futaba explained. "It got me wondering if Akechi knew about the plan to kidnap Ace, y'know?"

"So he knew this entire time… and still thought Ace would go along with this crazy plan?!" Ryuji growled out, his hands clenching into fists.

"Stop it," Ren snapped at them, shooting them a warning look. "Getting pissed isn't gonna help our situation right now."

Makoto sighed. Ren was right…

"Sorry…" Ryuji mumbled out before hanging his head.

Ren heaved out a sigh. "I get it, guys, I do… but we need to work out what to do instead of just seething about it."

"Oracle…" Yusuke turned to Futaba to look at her. "What's going on right now?"

"Hang on."

Futaba pressed her hands to her temples, focusing.

"Oh… damn. Ace is going for the jugular," she said in awe.

"Oracle, now's not the time!" Makoto snapped, feeling rather impatient.

"Sorry, sorry…" Futaba said, looking down at the ground for a moment. "But um… Akechi and Ace are now fighting."

Makoto groaned. She knew it was most likely inevitable, but it didn't stop her stomach tying itself into knots. While it was true that Ken possessed the Ring of Darkness to protect him from curse spells, but she still felt nervous… Who knew what else Akechi had up his sleeve?

"We need to come up with a plan," Anne said, her clenched hands trembling.

"I wonder…" Haru said slowly, resting her chin in one hand. "Maybe we can make the metal brittle?"

"Brittle?" Makoto echoed.

Haru's suggestion wasn't a bad idea. Maybe if they heated up the wall with Hecate's flames, then attacked the heated area with physical attacks… A plan was already beginning to formulate in Makoto's head.

"Queen? Do you have an idea?" Yusuke asked.

Makoto nodded. "Yes. My idea is that we need to stagger our attacks. First, Panther should heat up the metal with her fire spells. That'll make the metal more malleable. Then Skull, Fox, and Mona should attack with their physical attacks. Then Noir should try to pierce through with Astarte's gun spells. And I'll make the hole bigger with my nuke spell."

"Simple but it's not like we have a ton of options," Morgana remarked.

Ren nodded. "I'll chip in with my Personas too. But Oracle…"

Futaba grew alert. "Yeah?"

"Try to give Ace as much support as you can. I have a feeling that Ace is gonna need it," Ren said.

Futaba nodded furiously before summoning Prometheus.

"Leave it to me!" she exclaimed before disappearing into her Persona.

Ryuji then cracked his knuckles.

"Let's bust this wall down!" he said, pumping his fist.

They backed up to give Ren and Anne space. They tore off their masks as one.

"Surt!"

"Dance, Hecate!"

---

Ken was used to relying on his spear for blocking blows. Unfortunately, he didn't have that right now.

Ken grabbed for his gun, pulling the trigger. He aimed for the floor though. He refused to point the gun at Akechi though. On occasion, he'd shoot at a Shadow. But aiming a gun at a person… the mere thought made Ken sick.

It just made him think of Takaya pointing his gun at Ken. Takaya shooting Shinjiro-san…

No… never.

As much as he hated a person, he'd never point a gun at them.

"Robin Hood!"

Akechi called his Persona. Robin Hood drew back his arrow, glowing an ominous shade of purple. He let the arrow fly, but Ken didn't bother dodging.

He was really thankful that Mitsuru-san had insisted that he'd wear the Ring of Darkness. He would be toast otherwise. Though he didn't think that Mitsuru-san would've predicted this happening.

"What the…?" Akechi uttered. "You're weak to curse!"

"Surprise," Ken deadpanned.

He had no interest in revealing to Akechi what was his secret. He was just grateful that Minato-san had given him this nearly seven years ago. He would've been in deep trouble if it wasn't for it.

"Ace!" Ken couldn't help but flinch at Futaba's telepathic voice. "I'm here to back you up, okay? The others are working on trying to take down the wall but keep him distracted until we can!"

Ken nodded. "I'll try, Oracle."

He didn't know about this though… Tyr and Robin Hood shared an element, after all.

He had to try though.

Ken then narrowed his eyes at Akechi before tearing off his mask.

"Go! Power up!" Futaba cried out.

Red shimmered around Ken the moment before Tyr appeared.

"You have a second…?" Akechi sputtered out.

A second? Wait, did Akechi think that Ken possessed the Wild Card like Ren?

Tyr swung his spear, sending blades of light flying. Akechi gave a small grunt as the attack struck.

Akechi sent Robin Hood after Ken; the Persona dive-bombed at him, but Ken scrambled to dodge the attack. The shockwave from the attack was still strong enough to make Ken stagger though. He managed to stay upright, though.

"I'm not a Wild Card!" Ken exclaimed; he didn't want Akechi to make any more presumptions about him. "My Persona just evolved. Shido had me backed into a corner, but I refused to go down. I was going to stand up and fight, no matter what!"

"And I thought this kind of thing was Yu-san's shtick—inspiring speeches. At least according to Joker," Futaba snickered.

Ken felt his face flush before he hissed out, "Oracle, hush!"

Akechi then chuckled. "So… it really was only Joker who's special, was it…? I knew that Personas could change—after all I saw Niijima unveil her Persona. I just assumed that you were hiding your true strength all along. Amamiya's power, though… it's such a waste."

"Shut up, Akechi!" Futaba growled out, her voice growing heated. "Yeah, Joker's power is great, but did you really think he could do all that he accomplished alone?! No! He needed all of us so he could succeed! He was close to giving up when you and Shido pulled the crap with Okumura! He would've, had he been alone!"

"That just proves how weak Joker is!" Akechi snarled out.

"Joker is not weak!" Ken hissed out, bristling at the insult aimed at his friend. "Besides, you're jealous of him!"

Akechi let out a frustrated growl before attacking Ken once more. Ken summoned Tyr, who unleashed another bless spell. It didn't do much damage, of course.

He couldn't win if he kept using his bless attacks though. But at the same time, Ken felt conflicted at using his gun attacks on Akechi. It kinda made him wish that he still had electric spells. It was so much simpler with Shadows…

But then Akechi suddenly rushed him. Ken quickly shifted into a defensive stance, his eyes scanning Akechi's form for any weaknesses. Akechi gave a quick jab with his sword. Ken jumped to the side. But Akechi kept coming after him, his swings slowly becoming wilder and wilder.

"Running away, are you?" he spat out at Ken. "You're a coward!"

Ken scowled before hissing out, "You're the one scared of facing the truth!"

Akechi scowled fiercely at Ken before making another quick jab. Ken jumped backwards, but he landed poorly. He stumbled backwards, his back slamming against the wall.

Akechi suddenly stabbed forward. Ken quickly dropped to the ground before giving a quick sweep with his leg. Akechi didn't lose his balance, but it distracted Akechi long enough so Ken could get away.

But what Ken really needed to do was disarm Akechi. He needed to observe Akechi's attack patterns further though. Akihiko-san told him before that it was well and good to be physically strong but to take down your enemies, you needed to figure out their weaknesses to make them fall. Of course, that had led to Shinjiro-san snarking about Akihiko-san's tendency to rush in during combat, but Akihiko-san had made a good point.

He was grateful that Akihiko-san had decided to teach Ken self-defense, though. He and Minako-san had even taught him how to disarm someone.

He had a feeling that he'd have to put his all into this fight.

Akechi then summoned Robin Hood once more. An almighty spell started to form. It suddenly exploded. Ken quickly dropped to the ground, bracing himself for the impact. Ken summoned Tyr for a quick heal.

He needed to be careful though. He didn't want to burn through all of his energy. He wouldn't be able to cast any spells if that happened.

Green shimmered around him for a moment, increasing his speed. He was grateful he at least had Futaba giving him back up. He really needed all the advantages he could get.

Akechi made a frustrated sound before rushing towards Ken. Ken was barely able to dodge. Akechi's movements were becoming even more erratic. It was getting harder to predict where he'd swing. There was a wild look in Akechi's eyes.

He was really missing his spear. He was so used to taking advantage that his enemies couldn't get in close easily unless they wanted Ken to try and stab them.

He had to deal with it, though. He needed to figure out a way to keep Akechi busy and not get the upper hand so that his friends would be able to bust their way through.

He had faith in them, though. His fingers clenched tightly around his gun.

Ken bit his lip. He couldn't see any weaknesses in Akechi's stance, though. His best shot would probably be aiming to disarm him. The problem was that Akechi moved so wildly. If he made one wrong move, Akechi would slice his arm open.

Akechi had summoned Robin Hood again.

"Tyr!" Ken quickly countered before Robin Hood could prepare an attack.

His Persona appeared, raising his cannon. He shot several times at Robin Hood. Akechi growled before charging at Ken. He raised his sword, both hands wrapped around the hilt before swinging down. Ken quickly countered by blocking it with his gun.

Not the most orthodox way to block an attack but Ken was running low on options. And besides, his time with the Phantom Thieves had taught him that sometimes he had to think outside the box.

"Nice, Ace!" Futaba exclaimed.

Ken's block had caught Akechi off guard, so Ken pressed his advantage. He gave a hard shove. Akechi gave a frustrated growl as he staggered backwards before he lunged forward again. Ken quickly darted to the right before he latched onto Akechi's wrist, giving it a hard twist. Akechi yowled in pain before finally dropping his sword.

Ken quickly took the opportunity to kick the blade away.

Akechi just growled before whipping out his pistol. He fired three times. Ken gasped as the bullets grazed his shoulder. His knees buckled and he sank to the ground as his shoulder throbbed painfully.

He gritted his teeth as Akechi approached him. Futaba's healing spell settled over him, reducing the pain. He forced himself to his feet.

"Why… why do you keep getting up?!" Akechi growled out.

"Because I won't give up!" Ken fired back. "That's something that my senpai taught me a long time ago!"

"They don't really care about you!" Akechi screamed out.

"Keep telling yourself that," Ken shot back. "You only know them through whatever files Shido dug up about them! I know the truth!"

Akechi's lips twisted into a snarl. "You keep babbling about that kind of shit! Justice? Friends?! They're all fake! The only constant you can rely on is power!"

"No, Akechi," Ken shook his head, feeling a stab of pity for him despite everything.

Just what had Akechi gone through to develop such a mindset?

He wouldn't be the person he was today without the influence of his senpais. His friends had helped him develop an independence that he hadn't had before he had met them.

"Friends and justice are both a constant. What's the point in having power if you have to tear down everyone else to get to it?" Ken questioned. "You're left with nothing but blood on your hands and emptiness."

"I… I…" Akechi seemed to be struggling to find a retort.

But then a guttural growl suddenly sounded. Ken looked up, his eyes widening. A Shadow had crawled through the vent.

It suddenly dropped to the ground.

Akechi suddenly smirked.

"I'll show you… my power! One that none of you have!"

He pulled out his gun, shooting at the Shadow. A Cerberus appeared, ready to pounce at Akechi. But Akechi just shot at it once more, making the Shadow yowl in pain.

While the Shadow was distracted, a dark form appeared behind Akechi. Ken's breath caught his throat as the blood in his veins froze. He had a horrible feeling that...

"No… that looks like—" Ken thought in panic.

"That's not Robin Hood!" Futaba said.

But then the Shadow's form darkened. Its eyes seemed to glow. Some kind of dark red energy seemed to pulsate from the Shadow.

"What the—? What did Akechi do to the Shadow?!" Futaba questioned. "Be on your guard, Ace!"

Ken just grimly nodded. "Was planning on it."

"I assume that you were sent here by Kirijo to investigate the mental shutdowns as well… not mention the accidents where people turn psychotic, causing scandals," Akechi drawled out. "That occurs when people's hearts are turned psychotic."

"You're saying… that's your power," Ken said flatly.

Akechi smiled smugly before gloating, "That's right. It's mine and mine alone!"

"You can keep it," Ken thought anxiously.

"Even the feeblest existence can gain tremendous power once the chains of its heart are broken. Why don't you see for yourself?" Akechi's voice turned mocking.

But then the Shadow turned its eyes on Ken.

Ken gritted his teeth, quickly scrambling out of the way as the Shadow pounced. Ken couldn't help but feel like a mouse as the Shadow chased him around. The Shadow was too fast; it swatted at him, and the force sent him flying against the wall.

"Ace!" Futaba's voice grew panicked.

"I'm fine," Ken got out, trying not to wince.

The Shadow was coming after him again.

Futaba warned, "Be careful, Ace! It used some kind of spell on itself… I couldn't identify what it was."

On itself…? Ken quickly pushed it out of his mind. He didn't have time to focus on that.

He withdrew his gun, firing a shot. The Shadow recoiled from the damage and Ken took the opportunity to summon Tyr.

Tyr launched several spells in quick succession, to give Ken some breathing air. He needed to figure some kind of advantage. This Shadow was just too fast and hit like a bulldozer.

But then his eyes suddenly fell on the opposite wall. Hmm… maybe the Shadow wouldn't be able to climb as easily as him.

Ken called back Tyr before he made a sprint for the wall. He was pulling himself up when the Shadow growled in frustration before literally ramming into the wall. It even shredded his cape before clawing Ken's leg. Already, he could feel blood oozing from where the Shadow had clawed at him. Ken couldn't stop the pained hiss escaping his mouth, but he kicked at the Shadow before pulling himself up.

He summoned Tyr. Tyr shot at the Shadow several times, slowly driving it back. Ken winced. He was starting to feel wiped out… He quickly healed himself. His eyes fell on the wall, the one that Akechi had forcibly created.

"Please hurry, you guys," he begged to himself.

He wasn't sure how long he could last. He could feel his energy flagging.

But then the Shadow growled before ramming against the wall. Ken stumbled forward but he caught himself before he fell. The Shadow wasn't giving up though, still slamming into the wall.

It was kinda strange, though. Cerberus's element was fire, but it hadn't launched a single fire spell at Ken. Maybe it was like a souped-up version of rage.

Ken summoned Tyr once more. His Persona leapt forward, swatting at the Shadow with the bottom of his spear. Black dribbled out of the wound, making the Shadow snarl.

Ken gulped. He really hoped what Akihiko-san said about injured bears wasn't true…

He had to handle this quickly before he found out it was true or not.

Tyr had quickly shot at the Shadow several times before spinning his spear in his hand, sending blades of lights flying at the Shadow. The Shadow roared one last time before finally disintegrating to ash.

"That power… he used it on actual people…?" Futaba asked, horrified.

Ken squeezed his eyes shut. Arsons, car crashes, train crashes… those were just a few incidents that Akechi had created. But then his eyes snapped open as he heard Akechi's approaching footsteps.

"Not bad, especially since you're on your own." Akechi strode towards Ken.

Ken's eyes darted around, to see where else he could move to. He didn't know if Akechi would attack him, and it'd be good to have the high ground.

His eyes fell on a pipe. It was low enough if he took a running leap, he'd be able to make it…

"A clever trick since you're all alone without your precious friends," Akechi spat out.

Ken scowled. "What are you even trying to prove? What do you even want, Akechi? First, you get jealous of me because I'm lucky that Shinjiro-san took me in. Then you find out that we're related and get obsessed with the idea of us working together on this crazy revenge plot because we're family. And now you want to kill me because I have the gall to call you out on all the crap you've pulled over the last two years?"

His voice turned sarcastic at the last part. He was just done with Akechi.

Ken couldn't help but pause as a realization suddenly hit him. Did… Akechi even know the answer?

"Do you even know what you want?" he asked quietly.

Akechi's seemingly calm expression wavered, and he swiped at the air. "Shut your trap! Of course, I know what I want! And I don't want to kill you! I just want you to understand that you're wrong and punish you for getting in my way."

"And that's my cue to run," Ken thought with a grim smile.

He broke into a sprint, taking a jump. His heart just about leapt out of his chest as his fingers latched onto the pipe. It took some effort, but Ken managed to pull himself up. He winced, feeling another bullet strike his arm. His arm throbbed painfully but Ken pushed past the pain.

"Why do you keep running away?" Akechi demanded.

Robin Hood then jumped, before slamming his bow against the pipe. The force tore the pipe from the ceiling, making Ken lose his balance.

"ACE!" Futaba shrieked, her voice growing shrill with panic.

Ken forced his eyes open; he could at least drop and roll, to minimize the damage. He tucked his body, rolling for a moment when he hit the ground. Ken forced himself to get up though. He doubted Akechi would let him catch his breath.

And he was right. Akechi was charging towards him, shoving him hard against the wall. Ken's head banged hard enough against it that he saw stars for a moment. Once his vision cleared, he realized that Akechi was holding the blade to his throat.

"That look in your eyes… I can't stand it!" Akechi seethed. "It's just like his!"

It didn't take a genius to realize who Akechi was referring to. But he was momentarily distracted so…

Ken's knee jerked up, ramming right into Akechi's gut. Akechi let out a small grunt, his sword slipping from his fingers. Ken then planted his foot into Akechi's stomach, sending him staggering backwards.

Akechi's eyes were blazing with anger though. "Don't you know how to give up?"

"I told you already that I gained the resolve to never give up, no matter what I'm facing." Ken narrowed his eyes. "I will never give up!"

He had faced Death itself, after all. He refused to give up.

Akechi growled in frustration at Ken's proclamation before summoning Robin Hood once again. He suddenly dive-bombed at Ken. Ken threw himself to the ground, somersaulting for a moment. He tore at his mask.

"Tyr!"

Tyr fired his cannon once more, nailing Robin Hood right in the torso.

"Ace, stay away from the wall," Futaba abruptly warned him. "Noir's gonna try to pierce through with Astarte's gun attack."

"Got it," Ken murmured before breaking into a sprint, away from the wall.

"Just a little longer…" Ken thought to himself, a wave of relief hitting him.

Akechi suddenly rushed at him, his hand balling into a fist.

"So it's going to devolve to this, huh?" Ken thought grimly to himself.

Ken was really grateful that Akihiko-san had insisted that he'd learn hand-to-hand combat. Akechi managed to get in a few blows in though, strikes that made Ken's body ache. Ken had to begrudgingly admit that Akechi was physically strong.

But then Akechi's fist suddenly lashed out, right at Ken's face. Ken grabbed Akechi's balled-up fist before yanking Akechi forward. He slammed his forehead against Akechi's, headbutting him.

Pain suddenly exploded in his skull, and he pressed a hand to his now throbbing forehead.

"OW! Okay, note to self, never do that again!" Ken thought to himself with a wince.

Shinjiro-san never batted an eye when he headbutted someone.

But Akechi dropped like a rock, clutching at his head.

"YOU LITTLE—"

The sound of an explosion cut Akechi off.

Ken whipped around to see a hole in the wall split open. It took Ken a moment to realize that it had been a nuclear spell.

"HELL YEAH!" Ryuji crowed in triumph.

His friends were rushing in. Ken's legs suddenly turned to jelly, and he dropped to the floor.

Makoto reached him first, dropping to her knees before pulling him into a tight hug. Some of his other friends had their weapons at the ready, standing in between him and Akechi.

"Ace!" Makoto exclaimed before she looked him up and down. "Are you okay?"

"Define… okay," Ken said with a wince.

He must've been really running on adrenaline; now everything hurt. His entire body ached, down to his very bones.

Makoto's expression darkened at that.

Furious, Akechi staggered to his feet. "You—"

"ARSÈNE!" Ren beat him to the punch.

His winged Persona slammed into Akechi, sending him flying backwards.

"That's for Ace," Ren spat out, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Why… why couldn't I beat you?!" Akechi snarled out, his eyes on Ken. "Why must you be so stubborn?! I would've brought down Shido to his knees!"

"Do you just hear static when I talk?!" Ken snapped, red-hot anger surging through him.

He staggered to his feet, refusing Makoto's attempt to help steady him. He appreciated the support but…

"I told you time and time again! The path you carved is bloody! Countless people have died because of your crusade to ruin Shido! You've orphaned more than just Noir and Oracle! Shido may have made people suffer but so have you!" spat Ken.

"Not to mention… his power to turn people psychotic," Futaba added. "Just… the thought of him using that power on people is just…"

She trailed off before she started to shiver.

"I thought that it was a special thing like the Nav but…" Morgana narrowed his eyes. "I think it's a power belongs to his Persona."

"The ability to control and drive others mad was really born from Akechi's heart…" Makoto murmured.

Futaba nodded furiously. "He used it on a Shadow to sic on Ace and its power level was nuts!"

Ken tried not to grimace at the memory.

"Joker, could the Shadows that attacked us before be…?" Yusuke suddenly questioned.

Ren grimaced. "It just might."

"My triumph against Shido was preordained! I was given this power from some higher being… I don't care if it was a god or a demon! But I knew… when I received my power that it was meant to be! I would use this power to ingratiate myself into Shido's circle… and then I'll use it to destroy him!"

"You're just despicable!" Anne spat out. "How can you take pride in such a messed-up plan?!"

Akechi sneered. "An impressive act you pulled, Panther. You really had me convinced that you were devastated over Joker's death."

Anne let out a little growl, her hands clenching into fists. "You…"

"When did that happen?!" Ryuji demanded, turning to stare at Anne.

That's what he wanted to know as well…

"Just a few days ago," Anne said shortly, a tightness in her voice. "Oracle and I managed to keep up the act, so we thought it wasn't important…"

Ryuji looked like he wanted to protest but he fell silent when Ren caught his eye, giving a firm shake of his head.

"Well… we all had to do our part to ensure that the masquerade had fooled you and Shido," Yusuke stated.

Ryuji smirked triumphantly. "We really pulled the wool over your eyes, huh?"

"My plan had been perfect… it was a mere fluke that you outwitted me," Akechi started to ramble. He then jabbed a finger in Ren's direction. "But it's not over… I just have to kill you all. I've spent years working towards this! I won't let it slip away from me, at the last second!"

"And then what?" Haru spoke suddenly.

Yusuke asked, "Noir…?"

"Suppose you get your revenge. I don't know what you plan on doing—killing your father after he becomes Prime Minister, going after Shido's Shadow…"

Haru's voice was calm—eerily calm, in Ken's opinion. It felt like the calm before the storm.

Haru then folded her arms over her chest, her expression still stony. "To be frank, I don't care about the details of your revenge. But my question is—what will happen after you get the revenge you desire so much?"

"I…" Akechi's mouth opened, only to snap shut and he let out a growl. "Shut up! You don't know the life I've led!"

"Don't talk to her like that!" Anne hissed at Akechi, her eyes snapping with anger.

"This is what I've been trying to tell you all along," Ken said softly. "Your life is empty because all you can think of is enacting revenge on Shido."

"Stop trying to shove sanctimonious bullshit down my throat!" Akechi spat out.

His hands then clenched into fists.

"I'll show you… all of you! Once I take care of you, the path to Shido will be clear! I've spent years getting close to him so I can expose all of his crimes… and once he's rotting in jail—I'll reveal to him that the bastard son that he disposed of was the one responsible for his downfall!"

"Annnd he's lost his marbles," Ren deadpanned.

Akechi's lips twisted into a snarl. "I'll show you… my true power."

"Be careful, guys… I'm sensing something different about Akechi," Futaba warned.

That was putting it lightly. Even back then, Akechi must've not put in his full effort when Ken had fought him. He must've assumed that Ken would be easy pickings.

This fight… would not be easy.

---

Why was there always something?

Ren didn't know what Akechi had up his sleeve but he wouldn't drop his guard. There was so much at stack here.

Shadowy energy seemed to lick at Akechi, surrounding him almost like a dark aura. The spike of energy made Ren's skin crawl. Akechi even started to chuckle, pressing a hand to his face.

"Come… LOKI!"

A small gasp escaped Ken and he took a step backwards.

"I knew it…" he muttered.

The Persona Akechi had summoned definitely looked more… sinister. It hovered over Akechi, surrounded by the same energy as Akechi. The energy seemed to eat at Akechi's outfit, burning it away only to be replaced by a completely different outfit.

This meant… Akechi had two personas!

Yusuke breathed out, "A black mask…"

"Ace, is that…?" Makoto questioned.

Ken just nodded grimly. "It's him. Akechi did attack me back then—during my first trip to Kaneshiro's Palace."

"Wait, didn't you say that he nearly killed you?" Ren said.

"Like Akechi cares," Ryuji spat out.

This was so messed up… Ren would bet his life savings that Akechi didn't even consider that; he just assumed that Ken would be gung-ho to go along with Akechi's crazy revenge plot. Ken's life really was so insignificant to Akechi up until he found out they were related. He really didn't care about what Ken wanted…

It pissed off Ren, just thinking about it.

"I'll do my best to help you guys out!" Futaba said, already in Prometheus once more.

Makoto nodded. "Thank you, Oracle!"

"Friends… teammates…" Akechi sneered. "It's all so pointless! You just cling to each other because you're all too weak to handle anything on your own!"

"Just go ahead and keep telling yourself that, Akechi!" Ryuji spat out.

Akechi growled before clenching one of his fists. "I'll take you all down!"

Akechi sounded pretty confident in himself. Ren couldn't help but feel worried, even though they outnumbered him—nine to one. And they just found out he had two personas. Not to mention that he was still giving Ken trouble, despite him possessing that special 'charm' that protected him from his Persona's weakness.

He still remembered Ken pulling him aside to warn him about the black-masked Persona-user after Akechi pushed his way onto the team. If he was still giving Ken some trouble, then…

Ren shook his head. He had to focus.

"Fan out, everyone!" Ren quickly ordered, sweeping his arm through the air.

His friends nodded before scurrying away to follow his orders. But Ken grabbed at Ren's sleeve.

"Loki's got curse magic, fire magic and almighty magic," Ken informed him in a low voice. "I remember that from my fight with him."

Ren huffed. Okay, at least Ken didn't have to worry about curse magic but Yusuke… The fire magic would be a problem. And almighty was always so fun to deal with.

He was a little worried, though. Ken looked pretty worn out from his fight with Akechi. His outfit was torn in certain places, with scrapes all over his face.

Though that reminded him…

"Missing something, by the way?" Ren pulled out Ken's spear, holding it out to his friend, and handing him some items.

It wouldn't heal up his stamina and health all at once, but Ken looked completely worn out. He needed every little bit he could get. Ren sensed Akechi wasn't going to go down easy.

Ken took it with a wry smile. "Thanks. It was a pain to go without it earlier."

Ren opened his mouth to reply but a sudden movement caught his eye. He pushed Ken away, jumping back to dodge Loki's strike.

But Loki struck at Ren again. He threw himself to the side, biting back a curse as Akechi rushed him. Akechi tackled Ren to the ground, pinning him to the ground.

"You. Ruined. Everything!" Akechi hissed out.

There was a maniacal gleam in Akechi's eyes and it unnerved Ren. Ren tried not to swallow as Akechi pressed the tip of his sword at Ren's throat.

"You were the one to wreck my plan and you stole away Ken's loyalty!" Akechi accused.

Ken's spear slammed into Akechi, knocking him right off Ren. Ren immediately jerked up into a sitting position, pressing a hand to his throat. That was way too close for comfort.

Though damn… Akechi really thought this of Ren? He couldn't help but feel a little unnerved.

Ken was looking a bit better. He must have quickly taken the items while Akechi was focused on him.

"You don't get it, do you?!" Ken spat out, suddenly livid. "Joker didn't steal anything! You accuse him, Shinjiro-san—anyone—of stealing things from you! Joker is my friend, so stop this ranting about him stealing me from you!"

He slammed the butt of his spear hard against the ground. Ren had never seen Ken look so livid. Sure, he easily got annoyed—which was why Ren liked to pick on him—but he rarely got mad.

"I'm not a damn toy for kids to fight over!" he growled out. "I'm my own person!"

This incensed Akechi as he lunged towards Ken once more. But then Ken spun his spear, slamming the butt of his spear against Akechi's chest.

Makoto then jumped forward, planting her fist against Akechi's stomach. Ryuji and Yusuke then rushed him, both launching physical attacks that Akechi barely managed to dodge. Ren struggled to his feet. He just felt… shaken.

"Joker!" Anne cried out, running over to him.

Without another word, she summoned Hecate and started to cast a healing spell.

"Panther, save your energy—" Ren tried to say.

"Hush." She then let out a frustrated growl. "I can't believe that he would pull that crap."

Ren just grimaced in response. "I had a feeling that he was gonna gun for me."

But then, Loki raised his sword. A purple orb pulsed to life before it exploded. Ren let out a grunt as the attack hit them all.

Damn that had packed a punch…

Loki wasn't done, though. He slammed his sword in the ground, creating a powerful shockwave that unsteadied all of them.

He let out a sigh of relief as Morgana suddenly healed them.

Akechi suddenly recalled his Persona before charging forward. He parried Ryuji's strike before sidestepping Makoto's punch.

"Skull, Queen—get back!" Yusuke barked out before summoning Kamu Susano-o.

The temperature suddenly dropped as Kamu Susano-o produced a flurry of ice and snow. Suddenly ice crystallized at Akechi's feet, literally making him stuck. Akechi growled in frustration before trying to hack at the ice with his sword.

"Oohh, nice one, Fox!" Futaba cheered.

As Akechi was distracted, Ren took the opportunity to rush forward. He pulled out his pistol, firing a couple shots. But then a golden flash of light caught Ren's eye. Ken had launched a light spell, but Akechi didn't budge.

"His attributes have changed!" Futaba reported.

"Could've used a warning beforehand," Ken deadpanned.

But then Robin Hood appeared, aiming an arrow of light right at Ren. But Tyr and Astarte opened fire, coming at Akechi in opposite directions. Ren quickly switched to Norn. It was probably best to stick to Personas that weren't weak to any of the spells that Robin Hood and Loki utilized.

Ren then darted forward, summoning Norn. Norn's clock hands spun once before pronouncing a tempest that slammed into Akechi. Akechi grasped his sword before summoning Robin Hood once more, the Persona producing a bright blast of light.

"Joker, get back!" Ryuji yelled before calling for his Persona.

A bolt of lightning crackled through the air, as Morgana summoned Zorro to whip up a powerful gale. The bolt of lightning melded with Zorro's wind spell, creating a crackling hurricane.

It hit its mark, electricity sparking around Akechi as he struggled to move. This gave Haru and Ken the opportunity to open fire again, knocking him backwards.

"Dance, Hecate!" Anne cried out, summoning her Persona.

Hecate's neon eyes flashed before twin fireballs escaped her chained dogs' jaws. Akechi gritted his teeth before countering with a fire spell of his own.

"Fox, fall back!" Ren ordered; he wanted Yusuke to be cautious when Akechi had Loki out.

Akechi kept switching between Loki and Robin Hood. It made him pretty unpredictable. Though, Ren did notice something. Loki made Akechi faster than when he had Robin Hood equipped. Whereas when he had Robin Hood out, the attacks didn't seem to hurt him as much.

Morgana then dashed forward, before calling forth Zorro. Zorro slashed with his rapier, summoning a gust of wind that gave Morgana a boost in the air. Tyr suddenly appeared, swinging his spear. The blades of light struck Akechi, blinding him, just as Morgana slashed down.

As Akechi leapt to dodge, he was soon met with both Makoto and Haru.

Makoto sucker punched him, making Akechi keel over. This left him easy pickings for Haru's Psiodyne spell to send him flying and hit the wall.

Ryuji took the moment to quickly boost their attack. Akechi quickly recovered though, and he staggered to his feet. He panted, clutching a hand to his heart as he stared at Ren specifically.

"You piece of shit…" he hissed out.

Ren met his gaze levelly. "And yet you're jealous of this 'piece of shit'. I stole nothing from you. If you can't understand that… then I can't help you."

Akechi lunged for him, his sword outstretched.

Ren jumped backwards, his eyes darting from Loki to Akechi. Akechi lunged towards Ren, now close enough for Ren to see the unhinged expression on Akechi's face.

But then Anne's whip wound around Akechi's wrist—his non-dominant hand's wrist—and Anne gave a hard yank.

"You're not going to hurt Joker!" Anne's voice rose with indignation.

"Is it because you love him so much?" Akechi sneered.

Ren took the opportunity to strike, while Anne had him distracted. He summoned Thor. His Persona raised his hammer before striking down hard.

"You wanna know why I took the fall for everyone?!" Ren demanded.

Anne heard his silent cue and pulled back her whip. Ren glared at Akechi. He would never understand, would he? There was not a soul who Akechi had bonded with. Maybe Ren would feel sorry about that, another time.

Because he knew it wasn't a pleasant feeling—being utterly alone. He had felt that in spades, right after Shido had ruined his life. But when Akechi used this as an excuse to hurt innocents—that's where Ren drew the line.

"Because I love them. They gave me a reason to keep fighting, tooth and nail, even when Shido was determined to kick my teeth in. But you?" Ren let out a mirthless laugh. "Nothing matters more than your revenge, huh? To hell who gets hurts, right?"

Akechi gritted his teeth before both hands clenched into fists. "I can't wait to wipe that smug look on your face…"

"Bring it!" Ren goaded, not caring if he sounded cocky.

This was a long time coming. He was tired of dancing around it.

But then Akechi did something weird. He called Loki back.

"That cocky, huh?" Ren called out, unable to resist needling Akechi.

Akechi just sneered in response. "Did you think that using my unique power is all I have up my sleeve? No… that was just the beginning."

"The hell is he babbling about?" Ryuji muttered out.

"Hey, Skull, don't drop your guard!" hissed Morgana.

Ren tensed. Just what did Akechi have up his sleeve?

Akechi pressed a hand against his mask.

"Heed my call… SEKHMET!" Akechi bellowed out.

Another Persona?! When did—?!

"Me and my big mouth…" Ren groaned out.

He had tempted fate, hadn't he? Two was already unbelievable... but now he had a third. This confirmed his suspicions… Akechi was a Wild Card.

"Ace, did he have this Persona before?!" Makoto demanded.

Ken frantically shook his head, his eyes wide with panic. "I would've told you if I knew he was a Wild Card!"

A wave of flames exploded from Sekhmet. Yusuke let out a pained cry, staggering backwards. Ren bit back a swore.

Sekhmet had burned through Yusuke's jacket, patches of his arms now exposed. Yusuke's legs suddenly buckled, and he fell to the ground, clutching at his arms.

"Panther, Skull! Cover Fox for now!" Ren quickly ordered, gesturing to Yusuke.

Anne fully resisted fire spells whereas Ryuji's Persona now resisted fire spells. They were the best choices to keep Yusuke safe for now—besides Anne could heal Yusuke.

His best friend and girlfriend nodded before hurrying to Yusuke's side. Anne dropped to her knees before summoning Hecate in order to heal Yusuke.

Damn, what did this mean? How did Akechi gain this ability? From what Ken and Shinjiro-san had recounted, the Arisato twins had gained their Wild Card ability from their brush with Death. But… Ren didn't know where he got his Wild Card. Was Akechi the same as him then?

Akechi's mad laughter immediately caught Ren's attention. He was looking straight to Ren.

"You see?! You're not special, Joker! I possess the same ability as you! The ability to wield multiple Personas! And I'll do it better!"

Ren gave Akechi a hard stare. "I know my worth, Akechi. And it's not tied to how I can use multiple Personas."

He spent too long questioning his worth as a Wild Card. But he understood now. He had a special potential, that had allowed him to utilize the Wild Card.

He had met one Wild Card in person. And he felt that he knew the other two from Ken's recounting. They had made their own journeys, discovering who they were as people. They had fought gods, triumphing because they had friends they could count on.

In that, he was just like Minato-san, Minako-san, and Yu-san. And he was nothing like Akechi.

Although, he wondered how Akechi would react to the fact that Minako-san—someone that Ken would forever view more as his family than Akechi could ever hope to be—was also a Wild Card.

Sekhmet disappeared as Akechi charged forward. He was like a blur, parrying his friends' attacks without even batting an eye. Ren gritted his teeth. Akechi had raw power, more than Ren, if he had to guess.

His two years really amounted to something, but Ren refused to back down.

He darted away from Akechi, whipping out his pistol. Akechi let out a curse as Ren hit his mark. Akechi clutched at his shoulder. Haru charged forward, swinging her axe. The side of her axe slammed into Akechi, making him stumble slightly.

Haru's axe clattered to the ground and a moment later, she swung a fist at Akechi. There was a loud crack, shards of red glass falling to the ground.

"That was for Father," she spat out, trembling with anger.

"Oh, he must be so proud," Akechi sneered out. "Why are you so loyal to him? It's not like he viewed you as nothing but a tool to get what he wanted!"

Tyr appeared with a flash, his arm cannon roaring to life. But Akechi skirted out of the way.

"I told you why she cared so much," Ken hissed out.

"Yeah! And you're the one to talk! You offered your services to Shido!" Futaba exclaimed.

Akechi let out a growl. "You'll never understand what I aim to accomplish!"

While he was distracted, Anne and Morgana worked together, producing a hurricane of fire. Akechi quickly countered by sending Loki. With a neat slice, the Persona dispersed Anne and Morgana's attack.

"Maybe we don't want to understand!" Ryuji yelled back.

Ryuji then summoned Seiten Taisei, electricity crackling around the pole arm the Persona carried. A bolt of lightning flashed through the air before it struck Akechi.

Morgana charged forward, glowing blue for a moment as he summoned Zorro. Wind appeared under Morgana's feet, launching him in the air. He slashed through the air with his scimitar but then Akechi quickly retaliated.

"Krishna!" Akechi ripped off his mask.

Seriously, another Persona? With Sekhmet, this meant Akechi had four Personas… just how many Personas was Akechi packing?

His Persona was all black and gold, with a pink lotus floating above the palm of his hand. The lotus began to glow white before a nuclear spell exploded to life—with Morgana being caught in the blast. Ren could only watch in horror as Morgana was thrown in the air like a rag doll.

"Mona-chan!" Haru cried out before rushing to catch him.

"Noir, stay back! Stick to gun attacks for now!" Ren ordered. "Queen, I want you to switch as back-up!"

If this Persona Krishna was packing a nuclear spell, then it was most likely that Akechi now resisted nuclear spells. So it'd be best for Makoto and Haru to hang back. Besides that Makoto could help heal Morgana.

Yusuke pulled out his gun, firing several times at Akechi. Ryuji and Ken combined their elemental spells, Tyr's light blades now crackling with electricity. Yusuke then rushed Akechi, brandishing his katana. But when he took a swing, a translucent shield appeared, reflecting the damage back to Yusuke.

He staggered backwards, his sword clattering to the ground. But Anne's whip lashed through the air, several times, forcing Akechi on the defensive. Yusuke took the opportunity to grab his sword. While he distracted Akechi by coming after him again, Ren took the opportunity to strike.

"Thor!" Ren shouted.

"Hecate!" Anne cried out.

Electricity exploded from Thor's hammer, combining with the inferno that Hecate produced before it slammed into Akechi.

"Zorro, come!" Morgana followed up with a burst of wind that forced Akechi to the wall.

Akechi gritted his teeth.

"Tear them apart, Fenrir!" he commanded.

Akechi summoned a snarling wolf with black fur, glowing coals as eyes, and a fine golden chain circling its entire body.

He pounced at Morgana, knocking him to the ground.

"Get off him!" Ryuji yelled, charging forward.

He swung his bat, but Fenrir caught it in his jaws, ripping it out of Ryuji's hands and tossing it to the side.

"Skull, get back!" Ken ordered.

Tyr appeared behind Ken as Ken nailed Fenrir with a side jab. Tyr then blasted Fenrir right off of Morgana with his arm cannon. While Ken and Ryuji focused on Fenrir, Ren turned his attention to Akechi.

"Come! Norn!" he exclaimed.

Electricity crackled from Norn's form, zapping Akechi. But Akechi quickly shook it off, whipping out his gun and shooting right at Ren. Anne's whip threw off his aim, making him swear.

But then Fenrir suddenly jumped back, right in front of Akechi. Then the Persona's eyes suddenly glowed a dark red. A scythe started to form before it slashed at all of them. The force of the attack was strong enough to send Ren to his knees.

And he wasn't the only one. The attack had hit them all—only Ken was unaffected since the Ring of Darkness had protected him.

Fenrir's eyes started to glow once more, but a pink glow surrounded Fenrir. Astarte sent the Persona flying, giving Hecate an opening to shoot fire at Akechi. This also gave Morgana the opportunity to heal their injuries.

Ryuji and Yusuke then took the opportunity to double team Akechi, combining their elements to create a crackling snow flurry.

Ryuji suddenly surged forward, his shotgun in hand. He fired several times at Akechi, but Akechi easily dodged.

"Surt!" Ren summoned another of his Personas.

The hulking fire-giant lifted the torch it carried, the flame glowing bright before a torrent of flames shot forward. Akechi quickly summoned Sekhmet once more; she countered with her own Agidyne spell. The two fire spells clashed against each other before dissipating.

Ren gritted his teeth. Akechi just seemed to shrug off anything they threw at them. This was starting to get frustrating.

"Go! Power up!" Futaba cried out, buffing their strength.

Ren flicked his eyes towards Prometheus.

"Thanks, Oracle!" he called out to her.

Moments later, purple shimmered around their forms as Makoto cast Marakukaja.

Ryuji and Yusuke were both firing at Akechi with their guns, but suddenly Ryuji ran out of bullets. Ryuji swore at that, making Akechi sneer.

"That's just like you. All brawn and no brains—"

Akechi was suddenly cut off by Makoto suddenly punching him. Ken quickly followed up by jabbing the butt of his spear against Akechi's back.

Ryuji suddenly rushed Akechi, wielding his shotgun like he'd do with his weapon. Akechi let out a pained grunt as Ryuji hit his mark.

"Haha, I don't need bullets to use my gun!" Ryuji gloated.

"Head in the game, Skull!" Futaba scolded.

Akechi scowled before summoning Sekhmet once more. Yusuke fell back, wary of Sekhmet's fire spells.

"Just die already!" Akechi growled out, before Sekhmet struck at Ryuji.

He stumbled backwards before looking around in bewilderment.

"Ugh, Skull's confused! You gotta snap him out of it!" Futaba said.

"Noir!" Ren said.

"Of course!" Haru nodded. "Astarte!"

Haru focused on healing Ryuji while Sekhmet struck again, this time at Anne. She suddenly hunched over before wrapping her arms around herself.

"Where am I…? That doesn't matter…" Anne mumbled out before falling to her knees. "Why am I here… I can't do this…"

"Ah! Panther got hit with despair!" Futaba gasped.

"Tobi Katou!" Akechi summoned another Persona.

Tobi Katou looked like he was from the Sengoku period, with his attire, though his bamboo hat hid any facial features. Blades protruded from his arms, instead of sporting any hands.

Tobi Katou suddenly glowed pink before launching a Psiodyne attack at Anne. Anne let out a startled cry before she was knocked backwards.

"Panther!" Yusuke exclaimed in panic.

He drew his katana, lunging towards Tobi Katou. Ren turned towards Akechi before summoning Arsène. Arsène flung bursts of dark energy, but Ren grabbed his pistol to double attack on Akechi. He needed to give Haru an opening to heal Anne.

Akechi growled in frustration before pulling out his gun. But before he could even fire, Anne's whip struck him in the wrist. The blow made him drop the gun. Ren quickly summoned Oberon, not wanting to lose the opening that Anne had created.

"Panther, you okay?" Ren asked quickly as he stepped closer to his girlfriend.

Anne nodded, flashing him a smile. "Yeah. Thanks to Noir!"

"You're all so pathetic… you're just sniveling weaklings who can only lick at each other's wounds," Akechi sneered.

"It's the opposite, Akechi," Makoto spat out. "We're not weak because we rely on each other. It makes us strong."

Akechi scowled at Makoto's declaration. "Shut the hell up!"

Tobi Katou then tried to attack Makoto with another Psiodyne attack, but Tyr appeared in front of Makoto, shielding her from the blow. This seemed to piss off Akechi as he sprinted towards Ken. He swung his sword, but Ken quickly blocked the blow with his spear.

"You could've had it all if you picked me!" Akechi hissed at him.

Ken suddenly tensed. "I don't want what you're offering. I'm happy with what I have! Why don't you understand that?!"

Ken then gave a hard shove, forcing Akechi to stumble back. Morgana suddenly jumped up on Ken's shoulder, leaping towards Akechi. Blue flames flared to life around Morgana as he summoned Zorro. Wind suddenly swirled to life, shoving Akechi against the wall.

Haru and Ken worked together to launch gun attacks at Tobi Katou, while Ryuji summoned Seiten Taisei to fire a lightning bolt at Akechi. But Ryuji's attack reflected back at him, thanks to a shield Akechi quickly threw up. Tobi Katou darted forward to attack Ryuji, but Haru hastily cast a shield spell that reflected the damage back towards Akechi.

Kamu Susano-o suddenly flung ice and snow at Akechi, but Akechi just jumped out of the way. But the Bufudyne spell struck the ground, forming a thin layer of ice.

That drew Ren's attention.

If he remembered right, Yusuke had trapped Akechi earlier with a Bufudyne spell... Maybe that was the key. Akechi was so used to brute force—he could counter it with his own power.

Akechi suddenly pressed a hand to his mask. "Sherlock Holmes!"

Akechi's newest Persona had a plaid coat that almost draped over his form like a cloak, a matching hat angled to hide his face. In one hand, he wielded a cane-sword, in the other was a magnifying glass.

But then he suddenly glowed gold. A golden gavel formed, slamming down.

"NO!" Futaba screeched out before a green shield suddenly materialized, blocking the attack for all of them.

Akechi growled in frustration before summoning Katou Tobi once more. Katou Tobi proceeded to launch a Mapsiodyne spell, pushing them all back—well, save for Haru obviously. But Makoto was downed by the spell.

"Queen, no!" Futaba gasped out as Makoto struggled to get up.

Ken ran to help heal her, pulling her up in a sitting position while doing so.

Astarte then opened fire, giving Ryuji and Yusuke an opening to attack Akechi with their elemental spells. But Akechi quickly switched to Loki, throwing up a magic shield.

"Damn you!" Ryuji growled out.

"Dance, Hecate!" Anne exclaimed before tearing off her mask.

"Zorro, show your might!" Morgana summoned his Persona as well.

Wind and fire combined in a devastating attack, but Akechi managed to shrug it off. Loki then slammed down his sword, making everyone stagger from the force.

Akechi suddenly charged forward, his eyes affixed on Ren. He then reached for his gun, shooting almost wildly. Ren quickly jumped out of the way, but Akechi pressed forward. Without thinking, Ren chucked his knife at Akechi. The blade buried itself into Akechi's shoulder, making the older boy curse loudly. He wrenched out Ren's knife, throwing it aside.

Tyr suddenly appeared, sweeping his lance at Akechi's face. Tyr disappeared just in time for Anat to strike at Akechi with a powerful Freidyne spell. The spell was strong enough to make the pipes nearby rattle.

Ren stopped as a thought occurred to him.

"I knew right away the black-masked Persona-user was too strong for me," Ken's voice echoed in Ren's mind. He hadn't been super detailed about his first fight with Akechi, but Ken gave him enough details to know that the black-masked Persona-user was no joke. "I realized very quickly that I had to fight smartly. I needed to get away. So, I got him to… drop a pile of bricks on himself."

Well, if it's not broken, then don't fix it. This might be easier too… he just had to slice through the pipes. He could do with his Personas.

He had to be careful about this though. Akechi probably knew that he had to watch out for this kind of trickery.

Ken then charged at Akechi, stabbing forward with his spear. Akechi lashed out with his sword, throwing off Ken's aim. He wasn't expecting Yusuke to sneak up on him, slicing at Akechi's arm with his katana. Ken then spun his spear in his hand before slamming the butt of his spear against Akechi's chest.

With Akechi getting distracted, Ren took the opportunity to strike.

"Seth!" he shouted.

The great dragon tucked in his wings, slamming into Akechi before opening his jaws and breathing fire.

Akechi gave a growl of frustration before switching to Krishna. Krishna's lotus glowed purple before unleashing an Almighty spell.

Morgana's healing spell settled over them just in time for Sherlock Holmes to launch the same spell as before. It hit them all hard, and Ren was left gasping for air.

Ken quickly healed them again, something Ren was very grateful for.

Ren's eyes settled on the wall. He made a wild sprint for it.

"Joker?!" Anne cried out to him, her voice becoming alarmed.

"Don't worry about me!" Ren yelled back at her.

He summoned Norn. Norn produced a small burst of wind at Ren's feet, giving him a needed boost. He grabbed onto the edge with both hands. Tobi Katou suddenly appeared, clipping Ren in the shoulder with his sword. Seiten Taisei then appeared, barreling into the Persona. Electricity then suddenly crackled in the air, zapping the Persona. He could hear chaos in the background as his friends tried to keep Akechi busy. He was just glad that they had faith in him, even though he couldn't exactly tell them what he was planning.

Ren clambered up, taking a moment to take a breather.

"Joker I don't know what you're up to but…" Futaba sighed. "I believe in you!"

"Thanks, Oracle." Ren cracked a smile. "It means a lot!"

He took a jump at the pipe. Looking down, he saw Ken drive Akechi right underneath the piping. Ren couldn't help but grin. Well, Ken was the one to think of this before… he probably caught on what Ren was thinking.

"Do you really have the time to jump around on the pipes like that?!" Akechi snarled out.

Ken summoned Tyr to launch a Kougaon spell. Makoto quickly followed up with a flurry of her fists.

Akechi dodged their attacks and was not letting them distract him; he was still gunning for Ren.

Akechi growled. "I'll send you crashing down. LOKI!"

Well, if Akechi was going to do his work for him… Ren waited with bated breath as Loki came speeding towards him. Ren dove at the last second and there was a loud crashing sound as the pipes collapsed.

"SHIT—"

Ren stuck the landing, leaping to his feet. He then whirled to face his friends.

"Let's finish this, guys!"

---

Goro couldn't believe that he had fallen for the same thing. Damn Amamiya! He was just so infuriating. Goro wanted that bastard to go down hard.

He rolled over but something was wrong. A sharp, intense pain shot through his left arm. Goro gritted his teeth, gripping his arm. The pain rippled through him and Goro was a sitting duck for the Phantom Thieves like this. They had no remorse in attacking him with everything they had, even summoning their Personas.

He wouldn't be surprised if they actually broke his arm. He'll make them pay for that!

Goro switched his sword to his non-dominant hand as he got to his feet. He was very glad that he taught himself to be ambidextrous.

Takamaki's Persona launched a fire spell, but Goro quickly switched to Sekhmet to reduce the damage. But then Sakamoto charged forward. Goro quickly countered by sending Sekhmet against him. He staggered from the attack but quickly recovered.

Kitagawa struck from a distance, keeping his distance due to his weakness to fire.

"HA!" Goro whipped around, quickly blocking Okumura's strike with his blade.

Sparks flew as Okumura pressed forward. Sekhmet then appeared, blasting fire at Okumura. The heiress gasped, staggering back a step. Her axe clattered out of her hands as she nursed her burn.

"Noir!" Niijima gasped in alarm.

Goro grinned before lunging for another attack. Ken quickly intercepted the blow with his spear's shaft. This made Goro's blood boil. Blue flames suddenly whisked Ken's mask away before Ken's Persona sent blades of light flying at Goro.

"You'll never fix society!" Goro spat out. "You're fighting an uphill battle!"

Ken just narrowed his eyes before snarling out, "You're just contributing to it!"

"Shut up! I'm disposing trash of this society!"

Anger lent Goro strength as he surged forward, tackling Ken to the ground. Ken ended up dropping his spear.

"No… you're not. You may have been hurt by society, but you've dished out your own hurt as well!" Ken spat out, undeterred even as Goro pinned him down with his legs.

Ken's voice suddenly echoed in Goro's mind. "You don't even see how monstrous you've become. You may despise and hate Shido for what he did to your mother… but you're more like Shido than you realize. You've destroyed countless lives all for the sake of your goal, just like Shido!"

"Shut up! SHUT UP!" Goro snarled out, pressing the blade to the base of Ken's throat. Blood started to bead under the tip of Goro's blade.

"You get your hands off of him!" Niijima demanded angrily but Goro was done caring.

He just wanted Ken to stop challenging him, to just shut up about righteousness and justice—

"GET OFF HIM!" a sudden voice screeched at him, right in his ear.

Then something barreled into him, knocking him off Ken. Pain shot in his arm and Goro let out a grunt. Goro looked up to see that his assailant was Sakura, who had abandoned the safety of her Persona.

She spat out, "You took away Mom! You won't take away Ace too!"

"Oracle! Get away from him!" Ken's voice turned panicked.

Goro stalked forward, pulling out his pistol. If that's how she wanted to play… then so be it.

Sakura scrambled away from him, panicked breaths escaping her before she fell on her bottom. If her eyes were visible, Goro bet that they would be wide with fear.

But then Sakura seemed to melt away, replaced by a slightly younger version. She was crying, curling into a little ball.

She sobbed out, "I want my mom… please… I want her back so bad!"

"How do you not see that you put Oracle in a similar situation as yours?!" Ken's angry demand from before suddenly echoed in Goro's mind.

Then she disappeared… replaced by him as a child. He was crying and the tears wouldn't stop.

"M-Mom… why did you have to go? I want you back! Please!"

The pistol slipped from Goro's fingers.

Then Sakamoto's Persona slammed into Goro.

Goro panted, staggering to his feet.

"Tyr!"

"Arsène!"

Amamiya and Ken stood together, their eyes both affixed on Goro. Tyr began to glow gold and dark energy swirled around Arsène.

Light and dark surged to life at the exact same time. The two spells melded together moments before the combined attack struck Goro.

Goro finally fell to his knees, breathing heavily. He was completely drained… he barely only a little stamina left, and he was battered. His hands were shaking, and his head was throbbing painfully.

"So I couldn't win…? Even after all the power I've worked for," he mumbled out.

"It's because you don't get it," Amamiya said. "Sure, the ability to use multiple Personas is special. But I am strong because my friends stood by me. The day I arrived at Tokyo… I was alone. But I soon met Skull, Mona, and everyone else. They gave me a reason to fight. Without them… I probably would've just resigned myself to trying to live a quiet life, to fix my record."

"Joker…" Morgana uttered with a frown.

"Very shounen anime of you," Sakura said with a weak smile. "Your friends are your power, huh?"

Amamiya just let out a bark of laughter, shaking his head.

"And besides, you're not the only one who Shido's messed with." Takamaki pointed at Amamiya. "Shido's responsible for Joker's record."

He had suspected that… but it was something else to hear it be confirmed.

"Not to mention he orchestrated Okumura and Isshiki-san's deaths," Kitagawa said flatly, folding his arms over his chest.

Niijima gave him a cold stare. "Even though it was you to pull the trigger in the end. We cannot allow Shido to take this country. It will be a death sentence for us all. We're taking back our future when we take down Shido."

Goro scowled. "So you're going to go through it? No matter what?"

"Of course we are," Ken spat out. "Shido's ruined too many lives! We will get him to confess and… he'll atone for what he's done."

Takamaki shook her head. "Having to live with the guilt of what you've done… that's a punishment far worse than death."

She then pointedly stared at him down.

Goro clenched his teeth before reluctantly looking to Sakura. She didn't share Wakaba Isshiki's hair or eye color but her resemblance to her mother was uncanny.

"I never would've… if she had just—"

Ken suddenly stomped up to him, grabbing him by the front of Akechi's shirt.

"Are you still going to blame Isshiki-san?" he asked, his voice dangerously soft.

Goro wrenched out of Ken's grasp. "What the hell do you want from me?!"

"For starters, how about admitting that you've hurt people just like Shido?" Ken spat out. "I told you about what really happened that night in hopes of trying to get you to understand that Shinjiro-san is not a bad person!"

Indignation flared inside of Goro. "He murdered your mother! How can you just forgive him?!"

"Are you not looking for forgiveness then?" Kitagawa asked, his voice turning frosty. "Do you truly not care that you've most likely orphaned countless people? Noir and Oracle aren't your only victims."

"I committed to this path. I swore that I would get revenge… no matter what!" Goro scowled.

Nobody understood… did they?

"Y'know, Ace…" Sakamoto suddenly spoke up. "When you were talking 'bout revenge and shit… I didn't realize how much it could twist you up."

Then he gestured to Goro, a suddenly rueful smile appearing on his face.

"Guess you sometimes gotta see it for yourself."

Goro growled. "Don't mock me!"

Sakamoto shook his head. "I ain't mocking you… It's kinda sad. You have… nothing."

"If you just let me get revenge—"

"And let you carve a bloody path while doing so, Akechi?" Amamiya said, his eyes like steel.

Goro clenched his hands into fists. "You don't understand…"

"Do I?" Amamiya raised an eyebrow before looking to Sakura. "Well, Oracle, Noir? Do you want a shot at Akechi? For your parents?"

Sakura and Okumura were quiet for a moment. Then Okumura spoke up first, shaking her head.

"You may have robbed me of making amends with my father but killing you won't bring him back. And I want to be better than my father. He hurt countless people, and I will restore his company and our family name to one that people can look to with trust. I will never stoop to my father's level…" She gave Goro a pitying look that he detested. "It's a shame you can't see you're becoming just like yours."

"It's not worth it. I lost Mom, that's true…" Sakura pressed a hand against her chest, a soft smile on her face. "But I have Sojiro. I have all of you. I wouldn't trade you for the world. And Mom… she wouldn't want me to bloody my hands like that."

Goro gritted his teeth. "Don't mock me!"

Okumura just frowned at him, that obnoxious pitying expression seemed to grow.

Sakura's hands clenched into fists. "We're not mocking you! I'm saying that even though I lost Mom… I still found people who love me!"

"Well good for you, but like I care! You're lucky! Someone actually cared about you! Not a soul cares—!"

His thought was cut off by the image of a certain woman.

"Akechi-kun, you really should remember to bring something to eat for these long nights." Sae-san's voice chuckled in his memory. "Alright, I'll take you out for some sushi, but nothing too expensive. I'm not made of money, you know."

He gritted his teeth. That… that didn't count. She was an ally, nothing more.

"You know… Noir had a good point earlier," Niijima suddenly spoke up. "After you get your revenge… what will you do with yourself?"

"You plan on using Shido to bolster your reputation but what about after that?" Ken asked.

Goro gritted his teeth.

Amamiya raised an eyebrow. "Will you just bask in your fame? Sounds pretty boring if you ask me."

He'd… he'd finally get to live! Wouldn't he? These idiots were implying that Goro would have nothing to do with himself once he finally taken out his bastard of a father.

But they were wrong!

"Why?" Goro hated that his voice sounded so small in that moment. "Why… why can't you let me have this? All my life… I've had nothing."

The charismatic detective prince was nothing but a front, he had nobody who truly cared about him… He had been working towards this for years. And yet the Phantom Thieves saw fit to snatch it away from him. It just wasn't fair!

"Is revenge all that you have to cling to?" Ken's voice turned pitying.

Goro's blood immediately began to boil again.

"That's easy for you to say! Quit mocking me!" he snarled out.

And besides, Ken was the one intent on ripping that away from him!

Ken let out a long sigh, closing his eyes. "I had a similar mindset before, as I told you. But I was pulled off this path by my senpai."

"That's not true, Ace," Okumura suddenly spoke up. "You made the choice to start over."

She then cast her eyes on Goro. Her soft eyes were filled with anger instead of pity. Goro just scowled in response. What did she know? She was the one born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She never would understand the struggles that Goro had faced since birth.

"So… what now, Joker?" Sakamoto turned to Amamiya.

Kitagawa nodded, seconding Sakamoto. "Yes, that's true… we can't exactly leave him be. It'd be… troublesome if he could prevent us from stealing Shido's heart."

That's when Amamiya faltered, his expression growing conflicted. "I… honestly don't know."

Morgana sighed. "I don't suppose we could bring him back to Ace's apartment?"

Niijima rounded on the cat, both hands clenched into fists. "No! How could you suggest that after everything he's done to Ace?!"

"I was just thinking that Mitsuru could help us detain Akechi! That's all!" was the quick retort.

Goro was in so much pain. But he knew he couldn't allow himself to be dragged wherever the Phantom Thieves decided on.

Goro hated it.

But there was just no way that he could muster the strength to fight the Phantom Thieves. Not with his energy depleted and all of his injuries.

So… he had to retreat.

He may be low on energy, but he could still do this. He quickly summoned Robin Hood to send a burst of light energy at all of them, they of course all jumped backwards in hopes to dodge, but he already broke out running while they were hit by the blast.

Sakamoto yelled out, "HEY! Akechi, get back here DAMMIT!"

Goro didn't look back. He just had to get away…

Goro avoided the nearest safe room, however, because he knew that the Phantom Thieves would most likely stop by there to lick their own wounds. Once he found a safe room, he stumbled inside and collapsed to the floor.

With shaking hands, he summoned Krishna. Krishna's healing spell settled over him. The pain from his arm receded finally but he still felt exhausted and drained.

It was over. The Phantom Thieves had secured all five letters of recommendation from Shido's VIPs. They would send out the calling card as soon as possible… and steal Shido's heart.

Before Goro realized it, tears were trickling down his face. He ripped off his mask, throwing it aside. It hit the wall before falling to the ground with the thud.

"Damn you! DAMN YOU TO HELL!" he screamed out, the tears falling faster now.

The Phantom Thieves were truly an apt moniker. They may specialize in stealing hearts… but they stole everything from Goro.

His revenge had slipped right through his fingers, the goal he had been working towards for years.

"Dammit. Dammit. DAMMIT!"

He kicked over the chairs and table as he let out another scream. He truly had nothing left.

---

The Akechi confrontation was definitely… something I've been working towards for a long time. I'm not a fan of Akechi's canon confrontation. I feel the pity for Akechi comes out of nowhere. There's no build-up.

The Phantom Thieves in this do feel a little pity—Ken more than anyone—but they can't condone his actions. I felt that Akechi's Wild Card ability was underutilized. His fight was quite easy so I thought raising the stakes would make the fight more interesting. Ren's Wild Card ability obviously trumps Akechi's, however, because he has access to the Velvet Room and can fuse more powerful Personas because he cultivated bonds whereas Akechi rejects them.

And well… Akechi's arc isn't quite finished yet. I do think with Persona 5's theme of atoning for your crimes—that death is an escape. So Akechi will not die in Ace in the Hole. As for how will he atone? Well… you'll have to wait and see.

What about cognitive Akechi, though? Well… don't forget that I've made tweaks to boss fights before. Cognitive Akechi actually breaks the lore a bit in canon so I'll be giving a few tweaks.

So, in the fight between Ken and Akechi, I imagine the OST playing would be Ying Yang. If you listen carefully, some of the lyrics fit their relationship in this AU. Ken and Akechi had similar beginnings but the choices they made determined their paths.

But during the phase where the Phantom Thieves fight Akechi as a team, it'd be a remix of Will Power. It's Akechi revealing his true face.

My wonderful beta angelrin89 gave me the idea of basing the new Personas Akechi gained off of the bonds Akechi has, even though all of them aren't exactly… healthy. I'll detail the Personas on my tumblr blog because this A/N is already getting long enough already. But I want to give a shout-out to my wonderful beta. As usual, her tweaks really improved the chapter!

Next chapter will be the final Shido arc chapter and we'll finally dive into the Mementos arc! I can't believe that we're getting close to the finish! It feels almost… surreal. I started taking notes on the Akechi confrontation three and a half years ago. It feels nuts that I've reached this point.

I'd love to hear any thoughts you have on this chapter. Until next time!